Your pet ferret can be litter box trained. With patience and consistency, you can get your ferret to use a litter box and reduce mess during playtime. It is easier than you think.
Litter for ferrets
The litter box or tray should be large enough for the pet ferret, but it can be shallow. Ferrets don’t bury their feces, so you only need a thin coat. Ferrets tend to scratch in their litter, so it is best to select an odor–free, dust-free litter so as not to end up with irritated respiratory systems. They are also rubbed against the bed before exiting the litter box, so it is not convenient to use clumped or clay litter that can get stuck in the anus and be traced through the house. The best option is a pellet bed made from recycled newspaper, denatured hardwood pellets, or alfalfa pellets.
Steps to Litter Box Training Your Pet Ferret
- Place a litter box in your ferret’s cage and keep your ferret confined there.
- Check to see if your ferret is using the litter box. If the ferret is urinating or defecating elsewhere in the cage, move the box there.
- After your ferret is using the litter box reliably, you can start letting it out into a small space where it can provide another litter box. Do this only when you can observe the ferret. Such as when they’re playing games.
- When you take your ferret out of the cage to play, place it in the new litter box. During playtime, take the ferret to the litter box frequently.
- One sign that your ferret is about to urinate or defecate is that it will return to a corner. If you observe this behavior or your ferret urinating or defecating outside of the box, gently lift it up and place it in the litter box. This must be done immediately.
- Praise your ferret when they use the litter box and give them a treat. Use only positive reinforcement and never use punishment for making a mistake.
- You can expand your ferret’s allowable space once they’re consistently using the litter box outside of the cage.
As you expand your range, add more litter boxes so your ferret can easily find one when they need it.
- Place a litter box in each place where your ferret decides is their toilet. Corner boxes, small cat litter boxes, and various plastic containers can be used to find something to suit your ferret’s favorite location. If the location is undesirable, put a box there and then slowly move it over the course of a few days to a better location.
- You may have to repeat the stages if your pet ferret begins to ignore their litter boxes and has accidents in your home.
Tips
- Leave some feces in the litter box so your ferret knows that this is its purpose.
- Separate the litter box in the cage as much as possible from the sleeping area. In the early stages, you will need to provide constant and consistent supervision of your ferret when it is out of the cage.
- Trained ferrets often still have a few accidents, so don’t consider this a total failure. Just get ready to clean them.