Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,
i just found a very very friendly ferret in my backyard. I am very familar with them, and with all animals. I was just wondering if anyone had any hints to tell me. I know they chew and that they are escape artists. I have a bird cage thats a pretty decent size where he will be spending the night,i am also placing a found ad in the local paper. After my boyfriend gets home from work we are going to goto walmart and get some food and some litter ( whats a good brand/type to get?) this is probably only temporar. id like to find its owner. What are their temp requirements. if no owner claims him, i have no problem keepingn him. thanks, lacie

Ferrets are as easy as cats, they will usually eat anything including cat food, litter is a choice thing go with whatever you like but he may not be trained for litter, as for temps he'll be fine as long as its not below 50F but just incase give him a few old shirts they just love burrowing in them, and good luck they love to play rouge so dont worry about hurting it

None of the ferret foods sold at Walmart are nutionally sound for ferrets neither are 99% of cat foods. Some kitten foods are good though. Walmart's Maximum Nutrition kitten formula is quite good, I use it as part of my mix. Eukanuba kitten and Nutro Max kitten are also ok. Ferrets really should be fed a good ferret food though. Zupreem, 8in1 Ultimate (no other formula), Totally Ferret, and Mazuri are all good foods but you'll have to get them from a petstore. Marshall's ferret food is ok but it's fish based and makes ferrets and their feces smell stronger than the chicken based foods.

Pelleted litter is best for ferrets. The dust from clay litters can cause respiratory problems. Clumping litters can cause nasal blockages if the ferret likes to burrow in the litter and many of them do. In my experience, the pine pellets control odor better than the newspaper pellets.

You need to check this baby for fleas and earmites. If he/she has fleas please do not use any of the stuff sold over the counter for fleas. Get Advantage, Frontline, or Revolution. Revolution will also take care of an earmite problem and is a heartworm preventative too. You will be able to tell if he/she has earmites by cleaning the ears. If there is black, coffee ground looking stuff in them, there is a mite infestation. You can use Rev like I said or Tresaderm or Ivermectin for earmites.

Good luck finding her owner. If he/she wasn't intentionally set loose, someone is probably frantically looking for him/her.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

Ferrets tolerate cold quite well but not heat. Anything above 80 degrees is risking heatstroke. I don't know where you're at but if this ferret has been out in high temps for any amount of time it may be dehydrated. Pinch the scruff and see if it stays tented. If it does there is some dehydration. Just being given access to water may take care of it. You can also try pedialyte. If it's still showing signs of dehydration tomorrow, get a vet to give some fluids.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

q about earmites? Would it be alot fo brown stuff or just a little. He has a little brown build up, similar to what my dogs get over time. Are these ear mites. Also are they okay with small dogs. My mix and he love to stare at each other.

Brown, waxy build-up is not usually mites, that's pretty normal. However, if I had other animals in the house as you do, I'd have a vet take a look. Small dogs have historically been used to hunt out vermin such as ferrets, I'd be very careful with intros. Where are you at, if you don't mind me asking, there are lost ferrets being looked for in several areas.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

I'm in louisiana. The only probelm i've ever had with my dogs is several years ago one killed a hamster when i first brought it home. He was just trying to play with it. Since then he has learned. I've had him with gueni pigs, rabbits, gerbils and birds w/o problems. He just stares at them. He is mainly intrested in the newness of the creature. When they're in the same room and the ferret goes near him, he cowers in fear. Thanks for the help.

Small world, I'm from New Orleans. My friend that runs a shelter there may be coming to stay with me until Ivan blows over. I live in Alabama now. I'm waiting for her to call me now. I'll ask her if she's heard of any lost ferrets. The one's I know about are in CA and the Northeast.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.