Introducing your new fuzzy into a home with established pets
Ferrets are usually compatible with dogs and cats, but not with birds or rodents. Although ferrets may enjoy playing with cats and dogs, the cats and dogs may not enjoy playing with the ferrets. Also, large dogs can injure a ferret during play. When introducing your ferret to a different pet (or another ferret), take care and do it slowly. Put their cages near each other first to get them used to each other’s smell. Then, introduce them while being held, and lastly, allow supervised play. Ferrets need to establish a pecking order in the house, so dominance fighting is normal. Too much aggression, though, should be stopped. It may help to introduce them in someone else’s house (a neutral zone). Your ferret should make friends within a couple weeks, but it can take longer, so be patient.

Play time
Ferrets love nothing more than playing and exploring, so make sure you plan on letting your ferret out of its cage for a minimum of 2-4 hours a day in 2-hour increments and interacting with it as much as possible during this time. This is vital to the health and well-being of your ferret and strengthens the human-ferret bond.

During play time, you may notice your ferret arching its back, jumping and hopping into the air with its mouth open and swinging its head back and forth. Is it sick? NO! You’ve just been treated to the “weasel war dance,” which is ferret for “let’s play!” Ferrets love to play games like tug-of-war, chase (being both the chaser and chas-ee), and hide and seek. Ferrets also love toys. It’s a good idea to have a supply of safe, ferret-proof toys on hand. Some of these include jingle balls (plastic or fabric covered balls that have a bell inside), stuffed toys that have no small parts a ferret could chew off and ingest, cut off jean legs for them to crawl through, and tubes and tunnels (these items should be a minimum of approximately 4” in diameter).

Another great toy, since ferrets love to dig, is a rice box. Take a plastic storage bin (one that is low to the ground), cut a hole in the lid (make sure it’s smooth with no jagged edges that could hurt your fuzzy) and fill it with bulk rice (not instant rice) that you can purchase at a grocery or warehouse store. Securely fasten the lid and watch the fun!

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