Ferret News
Pet Ferret Care Tips
and Information
By Mary R. Shefferman & Eric Shefferman - along with Gabby, the ferret
www.ferretnews.com

Ferret News #81: Basic Ferret Needs and Preventing Ferret Falls
September 29, 2004

contact: marymodernferret.com

Governor Schwarzenegger Vetoes the California Ferret Amnesty Bill

  Here is the text of the message from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger regarding SB 89, the ferret amnesty bill:

  Mary's Note: I'll have comments on this veto in the next newsletter. I had literally just published the newsletter when I got the e-mail from Jeanne Carley of Californians for Ferret Legalization (CFL).

Basic Ferret Needs

By Bob Church

Q: Can you tell me what you think ferrets need the most?

A: Ferrets need: a) raisins, b) socks, c) corners, and d) that tender little strip of flesh just behind your knee.

  I always assume ferrets need the same basic things as humans do, modified perhaps by their unique psychology. There is a well accepted hierarchical list of human needs, defined by a character named Maslow, that lists human needs as:

1. Physiological Needs

2. Security Needs

3. Social Needs

4. Self-Respect

5. Self-Actualization

  There are a lot of variations in how these categories are titled, and there is some minor controversy on their exact hierarchical nature, but for the most part the list is well accepted. You will notice the needs move from the external (environment) to the internal (psychology). You should also notice each category tends to overlap the other, because they are actually multi-modal continuums rather than discrete categories. As an evolutionist, I have to consider that if this human list reflects basic human needs, then because other mammals share many of our psychological and physiological characteristics, they probably share these needs as well. Since it is doubtful (it is at least clearly anthropomorphic) that a ferret has the mental ability for true self-respect or self-actualization, I will combine these two under a single category: "Individual Needs." With that in mind, I consider this to be The Ferret's Hierarchical List of Needs:

  1. Physiological Needs: Ferrets require clean air, fresh water, and wholesome food, in quantity and quality sufficient to sustain them in a healthy condition. Ferrets require a physical environment which maintains them in a healthy condition, where extremes of heat and cold are within the ferret's physiological needs. Ferrets require secure, uninterrupted sleep in a darkened and quiet area. Ferrets require frequent exercise ranging in levels from light to strenuous, depending on individual age and condition. Ferrets require rapid access to quality medical care. Ferrets require an environment free of  viral or bacterial pathogens, chemical toxins, body wastes, decaying food, and pests or parasites.

  2. Security Needs: Ferrets require an environment free of fear or long-term stress, including fear or stress caused by over-crowding, bullying from other ferrets or animals, cage stress, inability to hide from view, nutritional stress, and inability to form an environmental territorial bond. Ferrets require a place of retreat, with a defensible opening, such as a personal nesting box. Ferrets require human curatorship free of physical and emotional abuse. Ferrets require a location which can be considered personal territory. Ferrets require consistent, long-term stable curatorship.

  3. Social Needs: Ferrets are, by nature, independent creatures which live solitary lives, so they have minimal social needs. However, through domestication, ferrets retain many socialization behaviors common to older kits or young juveniles, which includes the need for frequent physical contact and play. Also, as domestic animals, ferrets require frequent human interaction, including grooming interactions, play, and mental stimulation. This need is all the more important with extremely young or old ferrets, ferrets suffering from illness or injury, or ferrets unable to maintain close contact with other ferrets.

  4. Individual Needs: Ferrets require frequent mental stimulation with the opportunity to problem solve. Ferrets require the freedom to explore or investigate and to satisfy curiosity. Ferrets require the ability to make personal decisions regarding activity and feeding schedules. Ferrets require toys or other objects in their environment with which they can interact. Ferrets require the chance to be a ferret.

  If the goal is to provide the best possible environment for a ferret, then you must recognize that the ferret has more than physiological needs. Although ferrets are not humans, they are ferrets, and they require a curatorship which strives toward meeting their individual and collective needs.

  This article originally appeared on the Ferret Mailing List (FML) on September 6, 2000. Used with permission.

Did You Know That ...

  Ferrets don't land on their feet like cats do. They may try to convince you that they know what they're doing when they climb up and down on your furniture, but many ferrets get hurt jumping down from beds and couches.

  Several years ago we discovered that some of our smaller ferrets had a hard time climbing up on the couch. To help them, we put a big throw pillow down on the floor. The pillow served as a step that the smaller ferrets could use to get up on the couch.

  We eventually realized that the pillow was not only good for helping little ferrets up onto the couch, but was also helpful in breaking the fall of ferrets too clumsy to gracefully (or carefully) hop down off the couch. We came to call the pillow the "Landing Pad."

  The Landing Pad helped to soften many a ferret's landing on the floor (that is, fewer thuds). The adorable part of the story is that eventually all our ferrets used the Landing Pad, whether or not they needed it.

  Now we have only Gabby and she is always out in our bedroom. We have a Landing Pad at the foot of the bed. Gabby can't see very well and she's not the sharpest tack in the box, but she knows how to orient herself so that she always lands on the cushy Landing Pad when hopping off our bed.

  If you have any furniture that might be a little too high for a ferret to safely jump off, go get your own Landing Pad. We just got a replacement pillow at Wal-Mart for under $10.00. You could even use old bed pillows and cover them in a thick, washable fabric, if you're handy with sewing projects.

Sale! Sale! Sale!

  Save on select items at www.FerretDesigns.com and www.AmysDesigns.com through October 11, 2004.

  You'll save $2.00 on each item you buy from this select list of merchandise:

• White T-Shirts
  (NOTE: at Amy's Designs, White T-Shirts priced $17.99 only.
  T-Shirts priced $14.99 are not included in this sale.)

• Mousepads

• Mugs (Large and Small)

  Enter this coupon code when you're checking out:

 5ANNVRYSAL

  This sale is going on from now until October 11, 2004. It's a great time to start your holiday shopping!

  Thanks for reading. Make sure you check out our Ferret Halloween Safety article soon to be prepared for a happy and safe Halloween.

--Mary, Eric & Gabby (the lone ferret)

  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.modernferretblog.com/mary

Ferret News

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The shortened version of the disclaimer is: If your ferret is ill or you think your ferret is ill, bring your ferret to a ferret knowledgeable veterinarian.

Copyright 2004 Modern Ferret magazine.
All rights reserved.
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