Christmas safety tips for ferret owners

The little, lithe and lively ferret can be one of the most rewarding of pets to own, not least because they are so entertaining and full of life with personalities much bigger than their little frames! Ferrets also tend to love new things to do and play with, which means that often, Christmas is even more exciting for ferrets than it is for children-and there are plenty of ways to have fun with your pet ferrets over the holiday season.

However, it is also important for all ferret owners to remember that ferrets can often be rather too curious for their own good, and are also adept at sleight of hand and making off with sparkly or interesting ornaments and toys when you are not looking! This means that the Christmas period requires a little extra care and attention when it comes to ferrets, in order to keep them safe and healthy, and avoid them getting into hot water!

In this article, we will share some Christmas safety tips for ferret owners, in order to ensure that your pets get through the holiday season unscathed! Read on to learn more.

Christmas decorations

Most Christmas decorations are sparkly and rather flimsy, which tends to make them a perfect target for ferrets who love to hoard things, particularly if they are sparkly and eye catching! However, a lot of decorations are unsafe for ferrets, for a whole range of reasons; they may shed glitter, have loose parts, wires or string (such as in tinsel) or be made of thin glass.

You can buy various novelty decorations for ferrets, to help to keep them entertained and let them take part in the fun-but aside from these, keep decorations well out of your pet’s reach, and avoid putting up anything that is apt to shed glitter.

Christmas lights too-such as you might have on your tree-can be risky for ferrets, due to the electrical wires. If you ferret-proofed your lounge some time ago, don’t forget that the lights and cables for the tree may become an easy target, and plan accordingly!

Trees and plants

Christmas tends to be a time for bringing outdoor plants in-from live Christmas trees to holly and mistletoe, to centrepieces for the table such as a poinsettia.

A live tree that has soft, non-shedding pine needles is generally ok for ferrets, but the vast majority of other plants are not-be careful about what you bring in, and keeping it out of reach of your pet, and checking that it won’t shed leaves or berries.

Christmas food

When it comes to ferrets and appropriating things that aren’t theirs, this will more than likely extend to food, and there is often a lot of this around at Christmas! Trays of snacks and nuts, hanging chocolate decorations and much more are all likely to catch your ferret’s eye, and the majority of these things are unsuitable and even dangerous for your pet. Ferrets have keen senses of smell, and will soon be able to locate the source of a tempting aroma-so don’t leave food and treats lying around when your ferret is on the loose, and make sure none of your guests feed your pet something inappropriate either!

Visitors and activity

At Christmas, many of us enjoy having friends and family over to visit, or maybe to stay for the festive season in its entirety. Some of your guests may be keen to meet and play with your ferrets, which your ferrets may be very keen to take part in too-but take care to monitor your pets, and make sure that they are not getting stressed, being left to their own devices without meaningful supervision, or generally being placed at risk.

Keep the room that your ferrets spend most of their time in quiet and calm, and make it off limits to unsupervised visitors-particularly children. Keep an eye on your ferrets when they are out on the loose with visitors too, to ensure that they are happy and not getting stressed.

Routine

It is important to make sure that you stick to your pet’s normal routine over the Christmas period, and feed them, let them out and play with them at the normal times, and do not neglect them for a day or two due to the amount of things going on.

Additionally, don’t forget that you will still have to schedule in time to clean their cage out, so don’t be tempted to let this slip, as it will not be pleasant for your pets!

Ensure that you have enough food and other supplies to get your pets through the Christmas period without running short-and remember that postal deliveries and couriers will often be running behind over the holiday period, and sometimes well into January too-so don’t leave it to chance!