| Ferret Rescue and Adoption of South Texas |
| Playing With Your Ferrets |
"Blow Your Ferrets Away" :
This is a game most of our ferrets here LOVE to play with their humans. All you need is a vacuum cleaner with an exhaust
where you can plug the vacuum hose into so it blows the exhaust air out the end of the hose. We use our shop vac, it's very small and
compact. Just be sure you empty it first and wipe out the dust with a damp cloth so not to blow any dust or dirt at your little ones,
then turn the thing on while they're out playing and blow the air at them. It makes ours very excited, but I've never tried it with
just one ferret so if you have only one it may just frighten them. I know we have one who is not interested in this game at all, but
the rest have a ball with it, trying to "fight their way through the wind" to attack the hose it's coming from, plus they learn from
each other so some who aren't all that interested at first see how much fun the others are having and want to try it themselves. Our
play times consist of up to 20, but usually around 10 or 12 who get along well. The "domain protectors" have to get to play with a
group just like everyone else and there are about 7 that they welcome in their area so we split up play times accordingly, but to
keep all the ones who get along with everybody friends, sometimes there is a very large group playing at one time. It's great fun to
watch! You can also reverse the hose and make it into a vacuum again and with no attachments as with the blowing game, you can
"grab them" with the suction, but a few extra precautions are in order. #1) If their face gets caught in the hose, especially the nose
& mouth, you must pull them out immediately, because depending on the power of your vac. it could even collapse their lungs as a
worse case scenario. #2) If you grab them, with a powerful vacuum, you could actually pick them up with it, so if you leave it on
their skin too long you could give them a "hickey" where the blood is pulled too close to the skin's surface and capillaries burst. No
permanent damage would be done, but it may frighten them and you don't want to do that to your babies, right?
(This is a small wet/dry vac and cost under $25, and it's great to help with cage cleaning etc. PLUS it's a toy too!!! Can't go wrong
with this?)
This is a game most of our ferrets here LOVE to play with their humans. All you need is a vacuum cleaner with an exhaust
where you can plug the vacuum hose into so it blows the exhaust air out the end of the hose. We use our shop vac, it's very small and
compact. Just be sure you empty it first and wipe out the dust with a damp cloth so not to blow any dust or dirt at your little ones,
then turn the thing on while they're out playing and blow the air at them. It makes ours very excited, but I've never tried it with
just one ferret so if you have only one it may just frighten them. I know we have one who is not interested in this game at all, but
the rest have a ball with it, trying to "fight their way through the wind" to attack the hose it's coming from, plus they learn from
each other so some who aren't all that interested at first see how much fun the others are having and want to try it themselves. Our
play times consist of up to 20, but usually around 10 or 12 who get along well. The "domain protectors" have to get to play with a
group just like everyone else and there are about 7 that they welcome in their area so we split up play times accordingly, but to
keep all the ones who get along with everybody friends, sometimes there is a very large group playing at one time. It's great fun to
watch! You can also reverse the hose and make it into a vacuum again and with no attachments as with the blowing game, you can
"grab them" with the suction, but a few extra precautions are in order. #1) If their face gets caught in the hose, especially the nose
& mouth, you must pull them out immediately, because depending on the power of your vac. it could even collapse their lungs as a
worse case scenario. #2) If you grab them, with a powerful vacuum, you could actually pick them up with it, so if you leave it on
their skin too long you could give them a "hickey" where the blood is pulled too close to the skin's surface and capillaries burst. No
permanent damage would be done, but it may frighten them and you don't want to do that to your babies, right?
(This is a small wet/dry vac and cost under $25, and it's great to help with cage cleaning etc. PLUS it's a toy too!!! Can't go wrong
with this?)
"Bath Tub Ping-Pong"
This is a great game to play with one or two, possibly three at a time but too many in there just get in the way of each other.
Put in your ferret(s) then drop in a ping-pong ball and watch the fun begin! You could try one ball per ferret if you like, but be
sure there are no mats for them to get traction with (we've never had one in there and think less traction is better). It needs to
be a ping-pong ball though because they really bounce and they can't get a good hold on it because they're hard, so they'll be
chasing the thing until they're exhausted! (Don't let them play until they're panting too hard and their tongue is all hanging out) If
it's going to be bath time anyway, to liven it up a bit, try lubricating the tub with a small amount of baby oil so they'll have extra
poor traction! This is not really necessary because the tub will be very slippery anyway, but the oil helps their skin. (You may
want to check with your vet, we do it sometimes and it's never harmed any of ours.) This game is also fun for kittens as well. Also,
as with any toy or game, don't let them do it or have access to it all the time because they're smart animals and will become bored
with it, just like you would get bored by watching the same movie or playing the same game over and over again! We even take up
the tunnels, hoses, balls etc. and rotate what toys they get to play with or sometimes no toys at all so they have to play with us and
each other, this way when they get one of them, they're more happy and excited about the item. ONE MORE CAUTION about
"bath tub ping-pong", they may want to check every now and then if the ball is in the tub, so never leave any water standing in the
tub, because once Jamie, (the first and the one I bought for my daughter) jumped in to check on the ball and there was water
standing, (about 3 inches), because we had let an iguana swim just earlier, and one of us had to use the restroom and there was poor
Jamie, standing in the water and since it was wet it was too slippery for her to get out. The danger is that if she had been there
long enough to get tired she would have drowned due to the fact that she wouldn't have been able to keep her head out of the
water when she laid down to rest!
This is a great game to play with one or two, possibly three at a time but too many in there just get in the way of each other.
Put in your ferret(s) then drop in a ping-pong ball and watch the fun begin! You could try one ball per ferret if you like, but be
sure there are no mats for them to get traction with (we've never had one in there and think less traction is better). It needs to
be a ping-pong ball though because they really bounce and they can't get a good hold on it because they're hard, so they'll be
chasing the thing until they're exhausted! (Don't let them play until they're panting too hard and their tongue is all hanging out) If
it's going to be bath time anyway, to liven it up a bit, try lubricating the tub with a small amount of baby oil so they'll have extra
poor traction! This is not really necessary because the tub will be very slippery anyway, but the oil helps their skin. (You may
want to check with your vet, we do it sometimes and it's never harmed any of ours.) This game is also fun for kittens as well. Also,
as with any toy or game, don't let them do it or have access to it all the time because they're smart animals and will become bored
with it, just like you would get bored by watching the same movie or playing the same game over and over again! We even take up
the tunnels, hoses, balls etc. and rotate what toys they get to play with or sometimes no toys at all so they have to play with us and
each other, this way when they get one of them, they're more happy and excited about the item. ONE MORE CAUTION about
"bath tub ping-pong", they may want to check every now and then if the ball is in the tub, so never leave any water standing in the
tub, because once Jamie, (the first and the one I bought for my daughter) jumped in to check on the ball and there was water
standing, (about 3 inches), because we had let an iguana swim just earlier, and one of us had to use the restroom and there was poor
Jamie, standing in the water and since it was wet it was too slippery for her to get out. The danger is that if she had been there
long enough to get tired she would have drowned due to the fact that she wouldn't have been able to keep her head out of the
water when she laid down to rest!
Share your ferret games with us via e-mail, and we'll post them here with your name as the author, creator or donor
of the game if you want your name posted. Also, never let them have access to a toy or game all the time as they will
get bored with it. Vary the toys and games so they will always enjoy them when they get to play it.
of the game if you want your name posted. Also, never let them have access to a toy or game all the time as they will
get bored with it. Vary the toys and games so they will always enjoy them when they get to play it.
