List Your "Can't-Live-Without" Ferret Products!

[Forum Administrator]

List 5 of your favorite items for ferrets and explain why. They can be bedding, cleaning supplies,toys, treats etc. Please try to post the EXACT name of the product that way we know EXACTLY what to look for in the store.

Ill go first:

My Top Ferret Items Are:

1. Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface Daily Sanitizing Spray:

I love this product because it comes in so handy around ferrets. My guys eat a raw diet so everyday (sometimes twice a day) I clean the bottom of their cage with this stuff. It kills 99.9% of E. Coli AND Salmonella in under 2 minutes! Yet this stuff is gentle enough to spray directly on the rubber part of a baby's pacifier! But even if you dont feed raw its usefull too. I use it in Samson and Delilah's cage each day to clean under their litter box and near their food bowl. Its PERFECT for cleaning up a ferret accident thats near their food. I LOVE this product.

2. Heat'rs Wood Stove Pellet Fuel

This stuff is awesome, I use it as litter. I buy it buy the 40lb bag and it only costs me like $4.50 at places like Home Depot or Ace Hardware. Its almost the same thing as commercial ferret litter. It absorbs urine and the pellets distintegrate when wet so you can see EXACTLY where the ferret has peed and you can clean it up. It leaves a fresh woody scent and its SUPER cheap!

3. Arm and Hammer Baking Soda

I have found that by sprinkling a little of this WELL UNDERNEATH the litter can SERIUOSLY reduce oder. If its far enough under the litter the ferts can't inhale it or snort it up. Its great! Its only $.50 per box at target and it helps with order control like you wouldn't believe!

4. Hydrogen Peroxide and Apple Cider Vinegar

I'm always sure to keep a bottle on hand. I use it for cleaning ears and cleaning up minor cuts and scraps on my ferts and on my cats. I don't buy the expensive ferret ear cleaner, instead I just use this stuff on a q-tip. The bubbly fizzy action is great for breaking up ear wax and unlike lotsa ferret ear cleaners its not sticky or goopy. Its also great for cleaning up chicken juice (along with a little vinegar, in a seperate bottle).

Apple Cider Vinegar:

Great for sanitizing eating areas (along with some hydrogen peroxide). And a small amount of this in my ferrets drinking water during flea/tick season helps to make my ferrets less appealing to fleas!



5. Clean Cage Safe Deoderizer

This stuff smells like peaches or mangos or something. It was reccommened to me by someone on another forum. It smells great! Its safe for animals too of course. I use this for deoderizing and the clorox for sanitizing. I spray down all the plastic shelves in my cages every day and it cuts down on odor sooooo well!



Now your turn!

[jojodancer]

I think Giuli is trying to confuse us. She says list 5 items, but then she lists 8! And if you notice, she missed #7.... humph! (*smile*)

Well, I'll put my thinking tuque on come up with 5 items...

[Forum Administrator]

lol I hate you *scampers off to correct above thread*

[jojodancer]

OK, so after thinking a few days, I have two items I don't think I can live without, and I'll add the others later

(1) The Ferret Nation cage. I love how both doors open up to fully expose the insde. How the floors are plastic, so easy to clean. How you can open the doors quietly, and with one hand, so as to not waken sleeping ferrets, even if you have a bowl of food in the other hand. How the doors are ferret proof. How easy it is to clean since you can take out even the biggest of litter boxes, without a problem. How you can wipe things down with cleaners and put new bedding in. It's open spaced, so you can rearrange shelves and ramps and hamocks every time to add enrichment with every cleaning.

(2) My quick spray cleaners. I like the clorox anywhere spray since it disinfects, but for nice smells I use Nature's Miracle, Method, or Sun & Earth brands. Sometimes I use one, sometimes I use the other, other times I use both.

[Forum Administrator]

Oh my gosh! How could I forget the FN!

I LOVE my FN (I have a 142) Now my boys are only in it for like 2 hours a day (I work nights and my b/f is currently unemployed) so the boys have plenty of time to run and play. But when b/f starts working again they'll probalby have to be caged more, but with only two of them in the FN142, I think they'll have plenty of room.

[tss]

Did you know that plain white vinegar cleans just as well as the clorox stuff, it's way cheaper (a gallon is a dollar something) AND it deodorizes? PLUS it is Eco friendly. If you mist it is a stinky room the stink will go away, and so will the smell of the vinegar after a few minutes.

You can also buy Arm & Hammer Washing Soda instead of baking soda. We pay around $2 for 55oz, it is more granulated and we found that it works better then normal baking soda. We haven't really needed to use it much anymore but we use it when we are washing bedding in lue of detergent.

My favorites

1: Dollar store cat teasers. Fun ferret toys that are cheap, you don't have to panic if they break because you didn't spend $20 on them.

2: Dryer tubes Take your "fishing pole" (AKA cat teaser) and wave it at the end. Watch the carpet sharks bite!!! My fuzzies LOVE chasing each other through them.

3: Ziwi Peak and Stella and Chewy's Really nice foods, they helped me get Weezer (my problem child) to eat raw. I turn it into powder and put it on what ever I've feeding them.

4: Sewing machine Couldn't live without them (we've got 8), we wouldn't be able to make bedding for ourselves or the local fuzzie shelter.

5: Vinegar I put it in my dogs water and use it to clean. Depending on what I use it for sometimes I use Apple Cider and sometimes I use white vinegar.

[jojodancer]

You ground your ziwipeak? I'll have to try that, because my kids won't eat it. *drat* I'll have to run off to the thrift store and see if there is a coffee grinder I can get for cheap and grind up the ziwipeak.
(does buying a coffee grinder for the food break my husband's rule that I can't buy any more ferret stuff?)

[tss]

Yeah, that'll work. We used a pair of scissors and shaved each tiny piece into powder and once we put it in our hand crank meat grinder.. But, a coffee grinder will work way better. Just clean it out real good after and tell your husband you got him a gift. If the ferrets still won't eat it, just send it to me! :-p

[Forum Administrator]

Thank you for sharing, Tss. I didnt know that about the washing soda. Also, I like the clorox spray, but you are right. Vinegar and hydrogen peroxide are soooo much cheaper.

[meli]

I buy the clorox spray for my kids and I do have to say I love it and use it on the daily stuff they touch along with the stuff my dogs come in contact with.

[jojodancer]

I have come up with my #3 and #4

(3) Ferrets for Dummies by Kim Schilling. I have both editions, and I can't bear to get rid of the first - they are both so full of info! We are constantly picking up the book and looking up information

(4) Ferret.com forum and MiamiFerret.org (Sorry if it isn't cool to post other websites. I read the rules and you said it was OK, so I'm doing it.) I learn a lot from the members of ferret.com's forum and its so interactive - unlike user groups of mailing lists. The health archives at Miamiferret are wonderful in researching ECE, IBD, Insulinoma, etc. It seems like my husband is constantly saying things like "ask the forum what they think" or "check the internet, see if there's anything about such-n-such." We usually do steps 3 and 4 in conjnction with each another.

[Forum Administrator]

No no its TOTALLY fine to post other websites and forums. I dont mind at all. I know many people (myself included) are members or several ferret forums, and I dont mind if you mention your fav forums on my forum. Same goes for other websites.

BTW- Those are good choices. Thanks for sharing.

[jennifer5799]

Ok, off the top of my head my #1 thing that hasn't already been listed is

#1. Ferretone!! I know it's not natural, but I equate that to eating some candy once a week or something for us ;D Anyhoo, there is no way I would ever do nail cuttings without my ferret crack - I've done it, not fun! I little bit of 'tone and I'm pretty sure I could cut a leg off without them caring!! LOL

#2. Simple Green - My choice of household cleaners. I'm not a clean freak, in fact the mat my dogs and cat eat on gets thrown in the washer when I start noticing an odor (every 2-3 weeks or so) and it's on my kitchen floor LOL. My family very rarely gets sick, but that's a whole 'nother discussion! I use SG or vinegar, depending on the mess (but someone has already listed vinegar!)

This is hard to do right now, without being able to look at all my ferret stuff! LOL I'm going to have to continue this later....

~Jenn

[Forum Administrator]

As far as ferretone goes, I dont use it, but I know alot of people who do use it and they love it. The reason I dont use ferretone is because it has BHT (a less then desirable preservative) and the oils are mainly from plant sources. Ferrets seem to LOVE ferretone and I think the reason why is because it has a little vanillia in it (although of this I am not positive)

I like to give Nature Made Omega Three Fish Oil Capsules (just a few drops mixed with a teeny-tiny drop of vanilla). Its all natural (no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives) and comes from the bodies of wild caught, deep sea anchovies and sardines. It seems that the ferrets can process and use the fish oil better because its from an animal source.

If ya only use the ferretone for things like nail cutting (which it seems like that is what you are saying you do), and bribes then I think they'd be fine. It doesnt have sugar in it, and you're right, its like if we were to have candy every now and then while eating a healthy diet (perfectly acceptable).

However just a note for people who use ferretone daily as a SUPPLEMENT (and not just as a bribe or occasional treat) I would reccomend using the fish oil instead and leaving ferretone for special occasions and bribery lol. But this is just my personal opinion. I give my boys ferretone every once in a while, and it makes a good treat (they really like it).

[tsslilsis]

Yep. We don't use Ferretone. I don't give my babies anything with BHA/BHT and my Skipper is allergic to soy real bad (it has soybean oil in it) and I don't like the idea of him possibly coming in contact with it.

#1 - SQUEEKY TOYS!!!!!!!! Lillian goes CRAZY! (Weezer probably would if he wasn't supposedly deaf).

#2 - Wood stove pellets.

#3 - Raw food.

#4 - Jo-Anns fabrics (Because we go there to buy their fabric).

#5 - Baby nail clippers.

-~Ketlin