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Honestly this is kina hard and may differ between ferrets and their personalities but i will give you a rough break down.
I have two girls Max and Lola use to only be just Max but not a whole lot really changed with adding a second other than the amount of poop.
When i wake up in the morning on work days i let them out to run around and play with each other while i clean their bathrom tray and get their food and watet ready for the day. Then i give them some attention, love and treats. This whole proccess about an hour then i put them back in their cage for the day with their food water and clean potty area.
While i am at work they are in their cage mostly sleeping all day until i get home. Once i do get home i let them out to play. I check their food and bathroom and add or clean if needed. I play with them as i am doing things around my apartment. About an hour after i get home Max goes off to find a nap spot , she is 3.5 years old. Lola stays up for about another hour she is only about 8 months old so a lot more energy. I play with her as i am doing my things i need to get done.
Then about an hour before i go to bed if they are still napping i accually wake them up....yea i am mean lol but i want to have them get some energy out before being put in their cage for the night. For bed time i just make sure their potty tray is clean and that they have food and water for the night. Then it is bed time and i rinse and repeat the next day
Weekend or days off are relatively the same just with lots more out of cage time.
I tried to fit as much as i could with out writing a novel here if you have any specific questions youncan message me and i can try to help if I can
I have taken them outside before but not that often. I do want to do it a little more than before. There is just a part of me that is super nervous that they will get away. Last year before i had Lola i did take Max to the beach and let her play in the sand.
I do feel that they expell enough of their energy playing and wrestling when they are out which is when ever i am home.
Love ferrets but have never recommended them to everyone who asked. Here's why: Every time it's a first pet. An exotic pet should not be a first pet. No other reason.
My opinion. They are incredibly fun to play with so plan to spend several hours a day on the floor with them.
Poop cleaned everyday, takes up 2-5 minutes.
Food & water should always be available.
Decide on free roam or how much time they will spend outside their cage. My fuzzlings have free roam but that requires ferret-proofing your entire place, including crevasses like behind stove, fridge, everything. Big deal.
About 4 hours a day but split between me and my partner. 1 hour or so cleaning in morning but big group, 30mins afternoon. Rest generally mooching with them.
But if one is ill, then it is 10-20mins every 2 hours.
I can't really give an hourly estimate because normally they're not confined and have the main living area to run around in from about 8am to 11pm. We had one pass away recently though so for the past few weeks they've been free 24 hours in our master bedroom and since I'm SAH we play throughout the day.
This morning I spent like 20 minutes getting their mash ready, then I woke everyone up to eat. I cuddled everyone for a bit before they all went back to bed for a few hours. When they got up we played for about an hour, clipped nails, cleaned boxes and for now they're just running around and getting into stuff.
Later on I'll spend another 20 minutes getting their dinner mash together, wake everyone up to eat and then we'll play for a bit before they run off and do their own thing again. I'll fill their kibble and give them fresh water at some point and everyone gets pets and cuddles as they make an appearance throughout the day.
I have four sisters. They're real poop machines but they're smol.
3 min twice a day to remove the poop from the litter box
2 min to clean the little "accidents" (every day)
45 minutes to clean the cage fully, which I don't do that often because I usually clean a little everyday, so about 5 minutes a day instead.
the feeding is just a kibble mix I prepare in advance, some chicken and treats once in a while which is part of the play sessions. It takes 5 min to open the bags and mix them in a different container. Once every three weeks or so.
I change the water every day, it's like 2 more minutes
I'm supposed to play with them for two hours a day, but it's more like thirty minutes in the morning and one hour in the evening, or until they all fall asleep in my bed.
We let them out of the cage around 8 am most days and put them in my office, or now the ferret room lol. They have that room all day with their kibble and water. Most of the day they sleep but around 8 pm I will wake them up and play with them for an hour or two. We have 7 fur babies now so they keep themselves very occupied playing and running around when they are awake. I sit on the floor with them at night and they come to me when they want attention. Of course my oldest girl Kiki and her little buddy Coco like to be picked up constantly so they are the neediest but most of their motive is using my height advantage to try to get on the desk or near the aquarium in the room 😝. Silly little happy babies they are.
I no longer have ferrets, but when I did the general rule of thumb was let them out if I was home. So most weekdays I'd get home from work and let them out up until it was time to go to bed. Weekends were basically the same but obviously life happens and sometimes they'd go back for some time while chores needed to be done.
As for cleanup and what not: every day after letting them out I would clean their litter box (this is important to do this daily) which took only a few minutes to do (5 minutes max). When I say clean I was only emptying the poop and soiled litter and left untouched litter. I also once a week (Sundays for me) would completely clean the litter box (completely emptying the litter box and wiping it completely clean). I also refilled their food and replaced their water every day on their first outing of the day, which again only takes a minute or so. The biggest cleaning is going to be the days you clean the cage itself. You should once a week (again Sundays for me along with the litter box) clean the cage (wiping floors, cleaning up kibble crumbs, etc. This can take time but doing it every week will make it take less time as it will only be a weeks worth of cleaning to do. So maybe 20 minutes for cleaning a cage once a week.
As for playing, I always played heavy when first letting them out as that's when they are most energetic. Most playing was taking their toys from their stashes and putting them in central location. They loved I'd bring them into a pile in the living room to come out, grab a toy and stash it in one their spots. They eventually pass out somewhere and then it becomes sporadic playing whenever they decide to wake up.
i work 6:30am- 3:00 so when i get home he’s out of the cage until the next morning before i leave for work again. so he’s only in his cage for 8 hours on the weekdays on the weekends he is out all day i put wee wee pads down where he usually goes to use the BR and change them out when he uses it.
he knows how to entertain himself with all his toys i got for him. i play with him here and there and my little sister also plays with him for about an hour. i also made him a rice bin he loves it!
feeding is morning afternoon and night which is like 3 mins of time. he gets kibble along with freeze dried food so all i have to do it add water and mix!
cleaning is alittle more difficult for me. in the morning i through out the wee wee pads that he used and replace with fresh ones that’s about 5 mins .
while im at work he’s in his cage so when i get home i have to replace the pads in there and i make sure to wipe his cage down that’s about 10-15min.
i also spot clean when he’s out so if he poops or pees on the pads i don’t just let it sit there.
at night i make sure everything is replaced with fresh pads and cleaned.
on the weekends i deep clean is cage disinfect and make sure there’s no poop or pee dried up that i might’ve missed
I spend about 30 minutes per day cleaning the cage/litterbox/play area & topping up food/water etc. I spend another 3-6 hours in addition to that participating in and monitoring play time. I have two ferrets. If I had one, I would need to spend even more time actively playing with the single ferret (when you have two, they play together).
Okay, ya'll are making me feel like we're slacking here, but.... Our 5 babies are only up for about a day! They are caged, but when we let them out, they play for about 15 minutes, then find places to hide and sleep! They are all 5 older ferrets (5-8 years old), so I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not. Cleaning their cages and feeding them daily takes 5-10 minutes. We do a deep clean of the cages every 4 weeks.
I would say age make a bit of a difference myboldest Max is about 3.5 and the baby Lola is only. About 8 months. Max will come out play eat and is the first of the two to go find a napping spot.
I spend about 4-5 hours with her. It’s a mix between my wife and I playing with her but when she’s done she’ll go to her spot and sleep but once she’s ready to go again she’ll let us know and won’t stop until we play
If you’re able to safely make your entire living space ferret proof, caring for your ferret is honestly like caring for a cat plus a naughty toddler who visits unannounced for an hour or so each day. Once my ferret was fully grown (too big to get under the oven or to get stuck in other small spaces, no longer chewing things he shouldn’t, etc.) he slowly transitioned to using pee pads and cat litter outside of his cage, with more and more time out of the cage each day, eventually getting to the point where he no longer used the pee pad in his cage, only went in there to eat and sometimes sleep, and I decided to take one of the doors off his cage so he could have 24/7 access to the rear of the house. I’ve learned my lesson to not leave anything breakable or spill-able on any surface he is able to get onto, ans when I forget he is quick to remind me. Other than that he is fun and interactive for about 1-2 hours a day (in small spurts), sleeps in weird places most of the day, commits a crime or two every few days, and lets me know when he is hungry for his wet raw food (free access to his “dry” food- Ziwi peak- and water all the time). He is fun and sweet and sometimes naughty and a great addition. It did take almost two years of patience to get to this point, and in the beginning the bathroom was the only fetter proof place in my house and we did spend some time in there for a while every day while he learned the rules.
When I had 3 ferrets: I got them out in the morning for 2 hours of out-of-cage play. I was on and off with playing with them and leaving them to play by themselves. While they played, I clean any messes and give fresh food and water. In the evening I let them out the cage for 3 hours, 1 of them I take them out for a walk. once it's late, I re-check for messes and their food/water, and then put them back in the cage for the night regardless if they are playing or napping.
Now that I only have 1 ferret: I get him out sometime in the morning, clean any messes along with food and water. However now that I'm home all day, I leave my last baby out all day with me. He loves running around, playing with me, and then napping most of the day under the blanket with me. If I feel I'm gonna fall asleep, I place him in the cage so he is safe while I nap myself. I then re-get him back out after a few hours if I have put him back in, and leave him to play and nap with me till around 11pm. Then he goes back in the cage for bedtime. Sometime in the day I take him outside to play with him in the grass and give him a few walks down the fields. He LOVES walking, so I try to do this everyday for him.
It all depends on the ferret's personalities and how many you have, along with space and if you work or not. They can be a lot of hard work, but very rewarding. Also remember: Ages for ferrets can vary, but this also depends on their health, and this is very much noticable with US and UK ferrets. UK ferrets are normally healthier as they get privately bred, while US ferrets are normally Marshalls and come with a lot of issues as they grow up. Hope this all helps <3
I have older ferrets who entertain each other and sleep more than young ferrets. It's probably 30 minutes a day on average of husbandry duties if I am busy and not trying to interact with them.
i only have one ferret and i let him free roam constantly but i do have to be on alert and my space is incredibly ferret proof so i can see him at pretty much all times. when i had duke and penelope, i spent hours constantly between the two. it depends on their needs
They are just a constant part of my life. I never lock their cage and they have a whole bedroom to themselves! I'm not working at the moment so they just mill about the house, playing with each other, chilling out or being dickheads and doing things they are not supposed to.
And then sometimes I'll be sat playing xbox and suddenly I have a ferret sat on my shoulder licking my ear and it melts my heart every time!
The only cons are finding places they've decided to hide some chicken, and when they forget where they are supposed to poo and just do it on the floor.
Totally worth it though.
We are new ferret owners. Our guy was only 4 months when we got him. Had him about a month. He stays in his cage while we are at work. We usually let him out and play with him for an hour right after work then let him roam while we do chores and make dinner. Play for another hour after dinner. Then he finally gets sleepy.
We let him stay out and hang out until bedtime and clean his cage at some point every night. Make sure he has plenty of food and water then he goes to bed when we do.
We try to let him out for a little bit before we leave for work each morning like 30min to an hour also. And tidy the cage a bit before leaving.
My ferrets are now 7 years old and come out of their cage several times a day for at least 30 minutes each time. I would say no less than 2 hours a day sometimes up to 4 or 5 hours. It varies on how energetic they are feeling and the time of year. That is direct play and supervision as they are toddlers with a death wish and need to be watched. Usually at least 20 to 40 minutes of cage maintenance most days as well as any outside of cage accidents they have. Once a week I will fully strip and clean their cage and wash everything and thats easily an hour plus waiting on laundry. Ferrets are high maintenance and expensive pets.
Generally speaking
Cleanup - all fking day
Supervising - all fking day
Finding things they have stolen - all fking day
Playing- also all of my free time ;)
Love my ferrets <3 they are worth every single minute.
Welcome to /r/ferrets! We have a fantastic [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index) that has answers to most frequently asked questions surrounding the care of ferrets. --- We politely ask that you observe our [sub rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index/rules/). --- Lastly, we have an [Official Discord Server](https://discord.gg/ferrets)! Come join us! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ferrets) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Honestly this is kina hard and may differ between ferrets and their personalities but i will give you a rough break down. I have two girls Max and Lola use to only be just Max but not a whole lot really changed with adding a second other than the amount of poop. When i wake up in the morning on work days i let them out to run around and play with each other while i clean their bathrom tray and get their food and watet ready for the day. Then i give them some attention, love and treats. This whole proccess about an hour then i put them back in their cage for the day with their food water and clean potty area. While i am at work they are in their cage mostly sleeping all day until i get home. Once i do get home i let them out to play. I check their food and bathroom and add or clean if needed. I play with them as i am doing things around my apartment. About an hour after i get home Max goes off to find a nap spot , she is 3.5 years old. Lola stays up for about another hour she is only about 8 months old so a lot more energy. I play with her as i am doing my things i need to get done. Then about an hour before i go to bed if they are still napping i accually wake them up....yea i am mean lol but i want to have them get some energy out before being put in their cage for the night. For bed time i just make sure their potty tray is clean and that they have food and water for the night. Then it is bed time and i rinse and repeat the next day Weekend or days off are relatively the same just with lots more out of cage time. I tried to fit as much as i could with out writing a novel here if you have any specific questions youncan message me and i can try to help if I can
Thank you so much, this is extremely helpful!
Do you ever take them out for a walk, or is the playing when there out of the cage enough to keep them stimulated?
I have taken them outside before but not that often. I do want to do it a little more than before. There is just a part of me that is super nervous that they will get away. Last year before i had Lola i did take Max to the beach and let her play in the sand. I do feel that they expell enough of their energy playing and wrestling when they are out which is when ever i am home.
this is perfect!
Love ferrets but have never recommended them to everyone who asked. Here's why: Every time it's a first pet. An exotic pet should not be a first pet. No other reason. My opinion. They are incredibly fun to play with so plan to spend several hours a day on the floor with them. Poop cleaned everyday, takes up 2-5 minutes. Food & water should always be available. Decide on free roam or how much time they will spend outside their cage. My fuzzlings have free roam but that requires ferret-proofing your entire place, including crevasses like behind stove, fridge, everything. Big deal.
About 4 hours a day but split between me and my partner. 1 hour or so cleaning in morning but big group, 30mins afternoon. Rest generally mooching with them. But if one is ill, then it is 10-20mins every 2 hours.
I can't really give an hourly estimate because normally they're not confined and have the main living area to run around in from about 8am to 11pm. We had one pass away recently though so for the past few weeks they've been free 24 hours in our master bedroom and since I'm SAH we play throughout the day. This morning I spent like 20 minutes getting their mash ready, then I woke everyone up to eat. I cuddled everyone for a bit before they all went back to bed for a few hours. When they got up we played for about an hour, clipped nails, cleaned boxes and for now they're just running around and getting into stuff. Later on I'll spend another 20 minutes getting their dinner mash together, wake everyone up to eat and then we'll play for a bit before they run off and do their own thing again. I'll fill their kibble and give them fresh water at some point and everyone gets pets and cuddles as they make an appearance throughout the day.
I have four sisters. They're real poop machines but they're smol. 3 min twice a day to remove the poop from the litter box 2 min to clean the little "accidents" (every day) 45 minutes to clean the cage fully, which I don't do that often because I usually clean a little everyday, so about 5 minutes a day instead. the feeding is just a kibble mix I prepare in advance, some chicken and treats once in a while which is part of the play sessions. It takes 5 min to open the bags and mix them in a different container. Once every three weeks or so. I change the water every day, it's like 2 more minutes I'm supposed to play with them for two hours a day, but it's more like thirty minutes in the morning and one hour in the evening, or until they all fall asleep in my bed.
We let them out of the cage around 8 am most days and put them in my office, or now the ferret room lol. They have that room all day with their kibble and water. Most of the day they sleep but around 8 pm I will wake them up and play with them for an hour or two. We have 7 fur babies now so they keep themselves very occupied playing and running around when they are awake. I sit on the floor with them at night and they come to me when they want attention. Of course my oldest girl Kiki and her little buddy Coco like to be picked up constantly so they are the neediest but most of their motive is using my height advantage to try to get on the desk or near the aquarium in the room 😝. Silly little happy babies they are.
I no longer have ferrets, but when I did the general rule of thumb was let them out if I was home. So most weekdays I'd get home from work and let them out up until it was time to go to bed. Weekends were basically the same but obviously life happens and sometimes they'd go back for some time while chores needed to be done. As for cleanup and what not: every day after letting them out I would clean their litter box (this is important to do this daily) which took only a few minutes to do (5 minutes max). When I say clean I was only emptying the poop and soiled litter and left untouched litter. I also once a week (Sundays for me) would completely clean the litter box (completely emptying the litter box and wiping it completely clean). I also refilled their food and replaced their water every day on their first outing of the day, which again only takes a minute or so. The biggest cleaning is going to be the days you clean the cage itself. You should once a week (again Sundays for me along with the litter box) clean the cage (wiping floors, cleaning up kibble crumbs, etc. This can take time but doing it every week will make it take less time as it will only be a weeks worth of cleaning to do. So maybe 20 minutes for cleaning a cage once a week. As for playing, I always played heavy when first letting them out as that's when they are most energetic. Most playing was taking their toys from their stashes and putting them in central location. They loved I'd bring them into a pile in the living room to come out, grab a toy and stash it in one their spots. They eventually pass out somewhere and then it becomes sporadic playing whenever they decide to wake up.
i work 6:30am- 3:00 so when i get home he’s out of the cage until the next morning before i leave for work again. so he’s only in his cage for 8 hours on the weekdays on the weekends he is out all day i put wee wee pads down where he usually goes to use the BR and change them out when he uses it. he knows how to entertain himself with all his toys i got for him. i play with him here and there and my little sister also plays with him for about an hour. i also made him a rice bin he loves it! feeding is morning afternoon and night which is like 3 mins of time. he gets kibble along with freeze dried food so all i have to do it add water and mix! cleaning is alittle more difficult for me. in the morning i through out the wee wee pads that he used and replace with fresh ones that’s about 5 mins . while im at work he’s in his cage so when i get home i have to replace the pads in there and i make sure to wipe his cage down that’s about 10-15min. i also spot clean when he’s out so if he poops or pees on the pads i don’t just let it sit there. at night i make sure everything is replaced with fresh pads and cleaned. on the weekends i deep clean is cage disinfect and make sure there’s no poop or pee dried up that i might’ve missed
I spend about 30 minutes per day cleaning the cage/litterbox/play area & topping up food/water etc. I spend another 3-6 hours in addition to that participating in and monitoring play time. I have two ferrets. If I had one, I would need to spend even more time actively playing with the single ferret (when you have two, they play together).
Okay, ya'll are making me feel like we're slacking here, but.... Our 5 babies are only up for about a day! They are caged, but when we let them out, they play for about 15 minutes, then find places to hide and sleep! They are all 5 older ferrets (5-8 years old), so I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not. Cleaning their cages and feeding them daily takes 5-10 minutes. We do a deep clean of the cages every 4 weeks.
I would say age make a bit of a difference myboldest Max is about 3.5 and the baby Lola is only. About 8 months. Max will come out play eat and is the first of the two to go find a napping spot.
I spend about 4-5 hours with her. It’s a mix between my wife and I playing with her but when she’s done she’ll go to her spot and sleep but once she’s ready to go again she’ll let us know and won’t stop until we play
If you’re able to safely make your entire living space ferret proof, caring for your ferret is honestly like caring for a cat plus a naughty toddler who visits unannounced for an hour or so each day. Once my ferret was fully grown (too big to get under the oven or to get stuck in other small spaces, no longer chewing things he shouldn’t, etc.) he slowly transitioned to using pee pads and cat litter outside of his cage, with more and more time out of the cage each day, eventually getting to the point where he no longer used the pee pad in his cage, only went in there to eat and sometimes sleep, and I decided to take one of the doors off his cage so he could have 24/7 access to the rear of the house. I’ve learned my lesson to not leave anything breakable or spill-able on any surface he is able to get onto, ans when I forget he is quick to remind me. Other than that he is fun and interactive for about 1-2 hours a day (in small spurts), sleeps in weird places most of the day, commits a crime or two every few days, and lets me know when he is hungry for his wet raw food (free access to his “dry” food- Ziwi peak- and water all the time). He is fun and sweet and sometimes naughty and a great addition. It did take almost two years of patience to get to this point, and in the beginning the bathroom was the only fetter proof place in my house and we did spend some time in there for a while every day while he learned the rules.
When I had 3 ferrets: I got them out in the morning for 2 hours of out-of-cage play. I was on and off with playing with them and leaving them to play by themselves. While they played, I clean any messes and give fresh food and water. In the evening I let them out the cage for 3 hours, 1 of them I take them out for a walk. once it's late, I re-check for messes and their food/water, and then put them back in the cage for the night regardless if they are playing or napping. Now that I only have 1 ferret: I get him out sometime in the morning, clean any messes along with food and water. However now that I'm home all day, I leave my last baby out all day with me. He loves running around, playing with me, and then napping most of the day under the blanket with me. If I feel I'm gonna fall asleep, I place him in the cage so he is safe while I nap myself. I then re-get him back out after a few hours if I have put him back in, and leave him to play and nap with me till around 11pm. Then he goes back in the cage for bedtime. Sometime in the day I take him outside to play with him in the grass and give him a few walks down the fields. He LOVES walking, so I try to do this everyday for him. It all depends on the ferret's personalities and how many you have, along with space and if you work or not. They can be a lot of hard work, but very rewarding. Also remember: Ages for ferrets can vary, but this also depends on their health, and this is very much noticable with US and UK ferrets. UK ferrets are normally healthier as they get privately bred, while US ferrets are normally Marshalls and come with a lot of issues as they grow up. Hope this all helps <3
I have older ferrets who entertain each other and sleep more than young ferrets. It's probably 30 minutes a day on average of husbandry duties if I am busy and not trying to interact with them.
i only have one ferret and i let him free roam constantly but i do have to be on alert and my space is incredibly ferret proof so i can see him at pretty much all times. when i had duke and penelope, i spent hours constantly between the two. it depends on their needs
They are just a constant part of my life. I never lock their cage and they have a whole bedroom to themselves! I'm not working at the moment so they just mill about the house, playing with each other, chilling out or being dickheads and doing things they are not supposed to. And then sometimes I'll be sat playing xbox and suddenly I have a ferret sat on my shoulder licking my ear and it melts my heart every time! The only cons are finding places they've decided to hide some chicken, and when they forget where they are supposed to poo and just do it on the floor. Totally worth it though.
We are new ferret owners. Our guy was only 4 months when we got him. Had him about a month. He stays in his cage while we are at work. We usually let him out and play with him for an hour right after work then let him roam while we do chores and make dinner. Play for another hour after dinner. Then he finally gets sleepy. We let him stay out and hang out until bedtime and clean his cage at some point every night. Make sure he has plenty of food and water then he goes to bed when we do. We try to let him out for a little bit before we leave for work each morning like 30min to an hour also. And tidy the cage a bit before leaving.
My ferrets are now 7 years old and come out of their cage several times a day for at least 30 minutes each time. I would say no less than 2 hours a day sometimes up to 4 or 5 hours. It varies on how energetic they are feeling and the time of year. That is direct play and supervision as they are toddlers with a death wish and need to be watched. Usually at least 20 to 40 minutes of cage maintenance most days as well as any outside of cage accidents they have. Once a week I will fully strip and clean their cage and wash everything and thats easily an hour plus waiting on laundry. Ferrets are high maintenance and expensive pets.
Generally speaking Cleanup - all fking day Supervising - all fking day Finding things they have stolen - all fking day Playing- also all of my free time ;) Love my ferrets <3 they are worth every single minute.