Preparing the Home for a Newcomer

Speak to an experienced person about ferret-proofing your home. This entails making your home safe for your ferret. You will need to completely ferret-proof your home. Ferrets are very inquisitive animals and due to their small size, can get into dangerous places that you never thought they could get into. You also need to develop a mindset about protecting the ferrets from harm. Although they act pretty tough, because of their small size, they are fragile.

To ferret-proof, you need to crawl around your house on your hands and knees, and look for any small hole bigger than 1x 1 inches, and plug it or block it off. This includes ventilation ducts that might be able to be pulled off, cupboards that have holes inside, appliances such as refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, and washing machines. Never ever assume that a ferret will not get into a certain room or area. There is no such thing as 100% ferret-proofing, and the ferret themselves will show you exactly what you might have missed.

Furniture needs to be carefully checked over. Recliners and sofa beds can be death traps for ferrets. They will crawl under and get up in the gears, and when someone sits down or operates the gears, the ferret can come to an unpleasant end. Even though you may think you know where the ferret is, never assume. Many ferrets have died this way. Regular couches also need to be ferret-proofed. Ferrets can get inside the couch, crawl up in the springs, and come to an unfortunate end. Look around your house to see if you have anything like this.

Ferrets like to chew on leather, plastic, and rubber. This can be a very bad thing if the object is small and the ferret swallows it. Blockages are life threatening to a ferret. You will need to make sure that things such as rubber erasers, any kind of Styrofoam, sponges, shoe insoles, foam earplugs, rubber door stoppers, and anything else spongy or springy is kept out of their reach.

Since ferrets can get their heads stuck in toilet paper rolls, it is a good idea to tear them up before you throw the empty ones away.

Although it occurs once in a great while, few ferrets may chew on electrical cords. Usually, a little coating of bitter apple or Tabasco sauce will usually cure this.

Ferrets are also excellent climbers. They can find complicated routes to places you never thought they could go. You may need to rearrange things slightly to keep them from knocking things over.

One way to keep ferrets in a designated area is by having a baby gate in place that has plastic floor vinyl stapled to one side. A large piece of wood, or Plexiglas cut to fit and anchored in place will also work.