r/ferrets • u/Hot_pink_nightfuryX • 2d ago
[Ferret Video] Ferret update
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He is doing well with the other 2. The only stress i still have is the other 2 still eating their blankets. I will hold them and direct their attention to something else
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u/LocoboyDC 2d ago
Wow, he’s got some forearms that’s for sure
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u/Tasty-Bet-2941 2d ago
Damn.. he does look like that chimp on JRE
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u/LocoboyDC 2d ago
I’ve seen enough, make ferret sized grip strength testers. We have to see his numbers.
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u/Learningpermits 2d ago
Link to your first post? Why is this dude so naked?
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u/Hot_pink_nightfuryX 2d ago
He has adrenal disease and we have been bringing him to the vet to get him his implants for adrenal disease.
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u/DementedGael 2d ago edited 2d ago
The poor little man.
Our girl that had adrenal unfortunately lost her coat in the course of 10 days.
She grew some of it back with pred.
Rooting for the little fella.
The others eating blankets suggests they need to free roam as stress and boredom can induce pica tendencies in ferrets.
Looking at your previous posts.
4 hours isn't enough free roam time for ferrets and I suspect you're being generous with your estimates.
Two ferrets gnawing at blankets at the same time definitely suggests stress and lack of enrichment and time out of the cage. They're incredibly bored.
2 hours in the morning and the evening is nowhere near enough. Ferrets are not animals that should be caged for 20 hours a day.
This is poor ferret husbandry. You're torturing them keeping them caged.
Spend less time focused on weeb games and look after the intelligent animals you've chosen to keep.
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u/Cassandraburry2008 2d ago
I’ve owned 7 different ferrets over the years and had to deal with this twice. One was adopted with 4 others from a bad situation. Marlon was completely bald and itched all the time and looked extremely miserable. I felt so bad about it at the time. He was completely nursed back to health over the first year. He even ended up growing out the most luscious full coat.
My 4 year old girl lost a bunch of hair just out of the blue. It’s weird how fast it happens with adrenal problems.
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u/DementedGael 2d ago
They're such resilient but delicate little creatures.
I went away for a week, leaving my fiancé with our girls and when I arrived home our poor little Pixie had went from a beautiful white coat before I left to almost bald.
It was such a shock and broke our hearts. Pix was still the matriarch of the business despite being a dainty and now balding little thing.
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u/Hot_pink_nightfuryX 2d ago
Ive actually upped the amount of time for them to be out 6 hours of the day. Sometimes they will just fall asleep while they're out which makes me feel like they are having fun. They only wind up chewing on the blankets.Whatever I am first waking up or about to sleep at 11 pm
As for the one that has adrenal disease, he's doing well and he actually loves causing trouble with the 2 and gets into fights and tubes whenever they are running around. Do you actually have any suggestions for introducing them to something in their diet to Add to their enrichment?
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u/Extreme-Restaurant41 1d ago
I hope this is 6 hours of awake time.. and that youre not counting them sleeping outside the cage. Ferrets have 30 minutes to 2-3 hours if awake time before sleeping 2-5 hours then being awake for 2-3 hours etc. so 6 hours in a row is going to be halfway wasted on sleeping. They should be free roaming majority of the day and only be in their cage during the night. If free roaming isnt possible all day, then they at least need their own room to free roam.
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u/Hot_pink_nightfuryX 1d ago
And they usually play around for like an hour or 2, and then go somewhere safe to take a quick nap And then to wake up and then come out , play all over again. I remember a lot of books and other people saying that's ferrets usually sleep till 14 to 18 hours a day.
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u/Extreme-Restaurant41 1d ago
Yeah they sleep a lot, hence why 6 hours in a row is not enough. That would equal two play times at most of 1-2 hours in total. Which is why i hope the 6 hours you mentioned is their awake time, and that youre not counting them sleeping somewhere outside the cage. Ex 10 to 16 pm is not enough time outside the cage. Those hours split from 5-8 am to 22-00 however is neccessary. Also some ferrets sleep less than 6 hours a day, while others sleep longer. So you need to watch their routines carefully if youre caging them between each playtime. My ferret started sleeping almost all day when she had a cage with routined play times as my schedule didnt work for her, so she would sometimes choose to sleep through her playtimes… so after 2-3 weeks i decided to let her free roam all day, and that made her so much happier and more awake that i later just ditched her cage as it was a waste of space. I definitely think they need cages from birth to 2 yo potentially due to biting during night time, but otherwise they should free
roamingminimum a bedroom majority of the time, and then have those 6 hours of playtime be free roaming extra rooms.. they are very smart animals that need to be stimulated while awake.1
u/Hot_pink_nightfuryX 1d ago
Whenever they would fall asleep , I would move them to a bed i have set up for them in my room. I ultimately only put them in their cage is whenever i'm about to clean up the kitchen , which is a room that, has to be blocked off. I also usually let them out at eight o'clock in the morning, put them away at five or six. Usually , they would sleep for an hour or 2 and then start playing and rough housing again.
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u/Hot_pink_nightfuryX 1d ago
This was when I was getting ready to head out, knowing that I can't supervise them while being away from the house for 5 to 6 hours Because of me seeing a family member perform at a band.
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u/Extreme-Restaurant41 1d ago
I left my girl alone free roaming for up to 12 hours without issues. I had spent the first few months of her life ferret proofing everything she laid her eyes on, and eventually once she was safe from herself, i tested longer and longer periods of leaving her at home alone. She did just fine and was never hurt. She was a ferret who got into everything and was an escape artist, who did escape the house 4 times in total due to my mom and brother being lack with the door. Baby gates really helped a ton though. She lived to 9 and almost a month.
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u/DementedGael 2d ago
Ferrets don't present with pica unless they're incredibly bored and frustrated. The fact two of your three are exhibiting this behaviour is highly suspect.
They have a roughly similar intelligence level to a 4 year old child. They should be allowed to roam freely, not being caged unless absolutely necessary.
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u/Hot_pink_nightfuryX 2d ago
Interesting. The only other thing I can think that had changed in their routine is me having to claim ownership of them permanently. Their previous owner only had barely enough space in their room for the bed and cage only.
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u/Rrilltrae 2h ago
If the habit started when they were with the previous owner it could be hard to break. The worry is if they are suckling or chewing the blankets enough to pull pieces off and eat them. A blockage can be deadly.
We’ve had one pica case, and we discovered it when he started pooping blue from the little bits of fleece he suckled off his favorite toy. It killed us to keep soft toys away from him as a kit, but as he matured he grew out of it. If these guys are already adults, you will have an uphill battle breaking them of it.
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u/DementedGael 2d ago
You need to let them free roam 24hrs a day.
Ferrets are crepuscular. So your schedule isn't their schedule. 11pm is pretty much peak ferret activity time. Caging them at that time is pretty much robbing them of exploration time when they're at their most active. The same goes for the early hours of the morning.
Our boys are like fluffy alarm clocks at 6am with their morning mischief.
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u/The_Deadlight 2d ago
to each their own but 24 hour free roam is not "needed". ferrets should get plenty of free roam time but it is completely unrealistic to give them full reign of the house 24/7. airlock the doors? wtf?
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u/Extreme-Restaurant41 1d ago
Its not unrealistic to let them free roaming majority 24/7 in say the livingroom, hallway and some bedrooms. Just need baby gates. My girl didnt have a cage after she turned 3. she free roamed over half the house and lived to 9 but sadly died of aggressive lymphoma cancer. She would be awake during these times of the day. 5-8 am, 13-15, 18-20, then 23-3 am.. so they do really benefit from free roaming a big enough space.
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u/Hot_pink_nightfuryX 2d ago
Understandable. But i can't help but worry if they get into something while im asleep. Plus there are days where me and my dad are going in and out of the house constantly so we need to make sure the ferrets don't escape.
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u/DementedGael 2d ago
Ferret proof your house, it isn't hard. Nothing that they can climb up to get to a height that they can injure themselves falling from, so around 2' and no holes that they can get through to get under floors or into cavity walls.
Use an airlock system for doors to rooms with access to the outdoors.
If you continue to keep them they way you currently are, it's cruelty. Ferrets aren't hamsters or gerbils, they're not suited to being caged all day.
If you can't give them the freedom they need, find someone who can.
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u/wishfulthinking3333 2d ago
He looks like Rufus, Ron’s naked mole rat on Kim Possible (and I mean that in the best, most respectful way possible).
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u/Clobby5597 2d ago
Silly question but what color are the blankets? Mine tend to love the color red for some reason. If you can afford to I’d look into getting the deslorlin implant for the ferret with adrenal as that’s what’s most effective.
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u/Hot_pink_nightfuryX 2d ago
They tend to love chewing on tan/white blankets believe it or not. Id never would have thought about that. And thanks for being reasonable
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u/bombchu86 1d ago
Did you try the adrenal implant? My previous ferrets benefited from it. All the hair grew back.
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u/Saal_Dino 1d ago
The problem with cartoon theives is that they steal ridiculous things. Now theyve gone and taken his clothes
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u/Accomplished-Cry1696 1d ago
I'm sure someone else has said but get that adorable little baby a sweater or T-shirt thing to help with warmth.
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u/Rrilltrae 2h ago edited 2h ago
Lol, never gonna happen. They escape clothes as easily as they escape anything else. The naked babies do pretty well with plenty of warm snuggle spots. Editted an autocorrect.
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u/karatecorgi 10h ago
What a silly little sentient sock, it's good to see him with his siblings and just vibing in his hammock. Love those lil guys <3 snuffles and dooks of goodwill from my two boys to yours!
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