Spring is getting closer and closer! I've just been unearthing my T-shirts and getting them all ready for the warmer weather. If you need a ferrety T-shirt, see the FerretDesigns web site (I've already gotten my new T-shirts!) A lot of people have written in asking about litter training. So in this newsletter we cover the basics of litter training. But be aware that there are sometimes special cases (and not-very-bright ferrets), so you may want to do more reading than just this newsletter. We also have a quick reminder about brushing your ferret's teeth. Gum disease is not only painful, but it can have serious consequences. Enjoy the newsletter! -- Mary, Eric, & Gabby
In this newsletter:Litter Box Training TipsFull Tables of Contents on ModernFerretStore.comDid You Know That ... (Ferret Dental Care)
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By Mary R. Shefferman Ferrets are not "plug and play" -- they require a bit of set up. Many pet stores will gladly show you how their ferrets are trained to use a particular spot as a bathroom. They'll tell you that litter training is easy from this point. They're wrong. Although litter training isn't an impossible task, it is a part of the set of behaviors you will have to teach your ferret. In other words: placing a litter box in your ferret's cage is not litter training. And -- surprise! -- despite your best efforts, there's a good chance that your ferret (or ferrets) will have "accidents" from time to time. Fortunately, a ferret's accidents are much smaller than those of, say, a horse. Consistency As with any other type of training, if you're consistent, you have a better chance of success. In this case, consistency means that while your ferret is still in the training stage, you need to supervise as much out-of-cage time as possible. This gives you the most opportunities to train your ferret. It also gives your ferret little opportunity for making mistakes. The Litter Box Although those little triangle-shaped litter boxes with the one low side sit neatly in the corner, most ferrets find using them a little awkward, especially as they grow into adulthood. An ordinary rectangle-shaped cat litter box is fine (and cheap). Unless the ferret is extremely small, uncoordinated, ill, old, or recovering from surgery, there's no need for that one low side. Ferrets can hop and jump well enough to get into a litter box. The rectangular shape also allows the ferret to put all four feet into the litter box. We have observed this to be an important issue with most ferrets. There's something about having the "unique" texture of the litter under every paw that helps give the ferret the "litter box" cue. Even the larger corner litter boxes may be too small for larger ferrets, who tend to stretch out when they're ... er... going. High-sided litter boxes (with one low side) are very handy if you have a litter digger or litter kicker. They're also helpful when you have ferrets who go over the side of the litter box. Usually older ferrets don't do the over-the-side thing, but baby ferrets sometimes act as if it's a contest to see who can poop the highest. The Litter The litter you choose should be absorbent, but not clumping. We use Yesterday's News litter. Think: low dust. Most ferrets don't much care what they poop on, so texture is usually not an issue (though some ferrets are finicky). Why not clumping litter? Ferrets have been known to "snorkel" through their litter boxes (when they're clean). Clumping litter can get in their eyes, nose, and mouth, dry up, and clump there! Also, ferrets usually scoot after they go to the bathroom -- this is a normal "marking" type behavior, not a sign of illness. If the ferret scoots in the clumping litter, the litter can stick to his anal area. This is especially true in kits, who often have some loose stools when changing from the pet store food to the food you choose to feed. Perhaps most important, ferrets are low to the ground and are more likely to pick up some of the clumping litter in their fur. When they clean themselves, they may swallow it. Knowing that ferrets are prone to intestinal blockage, it's best to avoid any potential hazards, like clumping litter. The Basic Steps Start small. It's easier to monitor a ferret in a small area. Once your ferret has grasped the idea of the litter box, give him a little more space. Continue to monitor him. As he becomes proficient with the litter box in a larger area, increase the area. You will need to add more litter boxes as you increase your ferret's play area. Getting a small cage is an excellent investment. You can use it for early litter training, isolation of sick or recovering ferrets, or for older ferrets who may not get around as well as they used to in a multi-floor cage. Getting a cage with a plastic bottom will make cleanup and disinfection easy. This is the cage you start a ferret in. There should be enough room for a bed, a litter box, and food and water. This "forces" the ferret to use the litter box, because most ferrets (and there are some exceptions!) will not go in their food or in their bed. We used to use a hallway as one of the intermediary spaces for litter training. It was large enough that the ferret had to walk to the box, but small enough that if she started to go in the wrong spot, we could quickly and easily "air lift" her to the litter box. Monitor, monitor, monitor! The key to litter training is to not let your ferret get away with pooping in the wrong spot. The only way to ensure this is to watch her every time she is out for play. As soon as you see your ferret looking for a spot to go, place her in the litter box. If she jumps out, put her back in. Sometimes when you put them in the litter box it makes them forget they have to go. But they do have to go. So be as persistent in putting the ferret back into the litter box as she is about getting out of the litter box. Note: Be gentle, but firm. How do you know your ferret is about to go? She may race from one place to the next sniffing and turning around to squat down. She may begin to back up into a corner. She may hop into a litter box and hop out again. Usually, if you catch the ferret at the backing up stage, you can quickly lift her into a litter box. For some ferrets, leaving a little bit of poop in the box is an olfactory reminder of what the box is for. Other ferrets get annoyed if the box is too dirty. You'll have to get to know your individual ferret. Certainly early on leaving a little in the box is helpful. For any ferrets -- especially young ones -- placing the kit in the litter box periodically during playtime may help to remind him to go in the box. Again, keep an eye on your ferret when he's out of the cage. Praise your ferret when he goes where he's supposed to, but don't yell at a ferret who's made a mistake unless you catch him in the act. Rubbing the ferret's nose in it does nothing. Yelling after the ferret has already forgotten that he just pooped is not going to teach him anything. Be patient and realize that some ferrets will always make mistakes. Be glad you don't have a St. Bernard to litter train! Cleaning Clean up mistakes quickly and thoroughly. Ferrets have an incredibly keen sense of smell. They can smell things we can't. Also, they communicate through smell -- one ferret's poop is another ferret's memo telling him, "This is a good poop spot." We recommend Nature's Miracle. It eliminates odors we can't even smell (but our ferrets can). Vinegar also works well to remove smells. It's a good idea to litter train on a washable floor surface (laminate, linoleum, tile). If your ferret does make a mistake on a carpet, try to pick up the poop without rubbing in into the carpet. Blot up urine with paper towels. Test Nature's Miracle on a hidden area of the carpet to make sure it's all right to use it on your carpet. Get your carpets cleaned professionally once or twice a year (steam cleaning with odor-eliminating enzymes). Ferrets have been known to find a "hidden" spot as a litter box. It's usually some place you don't often look, like behind or under a couch or heavy piece of furniture. You should check any little nooks or crannies that might be serving as a hidden ferret toilet. If you find one, clean it thoroughly and consider putting a litter box there. The Bottom Line If you have ferrets, you will have ferret mistakes. Very few ferrets are 100% litter trained 100% of the time. Remember that they are just little animals and they don't mean upset you by going in the wrong spot (well, okay, sometimes they do). Be patient and consistent when litter training. It also helps to have a sense of humor.
Note: You can also find articles about litter training in these issues of Modern Ferret Magazine: #13 (article by Bob Church), #14 (two articles by Christine Code and one article by Eric Shefferman), #17 (article by Mary R. Shefferman), #20 (article by Mary R. Shefferman), and #21 (article by Mary R. Shefferman). You can get all these issues, plus 23 more, in the Super Monster Pack
Books Written By Mary R. Shefferman ... Get them from Amazon.com: Or get them from the FerretTradingPost:
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If you want to get a better idea of what you get in the Modern Ferret Super Monster Pack of back issues, now you can! We've put up full tables of contents for each issue. The only things not listed are ads and some of our little humorous fake movie posters. There are many articles that can never be reprinted -- the only place you can find them is in the Modern Ferret back issues. Getting all the tables of contents up was a bit of a task. I finally finished it late last week. There might still be a typo or two -- so if you catch any, please let me know! (mary modernferret.com) Thanks!
| The Super Monster Pack of Modern Ferret back issues includes several articles on litter training (see the note above), as well as all kinds of valuable ferret information written by ferret owning experts -- the ones who know what's what with ferrets. You get 28 issues -- more than 1,000 pages of ferret fun and information -- of the award-winning Modern Ferret magazine. | 
Issues: 1 (reprint), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, & 33
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Did You Know That ... (Ferret Dental Care) They don't make dentures for ferrets. One of the most overlooked parts of ferret hygiene is tooth cleaning. Heck, teeth and ears are the most overlooked body parts of pets in general! With ferrets, ears tend to get cleaned because we notice a smell or we discover mites during a vet visit. But teeth? Consumers have been misled into believing that crunchy food alone is enough to keep a pet’s teeth clean. Tartar control treats aren’t going to do the trick either. You need to brush your ferret’s teeth and you need to have them periodically cleaned by your veterinarian. We have had our ferrets' teeth cleaned by our vet several times. Although we try to brush their teeth fairly regularly, like so many other ferret owners, we haven’t always kept up with it as we should. Ferrets aren’t keen on having their teeth brushed. So we started with professionally cleaned teeth and now we “brush” the ferrets’ teeth at least once a week. There are several different types of "toothbrushes" you can use. There are finger toothbrushes (they're made of rubber, so they are not safe for many ferrets), small cat toothbrushes (too big for smaller ferrets), cotton swabs filled with pet dental cleansing solution and cleansing pads soaked in pet dental cleansing solution. We use the cleansing pads because they're the easiest to maneuver into little ferret mouths and because ferrets seem to tolerate them fairly well. Trixie used to love the taste of the dental cleansing solution in the pads. Never use human toothpaste on ferrets (or any animal). Ferrets can't spit out the toothpaste after brushing, so they swallow it, which can make them very sick. Remember that even doing a little is better than doing nothing!
That's it for this edition of the Ferret News Newsletter. We're going to try to get a new newsletter out every Tuesday (Think: "Ferret News Tuesday"). So if, for some reason, you don't get the e-mail notification, you will know that a new edition of the Ferret News Newsletter is available for you to read online. Just go to www.ferretnews.com and click on the link: "Click Here to Read the Current Edition of the Ferret News Newsletter." Thanks for reading! Hug those fuzzies! -- Mary, Eric & Gabby Stay tuned for more. You can always get updates by reading my blog (a blog is an online journal). I keep it sporadically and it usually runs to the more personal stuff. But you might like it. It's at http://www.marysferretblog.blogspot.com
Ferret NewsPlease let your ferret friends know about this newsletter and encourage them to join. http://www.ferretnews.com Shopping at these web sites helps support this newsletter so we can continue to send it for free to all who want it: http://www.ferretdesigns.com http://www.ferrettradingpost.com http://www.amysdesigns.com Disclaimer:
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