The "Here  Comes TROUBLE!"  Web Page.  

Me, holding my pet ferret. Her name is 'Trouble'.
  •  Several years ago I fell in love with a friendly baby ferret that I saw at a local petshop, and just had to have her. I have never owned a ferret before, but had enjoyed the ownership of gerbils, white mice, a hamster, and few domestic rats over the years. The rats lived the longest, but only a few years at most. Losing each of them to old-age was upsetting to me. Once, I even raised a 'mystery rodent', just a thumb-sized 'pinkie' when I discovered him in a washed-out nest in my father's horse barn. This helpless pinkie rodent would become a much beloved pet...


  •  I named the mystery pink "kookla", which very loosely translated is a Russian word for "clown". Or in the common vernacular useage, something more like "hand puppet".
     This could has just as easily been a barn rat, -I really had no idea it might be a squirrel. As s/he grew, I could handle the rodent as easily as a domestic mouse, -albeit, much more spirited.
     As it grew it sprouted rusty-red fur with creamy-white under-belly fur..., -it turned out to be a  red squirrel!

     I had Kookla for several years. S/he grew from a hairless pink to a magnificient red squirrel, eventually becoming elderly. Having slowly turned 'grey' in color and quite the senior, s/he quietly passed away one morning in the well-padded nesting box. I was unhappy, but had known that it was coming. I wanted something that would live longer than 'a couple of years', and knew that ferrets can live for up to 9 or 10 years. Me, suffering from 'Empty-Cage Syndrome' began considering getting a ferret, ferret myths be they true, or not!


  •  Myths you know, -that ferrets stink terribly, that they are ALL aggressive and some are downright bloodthirsty for naked ankles and toes of their owner's feet, etc. This was for the greater part, all myth and untrue. My ferret anyway, is the sweetest thing and while she has occasionally nipped my bare toes, it was always an attention-getting ploy on her part. Capable of inflicting a more serious wound, she has never done more than startle me when she nipped my feet, trying to induce me to play with her. -Just letting me know that she wants to be chased, tickled and played with.

What my ferret likes. What my ferret dislikes.

Favorite foods Favorite Treats Dislikes REALLY dislikes
 "Eight in One" ? 
brand 'Premium'®  dry ferret kibble.		  Going for walks on her leash, and of course, playtime!  Baths, and that loud hair-dryer thing!  The hot weather of summer. Ferrets do not tolerate the extremely hot days of summer easily. They prefer cooler weather, but without breezes.
 Apple pieces (raw, as well as cooked), raisins, a banana slice. Occasionally, a taste of fruited yogurt.  Being chased and played with. Most ferrets are very 'needy' for attention and play, even mine.  Loud noises like the vacuum cleaner, loud music, and strangers.  Her collar. It itches sometimes, -but that jingly-bell makes a lot of fun noise when she 'happy dances' on the floor! A collar with bell is necessary when she gets 'free roaming privledges'.
 "Ferretone" ®
A liquid mineral suppliment that keeps her fur and skin from drying in the winter months.		  Tipping over the trash-can, hiding anything shiney (e.g., -silverware, car keys, jewellery, etc.)  That hair-dryer thing! Oh yeah, -she REALLY dislikes that!
And having her nails clipped.		  Having a favorite 'jingly toy' put away so her owners can sleep!
 'Her Most Royal Nocturnalness' likes to play at night when everyone else is asleep!

Ferret-safe toys, & things to avoid.

  1.  (Safe toys, etc.) Hard plastic 'doggie toys', jingly bells (always highly prized and coveted by a ferret!), rope 'knot' toys. Highly coveted items also include shiney items like silverware, jewellery, ink pens, etc., often hoarding them in secreted locations such as under the sofa, behind the bookcase, etc.
     I occasionally put a plastic soda-pop bottle into her cage, -this gives her something to push around and she seems to enjoy the noise that it makes. And she LOVES hammocks! Pet stores often carry these made-for-ferret hammocks (we have one), and THREE more that my mother-in-law made for Trouble as well. Use as few or as many as you wish. We use all the them at the same time. At a minimum, you should allow "1.5 beds per ferret", rounding-up to the next nearest whole number. (One ferret = 2 beds. Two ferrets = 3 beds, etc...)



  2.  (Unsafe toys, items.) Soft "neoprene" type toys and/or 'latex' items like gloves, footware (shoes, boots, etc.) whereby pieces could be torn off and ingested. Wooden items with unsafe finishes (e.g., -linseed-oil treated objects, etc.) soft wood such as balsa, etc. All cleaning supplies are to be treated as being "toxic" to ferrets, etc.
     Ferrets often seem to want to chew on electric lamp cords. This could be dangerous to both the ferret and to your household! My ferret never bothered chewing electric cords, but pet stores DO have a product that you can wipe electric cords that even when it dries, leaves a 'bitter taste' to the cord, thus causing the ferret to abstain from chewing on it. I think that the product is called "Bitter Apple", but that might just be the 'flavor' and not the product's name...
Image of Trouble after her bath. -She's so soft and fluffy now!! Trouble's cage that I built using under-grating from a grocery store's discarded produce case (refridgerator shelving) Close-up view of the removable below-floor level nesting box
A view of Trouble's cage, the upper-deck is carpeted for her comfort
Image of Trouble sniffing the camera up-close all images © 2003,2004,2005 
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Other WebPages by Joel are available.

"Eight in One" ™  brand Premium ™  dry kibble ferret food available here. - 
"Ferretone" ™  liquid mineral suppliment for ferrets available here.
and in many other fine pet needs stores, and general retailers
in their "pets department". (e.g., K-Mart, Wal-Mart, etc.).
Another Web Page created by Joel A. Burdick © & last updated; April 5th, 2005
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