How to wean a ferret from shitting in the wrong place and tame it to the tray
Many rodent owners are wondering how to train a ferret to the litter box and whether it is possible at home. An animal can be trained to walk to the same place when needed, but the learning process requires patience. In order for the animal to stop shitting where it should not, it is necessary to use special methods of training ferrets to the pot.
How to tray train your ferret
The ferret nowadays lives not only in the wild. Man has long been able to tame him and bring out the domesticated breed of this predator - the ferret. Curious little animals are very trainable and love to play. However, keeping a pet in an apartment often presents various problems.
Peculiarities of toilet training ferrets
Ferrets themselves strive for cleanliness and are quite neat. But, despite this, they are not immediately able to take some place in the house as a toilet and can shit anywhere for a long time.
Sometimes you need to adapt to the ferret if he stubbornly avoids going to the toilet in a particular corner and, conversely, constantly shits in another. In this case, you will have to reconcile and rearrange the tray to the place that the pet has chosen.
Sometimes ferrets choose more than one place for themselves as a toilet. In this case, you need to purchase 2 or more predator pots. This is especially true for large rooms.
The process of teaching the animal the rules of hygiene should begin as early as possible. It should be remembered that females and cubs are easier to train to the tray than an adult male. No one can guarantee that it will be easy to toilet train a ferret in the right place, even if he is still a puppy. Sometimes, despite best efforts, the tray is simply ignored.
Ferret Tray Types
If the ferret stubbornly ignores the litter box, it makes sense to try changing the litter box to a different one. Today there are several types of trays:
- Regular feline, equipped with a net. The advantage of such a tray is that it is always dry, as urine flows into the pan. But since the ferret is defecating against the corner, it may miss the edge. It is necessary to wash the tray quite often, at least once a day, as otherwise the animal may not want to walk on it.
- The second type of tray is the filled tray. The design is a pallet with a removable rim, where any filler is poured. If the litter box is exactly like this, but the ferret does not want to go there, you can try to change the litter itself. The problem is, regular cat litter is not very good for ferrets. Wood pellets and clay pellets can adhere and cause skin irritation. It is better to do without filler altogether, rinsing the pot several times a day.
- The third type is a corner tray. Its shape is ideal for ferrets as it has high sides and a low front. You can place cat litter or paper in the base of the tray. You can put on a diaper.But paper and diapers need to be changed frequently to keep the toilet clean. It is necessary to wash the tray without using detergents, since it is important not to wash off the specific smell of the animal, by which it determines where its toilet is.
How to train your pet to walk in the litter box
The ferret always demonstrates his desire with his rear raised high and his tail lifted up. As a rule, every morning after waking up, the ferret recovers within 10-15 minutes.
This moment must be used to direct the animal to the right place if it does not go on its own.
To begin with, one should still accustom one to the cage. For this it is worth buying a corner tray. It should be located in the diametrically opposite corner from the trough and be clean in the morning.
When the ferret wakes up, you can pick it up and hold it for a while until it becomes restless, after which it is advisable to put it on a pot and encourage it after relieving it. As a reward, you can use a treat or a walk around the house. Training should be calm, and it is extremely important to praise the animal for the correct behavior.
Given that ferrets are very impatient by nature, litter taming should be continued every half hour throughout the day, which means that every half hour ferrets should be placed in a corner litter box in the cage, especially if the animal's characteristic external signs become visible.
How to wean a ferret from shitting in an apartment
If, nevertheless, the ferret left somewhere in the house while walking around the apartment, then in no case should you poke his nose into a puddle. These animals have very delicate noses, so you cannot treat them like cats. You can slightly shake the pet by the withers, but this must be done immediately after the crime has been committed, otherwise the animal will not understand what is happening at all.
It is best to reward the animal for doing the right thing and carefully do not allow it to walk in the wrong place. For example, you can knock on the floor or somehow attract the pet's attention at the moment when he sits down in the wrong place.
There is also a way to stop a ferret from shitting in the wrong place. To begin with, the room where the predator got into the habit of peeing is washed with special agents that remove the smell, and after that the diapers or bedding from the ferret's cage are laid out in the corners. They will smell like home to him, and this will discourage the animal from defecating in such a place.
At home, toilet training can take a few days. The main thing is not to start this process, otherwise the animal will get used to shitting anywhere. First of all, training should rest on discipline, consistency, firmness. In this case, there should be no cruelty, otherwise the animal will become vindictive.