Why won't my girls play?

[frettkamama]

I recently adopted two girls, Freya and Ghost. My husband and I picked them from the shelter because they were so sweet and loved to cuddle and kiss.

Then we got them home and want them to play with us, and we can't get them to! We've tried fuzzy fishing poles, dig boxes, rattly things, squeaky things, fuzzy things, things to drag, things to crawl in/under/up, etc.

All they want to do when they're out of the cage is explore their new surroundings. We try to engage them with the toys, but they just seem to tolerate us (like we were the babies!) and then go back to sniffing around the edges of the room. My husband has riled up Ghost enough ONCE that she went looking for Freya to wrassle with, but Freya wasn't interested.

They've both even put themselves back in the cage and gone to sleep! Have you ever heard of ferrets that would choose the cage over playtime?

They're about 2 and about 3 years old, respectively. Is it because of their age? Is it because they've only been with us less than a week?

Is there anything else we can try to get them stimulated? I don't want my girls to be bored. They get around 4 hours of play time a day, but never seem to want that much.

We took them to the in-laws' house, where they had a blast meeting new people, and then to Petsmart, same story. Maybe they just like to socialize? Is this normal?

[Heather]

It sounds to me that they probably don't know how to play. I've had ferrets come in to me like that. Captain Jack and Calypso were like that. They had been well loved but their people had considered them to be like little stuffed animals. They had no idea how to play (they snuggled beautifully), they didn't know how to bounce, dook, play, hop....nothing. It took them about 6 months to finally become ferrets but .... now....you should see them. Captain Jack is a little furry wild man (he's about 3yrs old, the same as one of your little furbabies), he's started to climb just about anything, he loves his stuffies (which he runs around and hides in various hideys). Fun-Go, has taught him how to wrestle, ferret fashion. Calypso isn't so social and doesn't like to play with the rest of the furbrats but she will now entice Jack into chase and wrestle games. Being shelter ferts is very difficult on these sensitive little ones, it sometimes takes more than a bit of time for them to find out they're really ferrets and not little cage animals. Both Captain Jack and Calypso would sooner climb into a hammy and sleep their days away because that's all they knew how to do things. Captain Jack loves to play drag the fert on the towel. This game can become quite rough and tumble and results in the rest of the business chasing the towel and trying to pull each other off the towel. Have patience, keep trying to teach them to play. Porthos was a solo fert and severely abused before he was turned in and at first he figured that everyone should be bitten before they bit you. Fun-Go was very similar and is just learning to play with people without biting his playmates and causing severe damage. He's been with me since last August....he has just started giving kisses. These breakthroughs are so wonderful. He really loves life and enjoys playing but he's deaf and cannot hear you scream when he bites too hard. One of his previous owners (he's had a couple that I know of) has either flicked him (a horrible method of teaching not to bite) or hit him.
Give them time, continue to ask them to play, try different things with them, different stimulations....they will rise to the occasion when they start to feel comfortable with you and know that they're not just going to be relegated to a cage again .
ciao

[frettkamama]

Thank you so much for the supportive words. I keep reminding myself, and my husband, it's only been less than a week.

Today we had a breakthrough- Ghost weasel war-danced! Just a little, and just to herself, like a little jig to music only she could hear, but it made us laugh nonetheless.

I'm going to try the parrot-puzzle ball I heard about on this forum. Freya, especially, seems to want to chew on things. I saw chewy treats for sale, but they looked yucky. Can anyone recommend chewy/gnawy treats these kibble-fed girls might be interested in?

I also tried putting them in the bathtub (with no water) just to see if maybe they would want to learn to snorkel (they love tipping over their water dish). Well, they both freaked out. Freya pooped immediately, and both had splayed legs and were trembling when i picked them back up. I have no idea what made the tub so scary. ghost was in our big tub by herself and didn't have this reaction. Hmm...

Anyway, thanks for the words of wisdom.

[suds]

chicken wings , knecks make great treats for chewers.
put a old towel in the bottom of the tub so they can get feet traction also put a old towel or rug on the sides so they can climb out on there own they probly had some bad bath experinces and need to slowly learn to trust you and there surounding,s . you can also try a shallow plastic been with water in it and see if they explore it on there own.
Hershy is my explorer when i first got her all she did was explore , explore explore everything each time she was out it took her and me about a month to gain her trust and find things she liked to play , chase is her favorate she will jump on my feet and legs and then i chase her never catching her , then I wil move away and she will chase me .Like Heather said keep trying differnt things with them adventually they will start to trust you and you will start to find fun things to do with them.

[Heather]

Yay, for the weasel war dance They're starting to get comfortable. It takes time, it's very traumatizing for these little ones. That's why when they come to my rescue they stay. Many of my guys have already been through 4 or 5 homes, no one should have to be bounced that many times . Your guys have a history, that you and probably the rescue aren't aware of, that all comes into play. People are rarely forthcoming about their ferret's histories when they turn their guys in. So we only know what we see at the time and the little information that we're given. Ferrets get very attached to their people, changing houses is difficult on them.
The bathtub is a strange place for ferrets...some owners believe you can wash the smell away and your little guys may associate the tub with being scrubbed (ferrets love water, not soap ). My guys love the tub but that's because they know they get to hunt in it and even if they're getting a bath (only sometimes) I just let them play in the water and don't add any soap(except on rare occasions when they get really stinky or have been dumpled in something disgusting) Actually, when I was putting everyone to bed yesterday, I was doing the sniff and snuggle and I think the brats are going to get a bath, it's been a year . Frank's suggestion is good too, try putting a towel down so the tub isn't so slippery. Balthazar and Bartemaeus both loved it if I filled a kitty pan with warm (hotter than a baby bath water, you have to remember their natural body temp is about 102, so they like their water very warm) and stuck it in the bath tub. They were very long lean ferrets and could get in and out of the tub on their own. So they loved it if I just let them play, you should put lots of towels down for them to dry themselves (this is a precaution that is a must, otherwise they will dry themselves in your bed ) With my present batch I just get an old comforter and put the largest kitty pan filled with warm water and their toys in the middle of it and let them have fun. Most of them just snorkel but I've got a couple of swimmers
ciao

[wuvweasels]

They probably need more time to get used to their new environment. At this point, poking around the room is excitement enough for them. Also, some ferrets just need to be "worked up" a little before they'll freak out and war dance You can try doing this with a toy, or your hand but the best way is to wait until they initiate play. If I start playing with Wubzy, she'll often ignore me or act annoyed but when she comes looking for me to play with her...it's a totally different story!

[goingpostal]

I would agree that it just takes time. All the caged ferrets that I have taken in tend to be more lethargic, not so playful and will put themselves up.

If they don't get out of cage time at all they lose muscle mass and have no stamina. Plus ferrets love to explore new places, one they get used to it they will head for toys or their favorite place instead. When mine were caged and let out throughout the day they would ran out, play hard for 20-40 minutes, then conk out somewhere. They never stayed running around longer than an hour without a nap break.

The last one I took in didn't really leave the open cage I put him in for almost two weeks, he came out to eat only when the other ferrets were asleep, now he's totally comfortable and runs all over.

I also had one male who was bathed daily by his previous owner who had the scared poop, legs sprawled when I put him in the tub, he hated it due to past experience. Poor guy, I never bathed him again in the two years we had him. At first he would also put himself up after 15 minutes or so, just wasn't used to being out.

[frettkamama]

Great suggestions, everyone. Every day, my little sweetlings play a little more. Ghost regularly initiates play with Freya, who mostly ignores her, but today was the first day my husband saw Freya teasing Ghost into a game of chase. It's all still very laidback, unlike the crazy shelter ferrets we play with when we're volunteering there, who are all little grey blurs!

As for the chicken wings/necks, that's a good idea, too. I've introduced a raw egg, a piece of chicken thigh, and some chicken baby food so far into their diet, more out of curiosity than that i'm ready to seriously start the switch. Frey licked it all, and even took the tiny piece of chicken under the futon with her! (where goodness knows if she ate it). Ghost is Not Interested.

So basically, they're teaching me patience, which isn't that bad a lesson to learn.

Thanks again, folks!

[murphysmom]

I understand what you are going through! Murphy(my first ferret and first rescue) has taken months to actually play. He still does not play with toys or even me, but will war dance and chase other ferrets in the tubes. And like I said this has taken months for his activity level to increase. It just takes time.
I have a new foster that is older and he is a copy of Murphy. The difference is though, he like to cuddle. I am still working on him to be more active (one of the reasons I joined this forum) and hoping the better food and difference of it will bring out the inner weasel in him! Keep at it and I recommend giving them new items to check out as much as possible! Boxes, dig bins, anything that will make them curious and be active!

Good luck!