Baby Ferret Care

What Does Your Baby Ferret Need?

Baby Ferrets, like most mammals, need a lot of care. Baby ferrets are able to leave their mothers at 6 weeks of age, but in place they need to get the proper attention and care from us in order to ensure a long happy healthy life. Knowledge on how to care for baby ferrets should be acquired before the ferrets are born. The female ferret, also known as a jill, should not be handled while she is giving birth. Handling a birthing female ferret is dangerous to her young, and she may become hostile, placing you at risk.

De-Scented and Neutered

Ferrets typically have a litter made up of about seven or eight babies, also known as kits. The kits are born blind and are practically hairless with a pink complexion. They spend the first part of their lives eating, sleeping, and growing. It only takes about twenty days for the kits’ color to darken and soon after their eyes begin to open. Finally reaching six weeks of age they are able to leave their mothers. By seven weeks of age your baby ferret should get their first series of vaccinations, and consider having them de-scented and fixed.  

Baby Ferret Diet and Weaning

A kit must be weaned off their old diet. So when you obtain your new baby ferret, you should ask the breeder which brand of food they have been eating before you consider switching. If you decide to use the same brand food you should soak the food in warm water for five or ten minutes before offering it to the baby ferret. If you are switching the ferret food, you must purchase the old brand and gradually introduce the new food to their diet. At one point in time ferrets used to eat cat food but now there is high-quality ferret food available. Ferrets, especially during infancy, need a higher quality of protein in their diet, which cat food does not offer. Which every food you choose, you should make sure that it contains at least 35% protein and 20% fat.  Balanced fats like poultry fat is a better blend of essential fatty acids is better for baby ferrets. Baby ferrets should have water at all times and it should be changed once a day. 

Baby Ferret Cages

Your baby ferret should be housed in a large clean ferret specific cage so that they are comfortable, safe and have plenty of room to move about. A ferret cage provides ample room for safe play, being they are very active. Avoid metal bottom cages they corrode easily, and if you purchase plastic coated wire make sure your baby ferret is not chewing on it. Baby ferrets need places to hide. They like soft padding to burrow and sleep in. Bedding should be checked to make sure they are not eating it, as this will cause a block in their intestinal track.  This is repeated over and over as it can become life threatening.

Attention and Love 

Baby ferrets require lots of attention and love; they are very active and need to be properly cared when they are babies in order for them to live a safe and long life.