Ferret pottying in food! HELP

Question
QUESTION: We have 3 ferrets. 2 (both about 3 1/2 years old)of which are potty trained 100, the other (about 3 years old) was doing good up until we recently moved. Now she goes in her food only! We have showed her numerous times where to go and put her poop in the litter box and she still neglects to use it. We have wasted so much food because of her. How do I get her to stop? And why is she doing this?

ANSWER: Hello Jessica,

Sudden changes in behavior are often accompanied by some form of stress.  Since this recently coincided with the move, I would bet the two things are related!  Perhaps she is a bit peeved or confused about the move?  Is she reacting to the new environment?  Some ferrets take change well, while others do not.  She may be the more sensitive of your three.

Try to keep the area free of any extra noise.  This may help her settle in a bit better to her new surroundings within the next few weeks.  

One thing you could try to do is elevate the food bowl.  This would make it more difficult for her to poop in, and hopefully discourage the behavior.  Perhaps obtain a small bowl that can be tacked into the side of the cage.  This should be high enough to prevent pooping in the food, and allow it enough stabilization so it can't be spilled or tipped over.

If the behavior continues, you should have her checked out by a vet to make sure there is not a medical reason.  Keep an eye on her to make sure she is eating, drinking and maintaining a normal energy level.  You may even want to separate her to make monitoring a bit easier.  These things can be key in discovering and diagnosing more serious problems early.  

Please let me know if you have any other questions, and good luck!

-Cindy P.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much! We actually didn't use a food bowl for the first week after we moved because we packed it and couldn't find it so we just put the food on their shelves in the corners so they would each have their own corner to eat from. That is when she decided to start going potty in the food. When we found the food bowl, it isn't very tall, she still continued to go in that. I was thinking she just doesn't like the food but it's the same food we have always had. We had her in a small cage for a little bit to monitor more closely but when i would put her back in their big cage, she would go right for the food again. She knows where her litter box is in the big cage but refuses to use it whether it's completely clean or I put her potty in it so she smells where to go. I'm just so frustrated with this problem as are the other 2 ferrets. I went through 1 medium sized bag of food in about a week because she kept ruining it.

Answer
Wow, a bag of food in a week?  That's quite a bit! I would be frustrated as well.  

Has there been any improvements to her behavior?  I hope she is still not defecating in her food bowl.  Have you tried elevating it to see if that helps?

-Cindy P.