Ferrets are sometimes a hassle. They look much like rodents, but they’re not as calm. They are ferocious, unrelenting carnivores with a voracious appetite for tiny animals. Ferrets could be compared to cats taken up a notch.
However, ferrets make wonderful house pets. The main difficulty in keeping them, though, is giving them enriching and active activities. This is due to how lively these balls of energy are. You must therefore give kids appropriate toys to play with.
Fortunately, since ferrets will play with almost anything, that task shouldn’t be too challenging. However, certain toys are more suitable for children than others. The greatest and safest ferret toys to think about are listed below. The toys in this list are both store-bought and home-made.
Ferret toys on sale
Commercial toys have the advantage of being created with your pet’s requirements in mind. For instance, some allow you to give your ferret brain stimulation, which is very challenging to accomplish with homemade toys. The following are some of the top ferret toys in this category:
Kaytee Nibbler Nuts
A great ferret toy is the Kaytee Nut Knot Nibbler, which is made of natural wood. It is made out of various colored wooden posts that are arranged in a complex pattern to safeguard a treat. To win the prize, you must navigate the posts. If you are familiar with your ferret, you are aware that they will do anything to obtain that goodie.
Because your ferret will need to devise a strategy to obtain the treat, the Nut Knot Nibbler presents you with a fantastic opportunity to enrich their minds. Additionally, this toy gives the ferret the ideal opportunity to practice their instinctive chewing behavior, which helps maintain the health of their teeth.
Small Animal Cotton Rope Nets Activity Toy from Niteangel
Your ferret will like using this multifunctional rope net made by Niteangel. It has metal clips that enable you to suspend it from the ferret cage’s top so you can control it from there.
You could stretch it out horizontally to create a hammock, hang it at an angle to create a ramp, or hang it vertically to create a ladder. As a result, you may satisfy your pet’s urge to climb while also giving them a cozy spot to relax.
Bridge across Niteangel Suspension
Another toy from Niteangel that looks like it will be a lot of fun for your ferret is this suspension bridge. Its length of 22 inches enables your pet to exercise while exploring higher areas of its habitat.
It may be bent into a number of angles and forms because it is comprised of bendable metal wires and natural wood sticks. If your pet decides to gnaw on it, the organic wood ensures that they won’t suffer any harm.
Exercise wheel with a silent runner
Ferrets, as previously established, are inexhaustible balls of energy, making it challenging to tire them out. Unfortunately, ferrets with unreleased energy can display behavioral issues. Fortunately, you might only only this workout wheel.
In terms of tiny animals, the Silent Runner Exercise Wheel is comparable to a treadmill. It has a twin ball-bearing construction, which eliminates the unpleasant problem that most exercise wheels have with squeaking noises as your pet runs on it. Additionally, the absence of a middle axle makes it impossible for your pet to become tangled in the wheel.
Ferrets are more than happy to inflict a thrashing on the Silent Runner because of its robust structure, which makes it resistant to damage.
The rough surface, which gives your ferret better grip, and the strong rear wall, which guarantees that your pet is comfortable when running, are other outstanding characteristics.
Homemade ferret toys
Making ferret toys from common home items is surprisingly simple. However, since you want the toys to be educational, you’ll need to be inventive. Consider the following easy DIY ferret toy ideas:
boxes made of paper
Similar to cats, ferrets adore boxes because they give them a comfortable spot to rest or hide. As seen in the image above, you may make your pet an obstacle course out of a few cardboard boxes.
Plastic Bags
Offer your ferret some paper grocery bags if you don’t feel like doing much. Ferrets find that paper bags are a good toy because it lets them use their natural tendencies to hide and destroy.
Give your pet a new paper bag as soon as they tear their current one to pieces. To spice things up, think about including treats and ball toys.
Tubular Maze
Because they resemble burrows, tunnels naturally attract ferrets. Burrows also serve as a refuge and a place to hunt for wild ferrets.
You can image how thrilled your ferret will be to have a toy that looks like a tunnel or burrow. Fortunately, PVC pipe is all you need to create simple tunnel toys. This pipe is available at your neighborhood hardware shop.
If you want to make a maze for your pet to navigate, think about connecting many pipes.
Toy Fishing Wand
Like cats, ferrets will readily leap into the air to catch possible prey. You can construct such a situation in a controlled area with fishing wands. Simply attach a feather or a toy where the intended target of the bait should be, then watch your pet try to jump and get it.
By combining a long stick, a leather cord, and feathers or small animal toys like a fish or mouse, you can create your own wand.
Box, Dig
Another activity that ferrets enjoy is digging. They actually have to dig their prey out of the dirt in the wild. Due to the treats hidden inside, a dig box is such a great source of enrichment for ferrets.
To build your own, cut a sizable hole on the side of a huge plastic tub so that your pet may enter. After that, stuff the bin up to three quarters with ferret-friendly items like sand, dry beans, or rice. If you choose to utilize rice, avoid instant varieties because ferrets cannot digest them.
Use a transparent container so you can watch the little mischief maker as they go about their job. Remember to bury a few sweets for your pal to find.
Guidelines for Ferret Toys
These creatures will play with just about everything, as was previously said. While that makes them very simple to maintain, it also leaves them open to a lot of risks. This is due to the possibility that they may play with something harmful to them. Take into account the following to reduce such risks:
Conclusion
Ferrets are incredibly intelligent in addition to being energetic. And for this reason, they make such adorable pets. To be healthy and content, kids must, however, receive a lot of enrichment.
Fortunately, that shouldn’t be an issue if you have the correct toys. But safety must come first. As a result, take sure to educate yourself on anything that could be harmful to ferrets.
Do Ferrets Need a Friend? is a related article. Is a Human Companion Sufficient?
Credit for the Featured Image: Couperfield, Shutterstock
