Enrichment: Yours and Your Ferret’s

 

In This Chapter

•  Understanding enrichment and its purpose
•  Getting the scoop on a ferret’s senses
•  Developing your personal ferret enrichment program
•  Hooking up with a ferret club
•  Showing or competing with your ferret
•  Reviewing ferret symposiums and Internet communities

Caring for your ferret means much more than providing her with fresh food and water. It’s more than providing a roof over her head and cleaning up her poop, and it’s even more than taking her for regular vet trips. Care goes way beyond that, which is where many pet owners fail in their responsibilities. Whether you own a dog, cat, bird, bunny, or ferret, your job is to keep your pet’s life interesting and filled with enriching stimuli. In fact, her physical and psychological well-being depend on it!

Ferrets are as intelligent as small primates of the same body (and brain) size, which is proof that they need a lot of action-packed play and exploring time in a ferret-safe environment. Without a regular supply of stimulation, ferrets can become cage-crazy or depressed. Mentally, they can lose interest in their surroundings and their desire to explore or play. They may begin chewing on their cage bars and digging out their litter and food more frequently — basically, spending most of their time trying to find a way out of jail. Physically, they can become unfit and frequently will fall asleep on the hammock while watching reruns of old sitcoms. More importantly, the stress of having no enrichment can cause disease, such as ulcers, or make existing diseases worse.

This chapter is all about enrichment for both you and your ferret. I take the mystery out of the topic by further explaining what it is, why it’s necessary, and what it does for ferrets. I try to give you enough information on ferret enrichment activities so that you can keep your ferret on her toes and even come up with your own enrichment ideas. I also guide you through some of the clubs, events, and resources available to you as a ferret owner. Take advantage of them. Here’s to a happy and healthy life together!

Why Is Enrichment Necessary?

Like humans, ferrets possess an array of complex senses that need to be exercised on a daily basis. Imagine staring at the same wall for weeks on end. The sound of the same song playing over and over, which eventually becomes silent as you tune out the repetitiveness. Putting together the same puzzle so many times that you can do it in your sleep and you no longer enjoy the picture it creates. Your daily ration of macaroni and cheese squishing tastelessly in your mouth. You find some amusement in flinging it off your fork and watching it glob on the bare wall in front of you. The only smell filling your isolated room emanates from the toilet, which gets flushed every once in a while. Sound like torture? It is, and your ferret finds it excruciating as well. As a responsible ferret owner, your duty is to prevent your ferret from experiencing such depressing boredom. This presents quite a challenge to owners, because ferrets realize monotony in their surroundings rather quickly.

Humans tell our ferrets what and sometimes when to eat. We clean their cages and provide them with sleeping quarters. We introduce cagemates and take cagemates away. We medicate. We bathe. We groom. Humans are the ultimate ferret dictators, making most of their pets’ life decisions for them. The basic goal of environmental enrichment is to get animals to interact with their environments, using their natural skills and behaviors, and to stimulate all their senses. You want to give your ferret something to think about, give her choices, and help her feel in control. Enrichment can also provide exercise, and it definitely relieves boredom.

What Does Enrichment Do for Ferrets?

What does enrichment do for ferrets? First of all, enrichment feels good! Enrichment can mean play! And what is play if not an activity that makes us feel good? This is a simple definition for an activity that utilizes a set of highly developed and often complicated skills. Dancing, chasing, dooking, hopping aimlessly  in many directions at once . . . all are fun, and all feel wonderful! If play makes your ferret feel good, what’s wrong with that? Enriching your ferret’s life is certainly better than risking cage stress and boredom that can make her feel bad and adopt a negative outlook. But enrichment does even more than make you and your ferret feel good, as I explain the following sections.

Relieves boredom and stress

Boredom can be a major cause of stress for fuzzies. Ferrets are physically and emotionally sensitive to their surroundings. They need stimulation and enrichment to keep from getting bored. And boy, do they get bored easily!

Facilitates bonding

Although their natural tendency is to live a solitary life, ferrets are more likely than not to enjoy the company of other ferrets and humans — and even other types of pets. Through social enrichment, you can teach your ferret important social skills. Viewing each other much as they would littermates, ferrets brought together by adoption enjoy chasing each other and being chased. They rough and tumble and even steal from each other, testing their limits to the max. Sometimes, cats and dogs will partake in the ferret play as well, fostering camaraderie and trust between species.

Enrichment is extremely important when it comes to bonding with humans, too! Enrichment activities are the only true ways for your ferret to get to know you and for you to get to know your ferret. Enrichment will increase comfort levels, establish limits, build trust, and strengthen bonds. Even a timid or aggressive ferret will build up more confidence and trust through enrichment activities.

Tip

Bonding enrichments also can help parents solve the problem of how to get their children interested in ferrets. Children often persuade their parents to get a ferret but soon get bored with it, and the ferret languishes in a cage for long periods of time. Bonding enrichments can help tie a child to a ferret, which is great for all involved.

Keeps their senses alive and well

A ferret’s every sense needs to be exercised routinely and equally to keep her sharp. Ferrets have an exceptional sense of smell; you’ll frequently see your fuzzy with her nose to the ground as she sniffs out new and unusual things. Enrichment activities that call on this sense are great fun. Ferrets also benefit from games such as tag or pouncing, where they rely on their eyesight to hone in on victims. And what about touch, taste, and hearing? All very heightened senses that long to be tested. Keeping all this in mind, the possibilities for sensory enrichment are endless. (For more details on a ferret’s senses, check out the section “Understanding Your Ferret’s Senses.”)

Helps to curb negative behaviors

Every ferret behavior is based on biological, medical, or psychological factors. A bored ferret can be a problematic ferret! So when you hear the term “cage crazy,” you can assume it means just that! A few symptoms of cage craziness include

• Nipping or biting
• Gnawing on cage bars
• Fabric chewing
• Pacing

This acting out is her way of letting you know that she’s unhappy. She’s attempting to relieve some of the stress brought on by what’s lacking in her life. This ferret needs some enrichment, stat!

Keeps the flab at bay

Lack of exercise or physical play contributes to chubbiness, whether you’re talking about a human or a ferret. Physical enrichment activities burn calories and keep muscles toned and in shape. The ferret in its natural state is an extremely muscular critter, and you want to keep yours that way. Get your ferret out and exploring!

Encourages curiosity and creative problem solving

Enrichment is brain food! Enrichment not only increases the number of brain cells a ferret has, but also helps her brain recover from injury. Ferrets are both curious and adept problem-solvers. Providing enrichment will challenge your ferret by introducing new problems and encouraging the discovery of solutions.

Helps to keep bones, muscles, organs, and joints healthy

Physical enrichment improves joint and ligament performance, builds muscle, and increases strength. It also helps your ferret to build endurance when you’re chasing her to retrieve your belongings! When humans exercise regularly, they preserve bone mass and increase bone density, because bones respond to mechanical stress by adding more bone tissue. It’s likely your ferret gains benefits in this same way. Muscles and organs are exercised during physical enrichment and fed oxygen-rich blood, making them stronger and less prone to damage and infection. As they say, use them or lose them!

Improves heart health and overall circulation

Exercise and play gets a ferret’s heart beating faster, thus facilitating rapid transportation of oxygen-rich blood and nutrients to all organs and areas of the body. As your ferret exercises, she engages in deep, rhythmic breathing, which assists her lungs in developing greater capacity and allows her to take in sufficient oxygen to nourish her cells. This is called cardiovascular fitness.

Enrichment play can also increase the size of her tiny blood vessels and improve the efficiency of the blood-delivery system. Physical play not only conditions the heart and lungs to work more efficiently during play, but also helps them work more efficiently during rest.

Makes humans smile and laugh

Ferrets are the ultimate in play therapy! It’s hard not to find ferret antics worthy of giggles and smiles. All humans need to put aside time to laugh and have fun. Interacting with your ferret is a quick fix that rapidly dissipates anxiety, even if momentarily. It’s a known fact that interacting with a pet in a positive way can reduce overall stress levels and lower blood pressure. And if  that isn’t a good enough reason to play with your ferret, how about the fact that she also giggles and smiles watching silly humans play along? You and your ferret will benefit from having fun!

Understanding Your Ferret’s Senses

The pads on a ferret’s paws are extremely sensitive. His face and nose are ticklish. His whiskers dance at the slightest sensation. His taste buds long to be awakened and stimulated with new tastes. Ferrets have an acute sense of hearing. They can hear a bag of treats being opened from across the house! That’s right! Ferret senses are alive and well just like yours and mine. Understanding each sense will allow you to help your ferret live an enriching life. This section will teach you about the ferret’s five senses. Every enrichment activity you implement will involve one or more of these senses. The more senses you stimulate, the better the enrichment.

Hearing

Ferrets have hearing that’s at least comparable to a dog, meaning that it’s excellent and highly developed. Reports indicate they can even hear frequencies as low as elephants can. Ferrets hear best in the range of 8 to 12 kilohertz (kHz). You can safely assume that your ferret can hear below and above the human ability.

Smelling

A foot of mud isn’t enough to keep an innocent frog safe from a ferret, because the ferret’s sense of smell is exceptionally strong. Her nose is so sensitive that she can likely sniff out water, which helps to explain how blind ferrets have little difficulty making their way to water bottles.

Unfortunately, a ferret’s keen sense of smell can also be a disadvantage. The ferret’s sense of smell causes her extreme olfactory imprinting — when a ferret “imprints” on food items by the age of 6 months old. This means that if she hasn’t been exposed to the food by that age, she doesn’t recognize it as food. When young, a ferret’s smell cells that aren’t exposed to specific types of odor wither away and die. Afterwards, because the ferret can’t smell the food, she simply doesn’t recognize it as something good to eat. (For more on this phenomenon, see the following section.)

Tasting

Experts and ferret owners don’t know much about the ferret’s sense of taste, but because it’s closely tied to the sense of smell, they assume that ferrets also have a highly developed sense of taste. You’ll certainly find that your ferret favors some tastes over others.

Tip

Because taste and smell are so closely tied together, you should expose a young ferret to as many food items as possible while she’s young. That way, her smell cells will be more diversified and she’ll be able to recognize more items as food when she grows into adulthood. This will allow you to provide a varied, free-choice diet and will give her a healthier life through adulthood (see Chapter Filling Your Ferret’s Belly).

Seeing

A common misconception is that the ferret’s eyesight is exceptionally poor. Although the resolution (the ability to see fine detail) of a ferret’s vision isn’t as fine as a human’s, and a ferret probably only sees limited colors — living in a world of grays, for instance — ferret vision isn’t all that bad for a species that has adapted to see in the dark. Much of what’s considered bad vision is probably an adaptation to living in cages, making ferrets appear more nearsighted than they actually are.

Touching

Ferrets have evolved to live in a dark, subterranean world. Consequently, they have a large number of specialized hairs sensitive to touch found around their mouths, on their necks, and even on their forearms! These special hairs illuminate the way so they can move through dark areas with no light.

A ferret’s foot pads also are very sensitive to touch; they have small hairs that probably help the ferret find her way in the dark. The hairs may reduce sound as well, helping her evade predators and sneak up on prey.

Recommended Enrichment Activities for You and Your Fuzzy

Many activities will allow you to have safe, enriching fun with your ferret — as long as you’re fun-loving, creative, and well-prepared. In the following sections, I cover some of the enrichment possibilities for you. First, I give you pointers on setting up appropriate areas for your activities, and then I tell you about the activities themselves. The enrichment activities I present stimulate any of the ferret’s five senses: smell, vision, touch, taste, and hearing.

Tip

A ferret’s toy chest can quickly become full of all sorts of toys and miscellaneous objects. To keep it together, you can come up with a simple storage system that works for you. You can manage toys and enrichment items by storing them in size-appropriate bins or ferret-proof plastic containers. You can label the bins according to toy type, manner of enrichment (hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, or seeing), or even by weekly rotation. It also helps to keep one labeled bin aside to hold all items that need to be cleaned (for more on cleaning toys, see Chapter Cleaning Time: Not All Ferret Fun and Games).

Organizing your ferret’s play areas

A ferret’s outdoor play area is essentially an enclosed, ferret-proofed place where she can run and play — a place that’s safe from escape or predation from other animals. It should have all the following items for enrichment purposes:

• Soil for digging
• Water for splashing
• Objects for climbing
• Novel items for exploration
• Tubes for running
• Dens for hiding and sleeping

Of paramount importance is ferret-proofing. Unless you’re absolutely certain your ferret can’t escape and that a predator can’t get in, you shouldn’t leave the ferret alone when outdoors.

Remember

You must remember that ferrets are excellent diggers and can dig themselves out of most play areas. They’re also excellent climbers, so you must confine any climbing opportunities to the middle of the play area with no chance for escape. (People like using wood climbing tools, because wood is difficult to climb.) Many people will line the bottoms of their outdoor play areas with wire and cover them with dirt to prevent digging escape. Other people choose to dig out the perimeter of the play areas and bury cement cinder blocks two to three feet deep in the ground. This option certainly stops the ferret from digging out, or at least gives you time to fill in the holes after they get that deep. You can always continue putting the cinder blocks above ground and then build a structure on them. The design of the play area is your choice, but it must be escape-proof and predation-proof.

A ferret’s indoor play area is usually a room designated for the ferret. It may be just for the ferret, or it may be a common living area. It should be well ferretroofed, and preferably tiled (see Chapter Ferret - Proofing Your Home on ferret-proofing). You can bring a little of the outdoors inside by providing a dirt dig box, a small pool of water, or a box of leaves, but the cleanup is obviously a little more involved.

Movement and physical-exercise activities

This section provides a couple specific enrichment activities that require physical exertion and movement. Other activities that fall under this category include play activities, leashed walks, wrestling, and anything that causes the ferret to work her muscles.

Dirt galore

Cater to your ferret’s desire to dig by giving her a big bin of topsoil or play sand in her play area. Playtime may get messy, but it’s well worth the effort! Just look at the smile on your fuzzy’s face (behind the dirt moustache).

Tip

Hide some tiny treasures in the dirt or sand pit for extra enrichment, and let her dig away. And if your dig box is outside, consider burying some earthworms in there. If your ferret is daring, she may enjoy the worms as tasty treats.

Ferret cheerleading

Invest in some cheap, plastic, multi-colored pom-poms, which you can find in most party supply stores. (Black and white would be the best contrast!) Now you’re ready to try the following exercises:

Dance the poms above your ferret’s head and watch her dance and jump up to catch them.

Race them along the floor to get your ferret to chase them or even ride them.

Wiggle the poms in your ferret’s face and watch her go crazy!

Tip

You can lightly scent the poms with perfume or scented food oils for added enticement and enrichment. This meets visual, smelling, hearing, and touching enrichments, assuming you complete all the exercises in this activity.

Social-development activities

This section presents some enrichment activities that relate to the social needs and development of your ferret. Other common types of social enrichments include face washing, grooming, petting, feeding by hand, and cuddling. (For more on grooming routines, head to Chapter Cleaning Time: Not All Ferret Fun and Games.)

The washcloth rubdown

The washcloth rubdown is one of the most effective grooming/bonding methods, but it takes a little practice. All you need is a small, damp (not wet), warm washcloth. Starting at your ferret’s face and working your way back across her body, rub your ferret with the washcloth. Move in the direction of her fur. You may need to rinse and warm your washcloth again during the activity to keep it fresh. Don’t forget her belly, and particularly her bottom and genitals.

What you’re doing is mocking her mom’s behavior. This enrichment activity is not only a great way to bond with your ferret, but also a good way to keep her clean.

Sack ’o ferret

A great social enrichment activity is to get a bonding pouch or a sack and place your ferret inside. Carry her around while you do household chores or just sit with her and watch television or read a book. I usually have one hand in the pouch so that I can stay in contact with a ferret and play with her. Most ferret sacks and pouches have convenient straps so that you can hang them around your neck or over your shoulder.

Food-related activities

Enrichment activities that exploit the ferret’s desire to eat can include giving bits of “forbidden” foods, such as a single lick of ice cream; tastes of human food, such as a tiny piece of pot roast; or even something unfamiliar. Some examples of ferret-safe foods include meat-based baby food and the creative ferret recipes listed in Chapter Ten Common Ferret Myths and Misconceptions.

Tip

One useful food-related activity is the stink trail. Take a small piece of meat and “dab” it on the floor, making a trail to a hiding place. Be creative and make the trail zig-zag or go around the leg of a table. You can even use perfume as the scent and go up the corner of a couch. Watch your ferret follow the scent trail to the end!

Just the smell or experience of investigating food is enriching to a ferret, so even if your ferret doesn’t eat the food, it isn’t a failure of the enrichment.

Training exercises

This section presents some enrichment activities that encourage the training of your ferret to perform certain behaviors; others discourage your fuzzy from certain activities. Mostly, these activities are tricks (do’s) and trainings (don’ts) that stimulate all your ferret’s senses and help you out in the process!

Remember

Some fuzzies are cautious and anxious creatures; don’t traumatize your ferret by insisting that she learn a certain training exercise if that trick obviously bothers her. Other ferrets will learn trick after trick. They may even teach you a few while still leaving room to invent new tricks of their own. Fuzzies are individual characters with unique personalities. All are extremely intelligent, but some have less interest in learning pet tricks. Having your ferret act like a ferret should be delightful enough.

I beg your pardon?

The easiest trick to teach a ferret is to sit up and beg. The action comes naturally because ferrets often have to stand up high and peek for the things they want to pilfer. When your furball learns this trick, she may start running in front of you every chance she gets to beg for a treat, doggie-style. Teaching this trick requires that you have a favorite treat and a human hand — preferably attached to the rest of a human body:

1. Sit on the floor with a treat in your hand or Linatone on your finger.

2. Reach straight away from your body and let your ferret sniff the treat so she knows that it’s there.

You can even give her a tiny taste.

3. Slowly raise your hand until she has to raise herself to reach the treat.

Don’t let her rest her front paws on your lap or grab your hand. If she does, gently nudge her away or move farther from her and start over. The idea is to get her to do the trick without cheating.

4. While she reaches up to get it, use the command you want to stick with, such as “Up,” “Beg,” or “Sit up.”

Choose a simple word or phrase and be consistent with it.

When your ferret begins to associate the verbal command with the treat, start using only the hand motion to prompt the action. Note: Deaf ferrets can’t read lips, but they can read body language and beg for treats just as frequently.

Scooter, I think your human is calling

Many people have taught their ferrets to come a-runnin’ when they call their names. Teaching this trick is almost the same as conditioning ferrets to respond to a squeaky toy or another noise with a treat in mind. However, many people proclaim that each of their ferrets knows her name separately from the others and that some even recognize the names of their cagemates.

You have a few ways to teach your fuzzy her name and have her respond to it. Repetition and reward play the biggest roles. Here’s one method that works well:

1. During playtime, grab a treat and then call your ferret’s name.

If she doesn’t even notice that a noise came out of your mouth, make visual contact with her and call her name again.

2. Crouch down and let her know that you have something good to show her, all while calling her name.

3. If she appears interested and comes toward you, reward the action with a small taste of the treat.

4. Move farther away and call her name again, repeating the process several times; soon, she should figure out that her name really means a treat.

Tip

Treats are great motivators and help while you train your ferret. However, an unfit fuzzy won’t come running when you call her name because she’ll be a slug from all the yummy treats. Use verbal praise and lavish petting as alternate rewards for desired behavior. Doing so will keep your ferret healthier, and she may enjoy the surprise of the reward. You can also call your ferret’s name and squeak her favorite toy at the same time. This combination usually gets a furball’s attention, and she’ll come running to investigate. Keep calling her name and using the toy as added motivation. After she masters the trick, use the squeaky toy less and less until you cut it out completely.

You can make the trick tougher by hiding from your ferret and then calling her. Ferrets are extremely intelligent creatures. If your ferret knows a positive reward is at the end of the voice rainbow, she’ll listen for her name and come bouncing eagerly to greet you.

Jumping through hoops

Having your ferret jump through hoops is a relatively easy trick to teach. All you need is a small plastic hoop (or something similar) that measures about 1 foot in diameter. Here’s one teaching method that works:

1. Hold the hoop upright on the floor between you and your fuzzy.

2. Show her a treat to entice her through the hoop; when she starts walking through to get the treat, say “Jump” and then reward her when she passes through.

At this point, she has no clue what the heck you’re talking about. She thinks you’re nuts and just wants the treat. In time, though, she’ll make the connection between the hoop, the command, and the treat.

3. Gradually raise the hoop and try to entice her to jump through on command, using the treat during the early stages.

Tip

You can get a ferret to jump through the hoop in several ways. Some ferrets will just jump through as you raise the hoop and say the command. Others will go under or around the hoop. If you have a difficult ferret, sit in a corner or narrow passageway to make it necessary for her to pass through the hoop. Always hold the treat up high so she has to look up and over the hoop rim to get to it. And don’t forget to say “Jump” when the ferret passes through the hoop.

After your ferret masters walking through the hoop and learning the “Jump” command, you can try to place her on a slightly raised platform, like a pet carrier, and place the hoop in front of it off the ground. Raise the treat up high and say “Jump” as she hops through. This can help get your fuzzy airborne faster.

Several creative methods can teach this trick to your ferret. Tossing your ferret through the hoop and hollering “Jump,” however, isn’t a good way. Be gentle and creative, and pour on the praise for a job well done.

Roll over, Beethoven

A treat (such as a piece of cereal or piece of meat) can work wonders with teaching your ferret to roll over on command. Some fuzzies don’t like to be placed on their backs and rolled over, so your ferret may give you a hard time at first. Not to worry; as usual, I know several ways to teach your fuzzy that have been successful in the past! Following is one method that works well:

1. Hold a treat in your hand and allow your fuzzy to lick it.

The treat will distract her while you gently roll her over.

2. While still holding the treat, move it in a circular motion over your ferret’s head while you roll her over.

Many times at this point, a ferret’s head will roll and her body will naturally follow as she tries to keep up with the treat.

3. As she’s rolling over — either on her own or with your gentle help — say “Over” or “Roll over.”

Be consistent with the term you use.

In the beginning, you may have to roll over a stubborn fuzzy 100 percent of the way. Eventually, you can taper off to a three-quarter push, to a half push, to a slight nudge. Your fuzzy should need only the motivation of a treat and the command by the time she has learned what you want her to do. When she associates rolling over with treats and affection, you may find her running in front of you and rolling over to get attention, be picked up, or get a treat. It’s quite amusing.

Tip

Using the circular hand motion is great for teaching deaf carpet sharks that can’t hear commands. They simply roll over as you give them the hand signal.

Diving for treasures

The diving for treasures trick is pretty cool and fun to watch, but to pull it off you need a ferret that’s comfortable with water and likes to snorkel around otter-style. Here’s how you teach your ferret to dive for treasure:

1. Find a treat that sinks and is easy to spot underwater.

A small piece of meat or a 1/2 of a blueberry is perfect for this trick.

2. Get a large, empty litter box or something similar and fill it with water.

3. Place the treat in your open palm and rest your hand on the water’s surface. Allow your ferret to grab the treat.

4. Repeat Step 3, but this time lower your hand just enough to soak the treat. Again, let your ferret grab it.

5. As your fuzzy gets used to this trick, lower your hand more and more until your ferret is (voluntarily) submerging her head in the water to get the treat.

6. When your fuzzy snorkeler becomes a pro at bobbing for goodies, toss the treat into the tub and watch her dive in.

 Tip

If she doesn’t dive on in, bring the treat up from the deep and show it to her in the palm of your hand. As she sticks her head in to get it, drop the treat to the bottom again. She should go directly to it and snarf it up.

Using novel objects in activities

A novel object is one that the ferret is unfamiliar with. Ferrets love unfamiliar objects and always seem to favor them over anything else. New smells are the most important characteristic, but ferrets also enjoy new textures, shapes, graphic designs, tastes, and locations. An empty box is a great starting point, for example. The box itself can be novel for a day; turning it upside down makes it novel once again. Cut a hole in the side to make it novel after your ferret loses interest. Filling it with cut grass increases the novelty greatly. You get the idea. The following sections present a couple more enrichment activities that feature novel objects.

Tip

The nice thing about novel objects is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on them or get fancy with them. Ferrets don’t care. Be creative with simple, safe household objects. The aforementioned box works well. A bin filled with crumpled newspaper (the hearing/touching senses) or an old boot (smelling) is a novel object that costs next to nothing.

Crinkle tub

Fill a bin with crinkled balls of newspaper and place your ferret inside. You’ll be tickled pink watching her bounce around and play in reaction to the crinkling sounds the paper makes. The more noise she can create, the more she’ll dance. The paper also will feel new to her.

Checkerboard wall

Give your ferret something new and exciting to look at by creating a black and white checkerboard pattern for her cage or play area. You can use Plexiglas or wood for the wall. You can paint the checkerboard with non-toxic paint, or you can use tile or contact paper. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Fasten or hang the board securely on the wall, low enough for the ferret to enjoy. You can even hang some toys from it. The idea is to give your ferret something sharply contrasting to look at (black and white works well).

Finding Your Own Enrichment at Ferret Clubs

Joining a ferret club is a great way to meet other ferret owners who share your love for ferrets. By staying in touch with ferret people, you can stay up to date with health issues and current events. You may even develop friendships that will last a lifetime! What could be better enrichment for you than that?

Ferret clubs exist all over the world, so you should be able to find one relatively close to home. Many clubs are associated with ferret shelters; others operate independently of shelters simply out of a love for ferrets. Many ferret clubs sponsor holiday parties with contests and games. Some even host ferret shows or fundraisers for ferret-related causes (see the following section for more on ferret shows).

Every dedicated ferret owner should consider joining a ferret club. For more information on joining a club in your area, check out the following resources:

www.ferretcentral.org/orgs.html

www.ferret.org/links/shelters.shtm

Participating in Regional Shows, Club Shows, and Competitions

Life with a ferret doesn’t have to end at home! A whole ferret culture is out there, waiting to be explored. Many people view ferret ownership as a livelihood like no other. Some owners live and breathe ferrets, scheduling their activities around playtime and feedings. But when, you may wonder, do these owners get out to play? I’m glad you asked!

People love to show off their fuzzies, whether the pets are bare-furred or dressed up in silly costumes. Ferret shows and fun matches are held all over, and some are downright serious business. You can find out about ferret shows by doing Internet searches or checking with the American Ferret Association, which keeps an up-to-date listing of the major shows in the United States. You can receive contact information for all shows and get complete show packets with details on entering your ferret in classes and fun matches. The following sections break down your show options and cover fun matches and Ferret Symposiums.

So, you want to show your fuzzy?

Remember

The bottom line is this: Attending ferret shows, even as a spectator, is a great way to meet other fuzzy devotees and compare notes. You can swap stupid and silly stories, most of which are related to the bodily functions of ferrets. You can also learn about new medical treatments, get tips on overcoming behavioral problems, and find out the best ways to ferret-proof. Also, many vendors set up booths and sell ferret-related items at shows, ranging from food and ferret costumes to jewelry and other novelty items.

Of course, serious competition also exists. Rules, regulations, and standards vary from organization to organization. If you decide to show your ferret, know that she may be competing against generations of champions bred for show by private breeders.

Depending on the type of show and which organization is sponsoring it — such as The American Ferret Association (www.ferret.org) — you may have many entry classes to choose from (which I explain in the next section). And, depending on the show, points may be awarded to winners, just like with dog shows. To reach a certain level or tier in the show circuit, your ferret must obtain a certain number of points.

Naturally, looks aren’t all that matter. Personality is a plus. Although points are awarded for clean ears, clean teeth, and a nice manicure, the most gorgeous, well-groomed ferret won’t take home a ribbon if she bites the judge on the nose!

Preparing to bring home the blue ribbon

If you’re set on showing your ferret, you need to consider several things. First up, what class will you enter?

• Specialty classes are for ferrets to be judged on color standards (see Chapter Understanding What Ferrets Are (And Aren’t) for a list of ferret colors). Some shows have extra specialty classes for shelter ferrets, geriatric ferrets, and handicapped ferrets.
• Championship classes can be broken out by age, gender, and whether a ferret has been altered. Judges consider mainly body proportion, coat quality, and temperament. Champions may accrue points, making their babies more valuable in the future.

Remember

The most important part of showing your ferret is making sure she’s up on her maintenance and manners, which includes the following (see Chapter Cleaning Time: Not All Ferret Fun and Games for grooming tips):

• Temperament: Your ferret should be well-socialized and easily handled. A biting ferret or a ferret that’s overly nervous around strangers should be left at home, because a bite will almost always mean disqualification (see Chapter Putting Your Ferret through Basic Training: Easy as 1-2-3?).
• Nails: You should trim your ferret’s nails on a regular basis to keep the quick from growing too long with the nail. Preferably, you should clip your fuzzy’s nails a couple days before the show so that they can smooth out, but don’t clip them all the way down to the quick. Judges hate that. If you must clip them on the day of the show, make sure to use a nail file to round off the nails.
• Ears: You can clean her ears the night before or the day of the show, but be sure not to discolor the fur in and around the ears. There should be no noticeable earwax.
• Teeth: Dirty teeth will cost you points or a ribbon. Having gingivitis or red, inflamed gums also is a definite no-win situation! You should brush your ferret’s teeth on a daily basis and take her to the vet for regular cleanings. A good brushing on the day of the show is warranted, but avoid scaling or scraping; you don’t want to present a ferret with bleeding gums.

And have a toothbrush on hand to get food out of her teeth at the last minute!

• Coat: Unless the show is during shedding season or your ferret has adrenal gland disease, her coat should be soft and luxurious. Over-bathing may leave her skin dry and flaky. A poor diet also will leave her coat in bad condition. You can bathe your ferret the night before or the day of the show, using a ferret shampoo or baby shampoo, as long as you haven’t bathed her too recently. A teeny, weeny dab of Vaseline between the toes is great for dry skin, as well.

After you have a class and your ferret is ready to present, you need to get ready for the show. You need to remember to bring many things along on the trip. The following list runs through your supplies:

• Your show packet and confirmation
• Proof of up-to-date vaccinations — canine distemper and rabies vaccinations, specifically

Many shows also require proof that your ferret has tested negative for ADV (Aleutian’s Disease). (For more on vaccinations and diseases, check out the chapters in Part IV.)

• A large cage, carrier, and/or playpen for her to be able to move about
• Extra food, water bowl, bottles of water, Linatone
• Camera
• Small litter box and litter, scooper, paper towels
• Bedding and hammock
• Plastic bags, wet wipes, two to three bath towels, sanitary wipes
• Leash and harness
• A grooming kit (including nail clippers, nail file, Q-tips, cotton balls, ear wash, tooth brush, hair brush, tissues, Vaseline, and coat-conditioner spray)
• Extra money for shopping (the vendors are awesome!)
• Your ferret!

Fun matches

Fun matches are a great way to have fun with ferrets and their nutty humans. Fun matches are light-hearted competitions held during shows and can often be entered the day of a show. A little non-beauty related competition is good for the soul. Fun match contests have nothing to do with how beautiful and well-behaved your ferret is. They have everything to do with creativity, personality, and skill. Sometimes, it’s just fuzzy luck that wins out.

Fun match contests often include the following:

• The yawning contest: How many times can your ferret yawn in a set amount of time? The yawningest ferret wins.

The first ferret competition I ever entered was a yawning contest, and my Cookie took the prize. She yawned 7 times in 60 seconds. I was so proud! Back then, you could scruff your ferret, which helped the yawns come on. Most contests now rely on natural yawns. I could win that contest, but none of my current ferrets could.

• Tube racing: The first ferret out the other side of her tube wins.

Sometimes, you can use squeaky toys or stick your face through the exit hole to encourage your ferret through. I think my Nikki once curled up and went to sleep in a tube during a contest. We had to lift the tube and slide her out. Can’t win ’em all!

• The great paper bag escape: Each ferret is placed into a large paper bag. The top of the bag is neatly folded down. The first ferret to escape wins the contest.
• Silly pet tricks: People come up with all sorts of silly ferret tricks, from rolling over to jumping through hoops. Ferrets perform their tricks in front of an audience and the audience favorite (judged by clapping) wins.
• The costume contest: Ferrets are dressed up in unique and often adorable costumes, from chefs and doctors to geisha girls and ballerinas. Also judged by the audience’s clapping.

Annual Ferret Symposiums

In the fall of 2000, the very first Ferret Symposium was held in Toronto. Thanks to Randy Belair, president of the Ferret Aid Society in Toronto, the Ferret Symposium offered the North American ferret community its first ever chance to participate in an all-ferret educational weekend. Speakers included well-known ferret veterinarians, shelter workers, and ferret-knowledgeable individuals. Vendors kept shoppers busy, and the entertainment on hand encouraged people to gather and get to know each other. Randy’s brainchild paved the way for other wonderful Ferret Symposiums that have since come and gone, and more are in the planning stages. Cities such as Las Vegas, St. Louis, Portland, and Atlanta have come to know the dedication and spirit of ferret owners.

Every dedicated ferret owner should consider attending a Ferret Symposium to learn about the latest health-care issues and medical treatments, as well as husbandry issues and other ferret-related topics. The speakers are phenomenal; the camaraderie is unbeatable; and the weekend is unforgettable. To learn more about upcoming Ferret Symposiums, visit The International Ferret Congress Web site at www.ferretcongress.org.

Internet Clubs and Lists

The Internet is home to a wealth of ferret information. Some of the information is outstanding. Some is okay. Some isn’t so great. Weeding through the good, the bad, and the ugly can be difficult, and I’m no expert when it comes to surfing the Web. It can be a scary place, so be careful and choosy about what you want to believe.

Well-recognized Internet clubs and lists are great places to start when it comes to gathering online information about ferrets. Patiently observe what goes on there so you can quickly learn who’s been around the block and who the respected authorities are. I mention two wonderful lists in the following sections that should get you off to a great start.

Ferret Mailing List (FML)

The Ferret Mailing List (FML) has been proudly running since 1987! It’s a fantastic forum dedicated to the domestic or pet ferret. Any ferret-related topic is welcome, and anyone can join. Its 3,000+ member list includes pet owners, veterinarians, breeders, shelter managers, ferret-owner wannabes, and, of course, me! Moderated by superhuman Bill Gruber (also known as BIG) to keep posts on-topic and clean, the list is distributed in a digest-style format every morning and great information is posted daily. Currently, 15 years of archives are available by user-friendly searches.

To subscribe to the Ferret Mailing List, please e-mail ferret-l-request@listserv.ferretmailinglist.org. Include your name and the word “subscribe,” or a note asking to subscribe.

Ferret Health List (FHL)

The Ferret Health List (FHL) is a phenomenal list founded by Christopher Bennett, a special person who thought it would be a great idea to have one place to gather to talk ferret health. His idea took off, and FHL’s membership is steadily increasing. Today, his legacy is carried on by some other special people. Moderated by veterinarians and ferret-health-knowledgeable people, FHL’s topics are limited to ferret health issues. Anyone can join the list, and posts are addressed frequently by vets or other people well-known in the ferret community.

To join this list, go to pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth. You must be signed up with Yahoo!, which is free.

by Kim Schilling