In my journey of animal nurturing I've learned many methods of how to care for them naturally. This post will contain some tidbits of information that may be used to potentially extend and or improve the quality of your ferrets' lives. I'm well aware I'm no ferret expert. I haven't had the joy of having these wonderful creatures in my life for very long, but each day has been spent researching and learning new ways to care for them since meeting my Pazu. One thing for sure is the conflicting views in nearly every aspect of animal nurtureship (I'm making this a real word. I cringe at the word "ownership"). So it's totally okay if you disagree with any of the points I make in this post. Follow your inner intuition. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. And research. Research. Research. The natural way of living has always piqued my interest and aligned most with what I believe in. No- I'm not saying I want to live in the woods stark naked and eat forest berries and herbs. There are many steps the average human can take to be more "natural." For me personally, that's minimizing processed foods, using less chemicals in the home, spending more time outside, etc. Sure I'm not perfect, many days I do spend working behind a computer screen instead of being glued to a book but to me, the little steps are what matters most. For our pets, I do believe we have a responsibility to try and adhere to some of Mother Nature's rules. No- not letting our ferrets run free out in the yard from dusk till dawn, or not providing vet care. Many people view holistic practices and natural care like we want to be totally hands off with our animals...that's not the case, at least not for me! Ferrets can't speak. They can't consent to anything we do for them. The best possible way we can ensure happiness and longevity in our ferrets is to provide them with a natural and fulfilling lifestyle. It just makes sense. 1. Toss the cage Okay, you don't actually have to toss the cage. But, consider keeping one only for emergencies. Many people fall into the habit of caging their ferrets when they go to work or school, or at nighttime. Sometimes both. I know this might sound crazy; ferrets are not caged animals! They do not belong in the cage, at any period of time. Sure, we may do so for our convenience but it does not benefit the ferrets in the slightest. Many claim it "keeps them safe." There are still many dangers and risks associated with keeping ferrets in a cage. Cages ≠ safe. Risks of keeping ferrets caged:
Allowing your ferrets access to a bedroom for 4-8 hours daily is not enough. Imagine being confined to only a room! It's not ethical. Ferrets are inquisitive, intelligent animals. They may sleep a lot, but it's absolutely crucial they get the stimulation they need in a ferret safe space. Cats sleep a lot, yet we allow them free access to our homes! If you have other animals in the home that may not get along with the ferrets, you chose to add them to your family! You have a responsibility to provide outstanding care to all of your animals. Not just the ones that were there first. Make it work. When I lived with my parents, the house was rarely safe for ferret free roaming. I made it work by allowing them to live cage free in my bedroom, with multiple hours a day outside of the room in a large hallway and two other bedrooms to explore. On top of that, I allowed supervised access to the first floor daily. It was a lot of work with 3 cats, 1 large dog and a small child, but I made it work. The ideal situation in my opinion, is to allow significant access to the home all day, and use a single room as the "cage." This way, if you ever run into an emergency and need to get home and get the ferrets out / in the night you need to evacuate, you know where they are located. Plus, you get to have your cute furry friends follow you around, sleep beside you on the couch, watch you cook, etc. I will never go back to caging them! 2. Feed them well You owe it to your ferrets to provide them the best possible diet. To determine what a domesticated animal requires, look at their closest wild relative. Ferrets are near identical to the European polecat. Their diet varies depending on their location and season, but most will dine on a variety of rabbit, rodents, amphibians, and sometimes birds and fish. Modern day pet parents stray very far from natural diets, and instead choose to feed processed garbage. Even though all human doctors and nutritionists advise us to eliminate processed foods and increase our whole foods intake. It doesn't make any sense...we can't claim to love our animals while we actively feed disease and GI distress in their bodies. A thoughtful, meat-based raw diet is the best thing you can do for your ferrets. If you can't feed raw, check out this video. 3. Avoid overvaccination Many chronic diseases can be traced back to vaccines/ overvaccination (ref). There's risks if you vaccinate, and if you don't. Please make your decision carefully, with the help of online resources and your veterinarian. I have an unbias video on the subject here. That being said, I'm very anti-overvaccination. Unfortunately, most conventional veterinarians do choose to follow state laws (can't exactly blame them for it!) which generally require yearly vaccination of rabies and / or distemper for ferrets. Along with that, many veterinarians will not warn pet parents on the dangers of vaccines, and the heightened risk of vaccine reactions in ferrets. We know that a single vaccine will cover many animals for their entire lives yet many state laws require yearly re-vaccination. I urge you to look into titer testing. Although, finding a veterinarian that offers titer testing for ferrets is difficult so many pet parents elect to not re-vaccinate. If you do that, I recommend you don't let strangers handle your ferrets. Some ferret parents don't vaccinate at all and there are many veterinarians that will respect that decision. Follow the same rule above, and keep an eye out for any confirmed rabies and distemper cases in your state. I also suggest keeping shoes out of reach, and not allowing your ferrets to play in heavily populated spaces such as pet stores and festivals. 4. Eliminate chemicals in the home This step is so easy! There are many ways you can eliminate/minimize your chemical use.
5. Quality playtime is important Encourage natural behaviors by providing your ferrets with daily stimulation:
If you have any other tips for natural ferret care, please leave a comment!
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