ferret difficult to litter train

Question
Hi there. I have a four year old male ferret, and I adopted him when he was a year old. The previous owner didn't let him run free much, and therefore didn't litter train him. I did when I got him, When I noticed him going to go to the bathroom somewhere I would pick him up and put him in his litter box. When he went in there I would give him treats. He picked up quick on this and was good for a while, but I find he goes through phases where he just doesn't care. He goes wherever. I tried doing the same thing over and over again, many different methods, and he just won't even try to use the litter box. I have to keep "training" him over and over again. It is very frustrating, inconvenient and embarrassing that this keeps happening. He will do this in other people's homes as well as our own when there are litter boxes available. Even the pet store employee at the store where he was purchased from said that he never used the cage litter box.He knows it's wrong, because as soon as I go to grab him, he runs away because he knows he will be put back in his cage. It's almost as if it's a defiance thing. We've lived in the same house for years, and I just don't understand why he is smart enough to catch onto everything else but not "don't poop and pee on the floor". please help. I love my ferret but his consistent problem is really getting on my nerves.I look forward to your response. thank you.

Answer
Hello Melissa,
It is a very common misconception that ferrets are 100% litter box trained. They are not. If your ferret uses his litter box 75% of the time, then that is normal, and that is about the best you can hope for. They are not like cats. They generally will go to the nearest corner if they are in a large room. I would take my ferrets to nursing homes and schools to visit, I made SURE they pottied outside in the grass,on a harness, before we went inside, and then if I was there more than a couple of hours, I took them out again. You need to set them up for success.
But even the most trained ferret is only about 80% successful. Your BEST bet is to learn when your ferret goes potty, i.e., after a nap, after play, after eating. That's when you want to make sure he is near a litter pan.
They are not like cats, who will go through the house to a litter pan...I used to have to teach mine to go potty before they left the cage to play, and it takes a lot of patience, with a ferret staring at you for 15 minutes waiting for you to let him out of the cage, and me saying "GO POTTY!!" FINALLY he would go!! Then they eventually learned "If I go potty, I get out to play," ... so that's your best bet, is to make sure he goes potty before you let him out of his cage to play. Same with when you are visiting a friend. Take him out in the grass (on a harness of course), and keep saying " go potty" until he does, then big praise! The GOOD news is that ferrets generally do BOTH at the same time, so you don't have to worry about taking him out for #1, then again for #2.
He will eventually learn to potty in the grass, but it takes time a patience.
A little side note, make sure the food you are feeding him doesn't contain "fish meal, or fish oils" ... this makes them go a lot more often, as well as making the stool oily and pungent. I recommend Special Care cat food by Purina.
Good luck, and let me know if you need any more help. Also,a VERY good harness to use is Marshall's Lead and Harness. These seem to be the safest ones.
Thanks
Amy