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Help !! why does our ferret cry ?

by Cheryl & Emily
(USA)

First , I would like to say what a great site !!

My daughter Emily(12) just got her first ferret, Lucy –

we have done a lot of research before deciding to become a ferret owning family, and went to several shops to hold and learn about them as we wanted to be sure we could care for Lucy properly. We LOVE her, but are concerned about her crying when put in her cage- is this normal?

Lucy is 9 weeks old- we have only had her for about 4 days, but she already knows my daughter is “Mommy”.

Lucy is out to play several times in the day but lately, when we put her in her cage she is becoming “crazy”, for lack of a better word. She screams (loud enough to be heard from 3 rooms away) and chews the bars so hard we are worried she may break a tooth. I think it is because she does not want to be away from my daughter. Do they bond that strong?

We let her out once to soothe her but she is becoming worse every time we put her up (leaving her out 24/7 is not an option) and she is starting to scare us – we feel so sorry for her but if you try to comfort her she is so frantic and crazed she bites you once the door is open. It breaks our hearts to see her so upset.

She is spayed and has had her shots (otherwise you would think she had rabies the way she acts) when she acts this way we leave the room as staying only seems to upset her (and us) more.

Any help would be much appreciated as we want Lucy to be happy and do what is best for her.

Comments for Help !! why does our ferret cry ?
Jan 13, 2012 up date for Lucy
by: Cheryl

Lucy is now doing wonderful, we found out it was a case of #1, she was so young when she was separated from her mom, it was to much stress – we ended up just letting her stay with Emmy almost all day, and also a change in diet, she would nurse in the crook of Emmy’s arm, suckling Em’s skin seemed to act a pacifier , and the new vet diet was much better for her. She is now a yr old, and run the roost – lol. She is by far the “Queen” of the house, with even the big dogs giving way to her =) She goes everywhere w/ in summer, leash trained very well, and has play dates w/ the local ferrets – great fun for her =)

We thank everyone who has read our story. It was so heart breaking in the beginning, but could not have ended up better – she is happy, sassy, and so very loved =)
Dec 26, 2011 Hope she’s doing better..
by: Naomi

I just read the conversation, & my heart melted for you guys. I remember having the same issues with our first ferret Toby… He was the reason we got Sasha & most of those behaviors disappeared after he got his sister… Shortly there after we became the safe haven for other rescued ferrets as we were friends with the one pet store here & There wasn’t anywhere for unwanted ferrets here in our little town.

At one point we had a total of 6 carpet sharks – we had 3 large cages connected with tubes for when we weren’t home. Only 1 ferret liked to be alone sometimes but there was enough room that he wasn’t always crowded. I hope you guys are doing better now.. Happy New Year!
Apr 11, 2010 Thank you !!
by: Cheryl

Thanks to all who have helped us with your advice.
Sadly it seems little Lucy has not had the best of starts, but we hope to make her life a nice one-
I appreciate all the post, and am so thankful there is a site like this, and people who care enough to take a few minutes to help a “ stranger” and little Lucy.

Lucy was a rescue, I do not know her whole history, but she was put up for adoption threw a rescue, and policy is they MUST be spayed – we are not real happy about her young age being spayed either- but we just could not leave her there.The shop we purchased her threw is mostly rescue ~ and she was the only ferret in there so I do not have the opportunity to get a litter mate.

I am thinking maybe another ferret too- that is a good idea.

she is out of her cage most of the day, but we have to put her up at night for her safety- we have a large dog ( they seem to like each other, but I would not want to leave them overnight alone, and so far have not let them in the same room, its to soon I think), and large snakes, and I just could not trust that she would not be so clever as to open( go under) the wrong door or pry open the wrong tank lid- but for most of the day she is out to run and play, but never in the snake room.

She does have a little hammock and a blanket we keep for her to rest in when she is in her cage.
I also agree stress must be great for her right now – much changes in such a short time~ we hope we are doing the right things for her, and we will read the site daily :0)
I again want to thank everyone for your help.
Best regards,
Cheryl , Emily & Lucy
Apr 10, 2010 Stressed Fuzzy
by: tracy

At 9 weeks old she has been taken from the other kits and is very young to be on her own, she does need a companion to play with.
Ferrets love to play and they love company she is probably very stressed when she is left on her own.
Apr 10, 2010 Ferret
by: Tammy

Ferrets like to be in a group. Get her a friend to snuggle and play with. Someone she was with where you bought her would be great. She needs a cage mate. At least one more.
Also get her something she can hide in and cover up. Ferret.com and ferret depot are great places for those things AND they cost lots less there then pet stores. Good luck with your new ferret they are a joy!
Apr 10, 2010 a tip
by: Helen

is she in a room with lots of light?
Specially at night keep her place dark, ferrets are not creatures that like to be in a lit room for 24/7. They lose sense of day and night, it drives humans crazy and animals need the same cycle as we do. Some of course sleep during the day but always crawl into a dark place. There are special hammocks for ferrets they can crawl in to.

But I still advice you to join the forum and get more info. THe help you seek is there!
Apr 10, 2010 Spayed at 9 weeks?
by: Helen

that is a little too early should not be done until they are at least 5 to 6 months old 🙁
It’s illegal here thank goodness!

As for the crying, she is lonely it seems… she is ripped from her brothers and sisters and put alone in a cage. When you can not give her more than 2 hours play time which means you will have to play with her for at least an hour it is sad that she has
to be alone.
Some ferrets like it by themselves but obvious Lucy
doesn’t. I’d join the forum if I were you get some more info from people who have one ferret.

the books and info on the net sometimes is a little old and does not give you all the info you need. The people you got the ferret from should not have spayed her and let her at least grow up.
Messing around with hormones on babies is never good, what if we started doing that on humans?

Check the link in the menu on the left and please join the forum. It’s a great place to learn more and is full with wonderful people!

7 thoughts on “Help !! why does our ferret cry ?”

  1. I also just got a ferret who is only 8 weeks old and he cries like crazy and attacked the cage like what you said Lucy was doing. Mine is named Loco. He’s been out playing most of the day too but he freaks when I put him away for the night unless he is already asleep. In babysitting a friend ‘s ferret (that’s what made me buy myself one) and there cages are maybe an inch apart and they play together all day. So he had a companion for now. But he makes a little squeak noise when he wants pet and is super attached to me like you said Lucy was to your daughter. Think it’s the same thing?

  2. He did the crazy screaming for the first time today. I don’t want to put her in with him as he poops only in his potty box and she poops everywhere. Hopefully in a few minutes he will go in his cage nicely. What else can I do?

  3. I’m sorry, Barb, but I don’t understand what the problem is. Are you trying to introduce a new ferret to an old one?
    Very young ferrets cry if taken from their mamas too earlier on so I’m assuming that isn’t the problem you have, right?
    There is a page here which is about introducing a new ferret to an older one so IF you’re worried about that, then please check it out to see what else you can do to introduce them to one another!

    https://www.all-about-ferrets.com/how-do-i-introduce-a-new-ferret-to-my-established-one.html

    Please also check out my comments to other owners who’ve had this problem – hopefully you’ll find out the best way to make sure your two ferrets get one with one another!
    Cheers
    ~Nona

  4. We have had ferrets in our house for over 25 years, going on our 10th critter! Our newest one (8 weeks old) whines and cries constantly! THE most vocal ferret we have ever had! He gets plenty of attention and love from the human “Mommie”(well both of us) and has bonded with her. We know he is very young and will grow out of this behavior. Blows me away he quits whining immediately when placed in Mommie’s arms!! These animals are a lot smarter than you think!! This one has learned how to play Mommie already!!!

  5. I forgot to mention there are 2 other ferrets already in our house. We have been slowly introducing him to the 2 older “boyses”. We are not ready after one week to let “Loki” sleep with Augie and Yoda yet. Playtime has revealed Loki attacks Augie and Yoda. Yoda walks away, maybe might hiss. Augie tires of Loki then grabs Loki’s neck to show him he is the boss but Loki REALLY whines then!! A few years back one of our ferrets did not receive the new ferret well! Took several months before we let them together! Seemed the older ferret just wanted to KILL the new ferret! Completely amazes me how each ferret has their own distinct personality!!

  6. Kevin, your little newbie is one smart cookie!!
    So glad to know he’s happy and content when in his mama’s arms ?
    Hugs to all your babies from their new buddies down under ❤
    Cheers
    ~Nona

  7. Oh yes, Kevin! That is so true!
    When I used to have my regular gang of six and then added another when one crossed the Rainbow Bridge, I always used to hold my breath when I put the new one amongst them. Most times they were pretty cool and welcoming but sometimes not so much!
    My biggest shock was when I had 3 older ladies and brought home a male albino kit. I thought that the girls would find that their motherly instinct would kick in and they would fall instantly in love with Angus.
    HAH!! They behaved like the 3 harpies in MacBeth and were absolutely HORRIBLE to the poor boy! They’d bite him on his neck and when I got some foul tasting goop to put there, they’d bite him on his bottom or wherever they could. I couldn’t bathe him in the goop so it was necessary to keep him separate from them.
    Like with your ferret a few years ago, it took months and it was only when Angus got older and bigger that they stopped and welcomed him into the chest-of-drawers Hilton, where they all slept, with open arms ?‍♀️
    Cheers
    ~Nona


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