Ferret playtime

Question
I have 5 male ferrets, ranging in age from 2 to 5 yrs old.  I work 4 days/week, 10 hrs/day.  I will let them out at night when I get home and they are always out of the cage for 3-4 hours every day, and usually I spend at least 1 hour of that time with them.

I have noticed though, that they don't always engage in play very long.  Sometimes they will play and wrestle with me and with each other for 30-45 min, but other days they just seem to be lazy.  Are ferrets, like people, just naturally lazy some days?  They have furniture, tunnels and a dig box to play with.

Also, are there certain seasons in which ferrets are more active?

Answer
Hi Danielle:

That sounds like pretty normal ferret behavior. Once they pass the kit stage (they become adults by about age 9 months), they will pretty well just be content to watch the world go by unless their human is interracting with them. There are ferrets who are higher energy and ones who are lower energy, but the 'average' is  about what you're describing. Introduce a new toy or a dig box (long grain rice in a big rubbermaid box with fist size hole in the lid - clean so you can watch them) and that will give them hours of entertainment - and don't forget to rotate toys; they get bored with their toys easily. Give them an empty box now and then (even just an empty cereal box is a fun toy!)  Anything with new smells, sounds - I like to bring little toys from the thrift store - they love the new smells and even better if it makes noise!  Your kids sound perfectly normal to me. Please give them an extra hug from me.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers