Housing, toys, feeding & handling?

Question
Hi, I have a 4 foot tall, 3 foot deep, 2 foot wide cage with shelves and a wire front(its wooden), would this work for three ferrets? maybe four? also are cat toys safe for ferrets? the balls with bells in them, the little cage things, fur mice that sort of thing? is nutreance kitten food a good food to feed? it has 30 % protine adn 20% fat, also when I first bring them home should I leave them alone for awhile? when can I play with them? will a group enjoy playing with me at all?, thanks.

Answer
Hello, thanks for all your questions!
First, let me suggest getting a book called "Ferrets for Dummies" by Kim Schilling. It is a great book for first time ferret owners.
Also, here is an excellent website you should visit, to see if ferret ownership is right for you:
http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/ferret/ferret.html

 Your cage sounds fine to house about four ferrets max.
Make sure you have at least two hammocks, and Two bowls for food, and a LARGE water bottle that anchors to the cage.

I would not recommend cat toys due to they are easily dismantled by a curious ferret, and parts can be ingested.
Only supervised play with cat toys, and then only the sturdier ones, without bells etc.
Ferrets will make a toy out of anything, paper bags, empty plastic bottles etc. But the also sell commercial toys in the stores. I would buy as many as you can, they LOVE to hide them!!


Becoming a new ferret owner, you will be introduced to a lot of differing opinions about what to feed your ferret, there are truly as many differing opinions as there are ferret owners!  Some people feed ferret food, some cat food, and some even raw meat!

As far as what food to feed your ferret, there is no "best food." A good quality Kitten food is usually fine. Avoid "fish meal" in the ingredients. I personally do not recommend commercial ferret foods, due to the high amount of fish meal in them can cause ferrets to have loose stools, and pungent stool and oily coats.
They are also VERY costly, and in my opinion, with  not much higher benefit.
Many "ferret" foods are simply repackaged mink foods which are high in fish or fish meal. Also, a lot of them contain high Ash, and A high ash content in foods can lead to urinary tract problems.

I personally feed my ferrets a POULTRY based cat food
(I used "Special Care" by Purina, which is available in your GROCERY cat food isle.) and then gave them a couple of drops of ferretone every week. This feeding system was recommended to me by a vet that owned ferrets for years, and I highly recommend it. You will notice a big difference in their coat, it will become softer, not so oily, and their odor will be
a lot less! I have used this feeding formula (I learned from a vet who had ferrets) for 12 years, and have had ferrets live to 9 years old on it, with no health problems. I did actually change three times to the so called "better" ferret foods, only to be unpleasantly surprised. Plus two of my ferrets refused to eat on Marshall's ferret foods. So I went back to this, and haven't changed.

Your new ferret will probably only be about 6-8 weeks old. A baby ferret is much like an infant child. they do not do much but eat and sleep. And they won't interact with you until they get a little older.
Mostly, the first couple of months you have your new ferret, will be mostly eating sleeping and exploring. They usually start to get playful at about six months old.
A group will romp and play with each other, and will play with you. They are VERY much like kittens, even as adults.
Enjoy, i hope this has helped~
amy