Ferret's Nightly Activities

[Spontaneous Smile]

Every night my ferret, Rhody, wakes and decides 'I think I'll scratch the bottom of my cage.' so he begins scratching and it wakes me up. It's loud and he won't stop for anything. I'll yell, I'll say no. On occasion putting more bedding into the cage stops him, but if he doesn't stop I have to put him in the other room.

Then he thought, 'I think I'm going to run my paws and claws over the bars in my cage!' so he started doing that. It's not as annoying as the bottom of his cage, but it's still persistant and loud.

What's he trying to do? Does he want attention? Does he need more bedding? I don't have time to get up at 3 in the morning to play with him for an hour- I have to get up and go to school at 7:30. Is there anything I can do?

[Rosemma]

To be honest Im not sure as Ive never had a ferret.
I think the best thing to do is to ask someone who has ferrets, ask the vet or maybe find somewhere online that gives advice about looking after ferrets.

My idea is that is could be many things, maybe he needs more bedding like you said, or he is hungry, thirsty, too cold, too hot, needs to do his toilet business? (I really dont know what ferrets are like).

Or like you said he wants attention. Is it possible to give him extra attention before you go to bed, make him exercise a bit then (again I dont know what ferrets are like) but that way he would be tired and maybe sleep for longer?

[Spontaneous Smile]

Well, he has plenty of food and water, we make sure before he goes to bed. And we ALWAYS play with him before we go to bed. For at least 30 minutes to an hour.

Ferrets are creatures that like to dig (I think) so maybe he wants to burrow somewhere? I'm really not sure. We're really thinking about getting him a bigger cage because he's outgrowing this one.

[Rosemma]

Well maybe getting a bigger cage might help, is it possible for you to take him somewhere to dig during the day as well? That might help to.

[Spontaneous Smile]

He usually digs around in my clothes when he's out. Of course he's restricted to my room, no where else. He really does sleep alot...just not when everyone else does. Lol

[Imagine]

Aw may i just add farrets are so cute.
Too bad there illegal in California :/

[Spontaneous Smile]

Why are they illegal in California?

[Rosemma]

Originally Posted by Spontaneous Smile

He usually digs around in my clothes when he's out. Of course he's restricted to my room, no where else. He really does sleep alot...just not when everyone else does. Lol

Like I said before because I dont know anything about them I had a quick search and read on wikipedia.

"they spend 14–18 hours a day asleep and are most active around the hours of dawn and dusk."
"They are territorial, like to burrow and prefer to sleep in an enclosed area."

Ive also heard that you can get leads for ferrets like cat leads (not dog ones) and use them to take them for walks. Maybe this could be a good idea? Even if you walk him around a garden for a while?

I have no idea about the California thing apart from this that I read:
"Ferrets are still illegal in California under Fish and Game Code Section 2118 and the California Code of Regulations."

[Nenya]

Well if he sleeps when people are awake then maybe you could try and change his sleeping habits? So in the daytime you could cover the cage up so he thinks it's night and he comes out and scratches and stuff then.

I have a hamster who likes to chew the bars and runs in her wheel really fast and someone told me to cover the cage during the day so that she thinks it's night. Too bad she bites whatever I cover the cage with lol.

[Spontaneous Smile]

Lol yeah- that's why I never covered the cage. He loves to chew, so he'd just chew the cover. He alread tore up my sleeping bag. X)

We've thought about taking him for a walk...but now there's a hawk living on my street. No joke.

[failuretosucceed]

I have a ferret and have had similar experiences, although my ferret does not sound as loud as your does. My dad once flew out of bed when my ferret was doing this in fear that someone was trying to break in !! .. Maybe he just wants to get your attention to take him out to play? Of course 3 in the morning is not a conveniant time for anyone.
Ferrets are not nocturnal..They sleep an average of 18 hours per day, but will adjust their schedule to yours and be eager to play when you are. I'm not sure how big of a cage your ferret has, but a generous cage size is about 2 X 3 feet and 2 feet high.. my ferrets cage has tunnels connected to it, this seems to keep her occupied during the day when im not home therefore burning more energy. When I get home she just romes around my room, therefore when I go to bed she seems to be pretty tired and goes right to sleep for most of the evening. Only once in a while do I hear her get up in the night and make enough noise for me to wake up
My ferret really doesn't make all that noise though, she has a very large cage so this may be something you may want to invest in for that could be the root of the problem. Ferrets have a very fast Metabolism, so they eat on average, every three hours, so keep that in mind. Perhaps he gets up to eat/ drink and then just wants to play, Also ferrets are naturally itchy creatures so maybe hes just itching.. I am just speculating, for I've never had such an extensive problem with my ferrets.. I have had ferrets for 14 years of my life.. so maybe im just used it haha!
I really hope this problem improves, and I truly believe that if your ferret doesn't have a large cage, I really think that would be a good move for that really could be the root of your problem!! Hope this helped!!

[Spontaneous Smile]

^ Thanks that really helps! But as for the eating thing- the pet store worker told us that you should only feed them once a day. We feed Rhody at night. He drinks all day long, so I try to make sure he has enough water. His cage is about 3 feet long and not even a foot long from front to back. And it's a little over a foot tall.

We really do need to invest in a bigger cage. Another question- is there anyway to keep them from kicking bedding out of their cage? I can deal with it, but I'm just looking for more convenient ways to take care of him AND my room. Lol

[EightEleven91]

Well if they play when you do, and you play just before you go to bed then it probably keeps it up longer, play around the middle of your day when you get a chance I think.
And yeah get a bigger cage, smaller cage probably higher the risk of it scratching to get out.
But I dont have ferrets, just my opinion on things xD

[failuretosucceed]

I'm not sure what design your ferrets cage is.. but on my ferrets cage the plastic part that is the bottom of her cage is quite high so it prevents the litter from being kicked outside of the cage.
As far as pet stores go, many people who work there don't truly know about the animal they are talking about.. I leave fresh food in her cage at all times and I also feed her a duck soup mixture daily which keeps a good amount of weight on her at all times. She absoutely loves the duck soup, its sold usually at petstores and online of course.. it doesnt have real duck in it which is what I first though LOL. She goes crazy for it though, whenver I take the bowl out that I put the soup in, she goes wild and waits for me to come back with it and chows it down, haha. Shes so cute I love her! I do this in case she were to get sick she would have the extra weight to help her get better.. ferrets tend to go down hill quickly when they get sick.. Hope things improve with your fuzzy! We should show pictures of both our fuzzys ! What color is yours? When I bought my ferret she was a dark panda.. she keeps getting lighter and lighter each year she sheds out her winter coat.. !

[Spontaneous Smile]

^ My sweet fuzzy is cinammon colored. He's a sweety and a lot of fun.

I've never heard of duck soup! Lol but we live in a small town, so we don't have much means of a big pet store. I go to the city every other weekend. I'll take a look at Petsmart when I go.

Also, when we feed him a lot (we did feed him all day for a while) he pooped a lot (well duh. ) and it got a little overwhelming to have to clean out. He himself in general doesn't smell very bad. In fact he sort of has a piney smell to him thanks to his bedding and the deodorizer we put in his water. But sometimes we he poops it smells really bad. X( Any tips on that?