New ferrets question

[rene]

I have only had Charcoal for about 6 months, but I don't remember how I got him to associate shaking his food jug with coming out of his hiding place when it was time to go back to his cage. When I got him from his previous owner, she didn't really give me much information on him, and I don't think he even had a cage at her house. I did ask her how she got him to come out and she said she just called him. I think that was what I did also, as I was shaking his plastic jug, and he would come out, sometimes a bit later than sooner looking pretty sleepy. Still does that, sometimes just poking his head out. I put him back into his cage, always with a treat, peanut butter or a bit of cream cheese.

I got the new babies as part of a package deal with a 3 story cage. I had been looking for a larger cage for Charcoal, because I felt badly about him only getting a couple of hours a day to be out of his smallish cage. I thought that after I got him a larger cage, then at some point I would look for a friend for him to share that cage. Only this cage became available at the same cost that I was could pay for the cage, and with it the lady was rehoming two other ferrets. It seems so funny now that Charcoal is the one that I feel more comfortable with. The other two were handled alot, and were very used to their cage. One of them, that I am calling Toby is very sweet, and soft. He has a black mask. The other one is sweet also and gives ferret kisses sometimes with a little nip at the end (reminds me a little bit of some cats that I have known), and looks like Charcoal only a bit smaller and instead of having charcoal grey hairs mixed in with white and has light cinnamon hairs and a light cinnamon mask. That one has been being called Cinnamon. That previous owner has had them for a couple of months, and they were rescues from different owners. She didn't use any method to call them out. They are both much more laid back than Charcoal and prefer to be handled as opposed to running around. I want them to be able to run around with Charcoal and be cuddled. It is important to me that I find a way for safety sake, to let them know to come out . Any suggestions? Or do you think it will just take time. They seem to like peanut butter, not as much as Charcoal does, but they like it I wonder if once they learn their names and will come to them, then I will be able to combine the name and the noise of the food jug , just like with Charcoal.


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[huronna]

I'm really not going to be any help to you as though I have a very big cage, the door is always open and they rarely even even sleep in the hammocks there. Because it's so big and hard to reach, my husband cut little area out and made them like a swing door so That i Can reach in and get them. Most of the time they are sleeping in baskets around my bedroom or in the night table bottom drawer. When they are ready to play, they just come out. It's usually when I first get up in the morning. Or a couple of hours later when I'm cleaning up their papers, changing water and food and getting ready to take my shower to go to work.

I either play with them when they want to play because if I wake them and they aren't ready to get up, they will just sort of wake up, go over to the potty area and then amble back to their respective beds.

I hope someone else can give you some better ideas.

[ferretzmom]

We use a squeeky toy and they always come running (except for Clyde and he's stone deaf). We have to be careful to not squeek the toy when they're already near us, because they will get a bit aggressive. The squeek sounds a lot like a prairie dog or small critter (prey animals) yipping.

[rene]

I question the use of the plastic jug when Charcoal has already come out, and I am trying to get the others to associate the sound with coming to me , because I don't want him to start ignoring it. I did get some ideas from the posts though. I leave the doors open when the fuzzies are out and Charcoal has taken to going back to his cage to eat, and that makes me think of another possibility. The new cage is wire also and light. Right now it sits on a microwave cart, but there isn't any reason why I couldn't set it on floor while they are out. Then when they got sleepy or hungry they could just go back to their cages. I could still work on the name thing though. The newest babies disappear when they get sleepy. Cinnamon lays out in the open, on towels or in the crinkly sack. Toby hasn't shown me his sleeping place yet. I just have to wait for him to come out. I can try the squeaky toy thing. Hadn't considered that the sound would be of a PD in distress. Last night Charcoal and Toby were playing and they were making squeaky sounds. Made me happy to see Charcoal having fun with another ferret. ;D. We have come a long way in the months since he joined my zoo! If I lived alone they could have more freedom. I would remember they were out and think about where I was walking and not open the door until I knew they were either safely in another room or no where in sight. On the days that he is off work, my husband can't remember to shut the door because the air conditoner is running. I have to close it about every 20 minutes when he is chilling out, drinking and playing music outside. A couple of times my handicapped cat has gotten out there and he didn't know it . Several hours later when I didn't see him, I went looking for him and fortunately he was still hanging out in the front yard. I wouldn't be that lucky if one of the ferrets got outside. I let them out when I get home from work and he is still at work. They can run all over the place and that fear isn't there for me. The issue comes when it is time to pick him up and the rest of the zoo knows the drill. Except for sweet Toby. He is such a sweet cuddle baby. Not getting with the program yet, but very sweet.

I also understand about the cage thing. Charcoal's cage isn't big at all, but sits on top of the large cage for my RGS. There isn't much space to move things unless I wheel cages out of my room, or shift things around, so when I clean Charcoal's cage, I usually get on a small step ladder, to take the messy puppy pads and smelly soft T-shirts out for fresh ones. When the RGS passes, they will all move to that large metal cage. I got the large cage because I had 2 and bought this huge expensive wheel for them to run on , and needed a cage that it would fit in. I will move Charcoal to the larger cage, but have to reinforce the doors. He is a smart little guy and was in it for 5 minutes when he figured out how to push the doors open and squeeze through them. His cage only has one door, and I put a lock in the middle of the door, just for that reason.

[crazywhomans2]

if your ferrets love feratone, this should be easy, ours ( imean our first group) loved it. what we would do would be leave the tube in the box and rattle the box and when they heard the sound would come out and we would reward them with some on the box or a plastic lid. we also called nummies........ with this group it is rasins.......... this has helped espically when one has come up missing in the house..........with 10 running in their rooms and hiding in their blankies and in places hard to find (yes i have been ferret proofed for years) still have nooks and cranies that have to be checked twice..............it was a trained response we devoleped...had to do it over and over till they learned. hope that this helps

[greta]

I am down to one ferret now and in the process of adopting a brother for him, but I do have lots of experience in the area to which you are referring. Right after I adopted my 2nd ferret (Cinco de Mayo), I began offering morning duck soup to my crew outside of the cage. At the beginning I would whistle "The Duck Soup Song" to the tune of Pop goes the Weasel. (Round and round the mulberry bush, the weasel chased the monkey," etc. My ferrets associated the soup with my whistling their song and out of the cage they'd come. That routine still works today and with an entirely different ferret. Ferrets adapt easily and they're very intelligent animals. You can use a squeak toy, shake their food jug or whistle or sing a tune and as long as it's followed immediately with a treat of some sort and as long as your 'call' is consistent. , Your fuzzies will respond. Don't be surprised though Dear, if this takes a week or two. And Kudos to you for opening your heart and your home to your three fortunate little fur kids. Hugs, Greta

[greta]

I forgot to mention that my home is completely ferret proofed and the only time my kids' cage is shut is when I tuck them in for the night. Unlike you, I love alone, though. Huggers, Greta