Question
MAX
My question is simply, but I have yet to find out the answer. My 16yr old son keeps his ferret in his cage part of the time and mostly lets him hang out in his room. This means that the ferret which we have had now for about 5 months pee's & poo's all over the place and his room smells like Ferret urine.(even thou the ferrets glands have already been removed) So here is my Question Since they both share the same bedroom can breathing the ferret urine smell hurt my son's health. My son is currently complaining about a sore throat and I keep telling him he needs to clean up after his little buddy more often. And one more thing the ferret loves to bite my ankles all the time. Everyone thinks its funny except me I love the little guy but dont know how to train him to stop doing that! Thanks so much for your time and I look forward to you wisdom in this situation.
AnswerHi Tammy:
Have your son litterbox train that little guy for everyone's good health and comfort! It is not healthy for your son OR the ferret to have all that nasty smell and yucky stuff to be walking around in!
You could start the easy way now by looking around your sons room and see how many different places there are "piles", clean those up thoroughly and replace them with litterboxes with a minimum of litter in them and some poop on top to show the little guy what you want him to put in there. Each time he makes a mistake, clean it up immediately and put it in the box, showing him "GOOD BOY POTTIES IN THE BOX". When he does potty in the box, get all silly and pick him up and dance around to celebrate. He will love it! Ferrets are actually very clean animals and you'll be surprised how quickly he will train.
Know that a ferret ALWAYS potties within a few minutes of waking up - so when you see him wake up, watch him closely for a few minutes.......if he doesn't head for a litterbox, when you see him start to back up, quickly pick him up and plop him in the box and say "GOOD BOY GOES POTTY IN THE BOX!" again. It's just a matter of consistency and repetition. And, he MUST keep the boxes clean or the ferret won't use them. I have two ferrets living free in my bedroom with me and there are five litterboxes in here with us. I scoop them every morning and every night - it's just a good habit to get into. Let your son know that it's just part of the responsibility of having a ferret - they are high maintenance pets. A ferret won't use a dirty litterbox. The boxes need to be completely dumped, scrubbed and have fresh litter put in about every other weekend to keep the urine odor from building up.
LITTER: DON'T use clumping litter - it's dangerous to the ferret. You can use regular old cheap clay litter, recycled newspaper pellets, fireplace stove wood pellets, even just newspapers (I put newspapers in front of the litterboxes for them to scoot their butts on as they exit the litterbox). Just remember to change frequently or they will useit for a potty too!
It's important to get the smell of the urine out of the carpet/floor in his room. Nature's Miracle is a great, safe cleaner to use. You can get it at any pet store or online.
As far as him nipping your ankles, that's pretty common. It's easily stopped by just reaching down and picking him up and giving him a minute or two of ear scritches and a few kind words. He probably gets lonesome and is inviting you to stay and play with him for a few minutes, but doesn't know how to ask in English. Ferrets are incredibly smart little critters, usually wanting just love, a treat or two now and then (try N-Bones for ferrets) or a baackrub. He may even feel like he's the 'guard dog' when his master is away :-) A little love and roll a ball or two for him and he should come around (or go away) easily.
Best of luck with the teenager - the ferret should be a walk in the park! LOL
Sincerely,
Jacquie Rodgers
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