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We often get asked about whether it is possible to have a pet ferret if you also have a pet bunny, parrot, or other small mammal in the home. There are many stories about pet ferrets causing injury or even death to other pets, but these accidents are preventable. In this series, we are going to discuss different elements that you should be aware of before you mix a pet ferret with other prey type pets. This is the fourth part of this series. You can find links to the parts down below. In the first part we already discussed the biology and domestication process of ferrets. In the second part we discussed how to make your other animal friend safe and comfortable. In the third part, we started our focus on ferrets. In this section, we will cover more advanced training techniques that can be used to desensitize the ferret and delay the predatory response. This is not a training process that we recommend for the average pet owner. For most pet owners, it should be sufficient to desentize the animals as we discussed in previous posts and to prevent direct interaction between them. We are sharing our training techniques for other professionals who work in animal ambassador programs or provide educational services using live animals. In this type of work, these animals are often transported in travel carriers to unfamiliar places and there are more variables that can be difficult to control. This training is an unnecessary risk for casual pet owners who have more control over their home environment and reducing risks of accidental interaction. The goal of this training is to create more time for intervention in case of an accidental interaction or exposure. In the case of educational programs, this could be as simple as a well-intentioned program participant moving an animal carrier closer to another carrier without realizing that the space between the ferret carrier and rabbit carrier were intentional. Or it could be an unsupervised child opening the parrot travel carrier while the animal handler is presenting the ferret. Mistakes happen and accidents happen. Hopefully this training can help prevent them from becoming an emergency. This training process assumes that both animals are already highly socialized and desensitized to new environments. Target training is recommended and flight recall should already be trained for birds. The prey type animal should already have enough exposure to ferrets that there is no fear response or agitation caused by the ferret’s presence. The first step in this process is to gauge the ferret’s predatory drive. How does the ferret respond when you wave a feather in their face? Will the ferret chase a toy mouse on a string? How is the ferret’s impulse control while playing? Does the ferret easily get carried away or does the ferret show inhibition with biting by being gentle or avoiding nipping? Some ferrets are going to require a longer training process than others. This helps determine where to start. If you’ve already target trained the ferret, that is good, but I also recommend training this auditory cue. If you remember from the first part, ferrets are very near-sighted, but they have an excellent ability to locate a sound. For our ferrets, we provide a consistent tapping sound on the floor. We want to train the ferret to locate the source of the sound instead of using a target because the ferret will be capable of doing this over a greater distance and they will notice a sound more quickly than a nonmoving visual object. We want the sound to capture their attention in a way that would be more difficult to do with a target stick. The reason we train this behavior is for a common behavioral training trick. If you want to stop an animal from doing an unwanted behavior, you can give the animal a task to perform that competes with the unwanted behavior. In this case, the unwanted behavior is the ferret investigating a new animal. The ferret cannot investigate a new animal if it is locating the source of a sound that is in a different direction than the new animal. Those two behaviors are in competition. We want the ferret to decide between locating the source of this sound which has a reward or investigating this new animal which is rewarding by satisfying their curiosity. But we are going to manipulate the situation so that coming to where we are tapping will be more rewarding than following their instinct to investigate the new animal. From there, we can work on training them to ignore the new animal. In the video clip below, you can see part of this training process with Jack that was done in 2017. Depending on the level of predatory instinct, you may have to start training using substitutes. This can be a stuffed animal that has the other animal’s scent. For parrots, it is easiest to use their molted feathers. What you will do is to make these objects move in ways that are stimulating for the ferret and then you want to reward for “calm”. This may involve some shaping. You may place the feather on the floor and then call the ferret away before you progress to instigating the unwanted behavior. If a ferret reaches for the object with an open mouth, you may want to work on training for calmly sniffing the object before asking the ferret to move away. This training is tricky because you are instigating the unwanted behavior. It is important not to scold or scruff your ferret for failing as this will cause the ferret to become frustrated. Simply ignore any failures, and reward behaviors that bring the ferret closer to being calm and disinterested. After this, you can start introducing the other animal in training sessions. You should have more than one trainer working together especially if the prey type animal has not been exposed to this situation and it is uncertain exactly how they will respond. You can use a harness on the ferret for additional control, but this may also cause distraction or confusion for the ferret. First you present the animal out of the ferret’s immediate range, but close enough that the ferret recognizes the new stimulus. If the ferret comes towards the other animal, you can lift the animal further out of reach. Also be aware that if the ferret is coming towards the animal, this can cause the other animal to react in fear or cause them to flee which is the opposite of what you want to happen. By lifting the other animal further out of reach, you want to maintain that animal’s comfort and trust in this process. At the same time that the new animal is presented, the tapping sound should also start. This can be done by you or the other trainer. This behavior should also have been generalized to the other trainer before starting any sessions with the new animal. At first, the ferret may choose to investigate the new animal instead of performing the desired behavior. As before, failure is ignored. If the ferret is not staying calm and is persistent in its efforts to access the new animal, then you should return to earlier steps in the training process. If the ferret loses interest once the new animal is out of reach and is staying calm, then continue with the process. The ferret should start choosing to locate the sound and receive its reward. From here, you continue to present the new animal so that it is more within the ferret’s reach. If the ferret reverts to trying to investigate the new animal, then increase the distance again. Once the ferret can constantly perform this behavior as desired, then you can start desensitizing triggering behaviors. In July of 2020, we filmed Jack modeling his trained behaviors for the purposes of this series. Jack was so uninterested in the presence of the parrots that he decided to go take a nap instead. We had to encourage him to even acknowledge the birds so that we could show what the training would look like. For this training, we have mostly worked with parrots. Parrots are at higher risk of flying and landing on a person who might be holding a ferret, becoming startled and flying off, or potentially having a crash landing. The flight behavior is also very stimulating to predatory animals. For this training, we have the parrots do flight recall out of reach of the ferret. The ferret should be exposed to the movements, sounds, and breeze that is caused by the bird flying overhead. Then we want to reward for calm or give the ferret another task to complete while this is occurring. We do not want the bird to be in reach of the ferret or to land near the ferret during this training. This is additional desensitization.
Again, the goal of this training is to increase the length of time that you have to make an intervention in case of an accident in which the ferret and the other animal have access to each other. If the ferret suddenly realizes that a bunny, chinchilla, or parrot happens to be within reach, you want the ferret’s first response to look for a behavioral cue that means an opportunity for a reward rather than the excitement of seeing a new animal. You are trying to encourage the inhibition of a predatory response and creating a new meaning for this stimulus other than what is being provided by the ferret’s instincts. This training does not eliminate the predatory response or mean that the ferret is now safe to have around prey type animals. Again, we do not recommend this training for regular pet owners. Hopefully you now have a better understanding of the dynamics between ferrets and other household pets.
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 Sophie is a deaf, dark-eyed white ferret. Like other deaf ferrets in our experience, she tends to have a more cautious approach to novel stimulus and has a less stimulation that would cause predatory drift due to her lack of hearing. Here she is introduced to Clara the Holland Lop We often get asked about whether it is possible to have a pet ferret if you also have a pet bunny, rodent, or parrot in the home. There are many stories about pet ferrets causing injury or even death to other pets, but these accidents are preventable. In this series, we are going to discuss different elements that you should be aware of before you mix a pet ferret with other prey type pets. This is the third part of this series. You can find links to the other parts down below. In the first part we already discussed the biology and domestication process of ferrets. In the second part we discussed how to make your other animal friend safe and comfortable. Now, we are going to focus on the ferrets. In the predator/prey relationship between ferrets and other types of pets, most of the concerns about stress and safety falls on the prey type animal in the equation. For the most part, ferrets are not going to be stressed by the smell of prey type animals. Most of the smells and movements are interesting to ferrets, not scary. However, there is one type of pet that can cause stress for your pet ferret and those are birds. Remember in the first part when we discussed ferret’s hearing? There are certain high pitch sounds that cause distress in ferrets. We do not know if it is because the sound is similar to a crying kit, the cries of an injured ferret, or if the sound physically causes pain or discomfort. Birds are sometimes capable of making these high pitch sounds which are distressing for some ferrets. In our experience, it has always been female ferrets who have this problem. We resolve this by using a white noise machine in the room where the ferrets sleep. For whatever reason, this seems to work. Other risks to your ferret can include having their noses or toes bitten by other pets when they insert these body parts between cage bars as they attempt to get access to the other animal. If the other animal is trying to protect its territory and is interacting with the ferret through the cage bars, the ferret may be able to bite part of the animal and try to pull its body through the cage bar doing damage in the process. Cages that have tight bar spacing are not a safe barrier between a ferret and your other pet. Large pets such as pet macaws or bunnies can also inflict serious damage on a pet ferret. Animals like hedgehogs may seem like they are able to protect themselves, but interacting with a ferret can be extremely stressful for the hedgehog and it also poses a risk of salmonella for the ferret. This risk of salmonella is why it is advised for people to not kiss their hedgehogs and to wash their hands after handling.  Cages for large birds have bar spacing that may be large enough for a ferret to squeeze through. Additionally, ferret noses, toes, and tails can be injured by territorial cage occupants If ferrets are permitted to interact with other animals, there are behavioral cues that can easily be misread. Most videos that people have seen of a predatory animal attacking a prey animal are usually ambush predators such as cats or pack hunters such as dogs and wolves. Members of the weasel family have a different hunting style that is not as immediately recognizably. To give an example, we are showing you two clips involving the same ferret with two different types of animals. The first clip shows Samson with a young kitten, Peach. Here the risk of predator drift is low because the kitten does not smell like a prey type of animal. You will see that he is mostly grooming her ears and his demeanor is relaxed. He is not fixated on grooming any particular spot. Now we will compare this video with a video of the same ferret, Samson, grooming a rat. Here, the risk of predator drift is higher because both the scent and the movement of the animal are triggering. Notice the increased urgency and attention in his grooming. He also begins to focus on the neck. This is where the predatory drift starts to occur. Did you notice the difference? The predatory style of ferrets is investigative, calm, and persistent. If the prey animal runs or fights back, the ferret is capable of pursuing or subduing. But unsuspecting prey are like a frog in a pot of water in which the temperature is slowly increased and they are unaware of the risk until it is too late. As you saw in the video with Samson, his instinct was to find the right spot to hold onto the neck and if permitted to continue the interaction, he would have clamped down and tried to subdue his prey. This same behavior can also happen in introductions between ferrets, particularly between adult ferrets and young kits. If you see this happening, the good news is that there is time to intervene. If the ferret is able to clamp down, in a lot of cases it does not immediately result in injury or death, especially if this interaction happens between two ferrets. You can scruff the attacking ferret with one hand and use the other hand to encourage the attacking ferret to let go. If you can remain calm, this will make you more successful. You do not want to add your elevated energy to cause the other animal to panic or to further push the ferret into its predatory response. The safest option is not allow your ferret to interact directly with your other pet. You also want to make sure that the other pet is as uninteresting as possible. If your ferret is constantly receiving new enrichment, new stimulation, and new challenges, then it won’t need to create a new challenge for itself in trying to get access to an animal that it has already decided is boring. You want to have the opposite situation that you are making for the prey type animal. You want the ferrets to have constant access to the smells and sounds of the other animal. Having a common play area is one way, but you can also take things from the other animals and bring them into the ferret's space. For example, you can leave a blanket with bunnies to get their scent all over and then give it to the ferrets to sleep in. When your parrots molt feathers, use the molted feathers as scent exposure for the ferrets. Do not make a fuss over the blanket or the feathers. Do not encourage your ferret to play with these items. When your ferrets treat these things as boring and uninteresting, you know that you are doing well in desentizing them.
Finally, I want to take a moment to discuss temperament. In my experience, fearful or nervous ferrets tend to have higher risk in acting on predatory impulses. My theory is that they have lower impulse control with their instincts. You may think that because they run and hide when a stranger walks into a room that they would act fearfully towards your new pet bunny, but the opposite is more likely the case. These ferrets are more likely to attack than retreat towards an animal that triggers that predatory script. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have had some incredibly sweet deaf ferrets that are usually slower to process information in their environment. They tend to be more naturally disinterested in prey type animals and they tend to retreat when they are unsure about what is happening. I suspect that they learn to respond this way because they have less stimulation that would trigger a predatory response by the lack of sound and they also learn to respond more slowly to novel stimuli in general. The final group I want to discuss are our complete love bugs. Ferrets like these are hard to imagine as efficient murder machines. How they act with people is not a good predictor for how they will act towards other animals. The same thing happens with dogs. I would encourage people to exercise even more caution with their absolute sweethearts. The reason for this is that we need to compensate for our own bias. Some of these ferrets might be gentle with animals of other species, while others will not. Your bias and assumption of their gentleness may cause you to miss cues that indicate that your cuddle bug is capable of hurting your other pets. In our next post we will be discussing more advanced training techniques to use with ferrets for the purpose of desensitization and delay of the predatory response.  Jack the ferret poses for a photo with our two green cheek conures, Kurt & Domino (2018) We often get asked about whether it is possible to have a pet ferret if you also have a pet bunny, rodent, or parrot in the home. There are many stories about pet ferrets causing injury or even death to other pets, but these accidents are preventable. In this series, we are going to discuss different elements that you should be aware of before you mix a pet ferret with other prey type pets. This is the second part of this series. You can find links to the other parts in this series down below. In the first part we already discussed the biology and domestication process of ferrets. Now, we are going to discuss methods of safety for other pets in your home. Here at Ferrets and Friends, we have ferrets as well as parrots, bunnies, chinchillas, and a hedgehog. Our rule of thumb for safety is that there should always be at least two to three barriers between the ferrets and the other animals with one of those barriers being a door which is ferret proof. You would think that doors are usually ferret proof, but ferrets can fit wherever their skull fits. In the case of smaller ferrets (usually girls), some are actually able to squeeze under the door. If a door does not latch, it is not uncommon for ferrets to figure out how to push or pull the door open. We never assume that a cage meant for another animal is ferret proof. At one point we kept one of our parrot cages out in the living area which the ferrets were allowed to roam for the exercise. The parrot cage was purchased because it had a tall stand and no bars for ferrets to climb to reach the main portion of the cage. One day, a cat scratching post was moved about a foot away from the parrot cage and one of the ferrets was able to climb to the top of the post, jump the distance to the portion of the parrot cage that had bars, and climb to the top. Fortunately, neither the parrot or ferret was hurt in this scenario. But this caused us to change our safety procedures to require a door in addition to barriers provided by cages. Even if your ferret has never shown interest in climbing onto a table or the top of a bookcase, it is usually because they simply have not tried it yet and does not mean that they are incapable. You do not want them to discover their new climbing or jumping abilities when you are not supervising them and your other pets are left vulnerable in their cage. Accidents happen and sometimes a door to a ferret cage isn’t latched correctly or your creative parrot has invented a new escape through their food door. Having separate rooms significantly reduces the risk of each animal encountering the other during their unauthorized adventure.  Ramona (Silver Mitt Ferret) enjoys climbing to new heights and figured out a way to climb to the top of Missy's cage (Eclectus Parrot) Using separate rooms has an additional benefit for your other pets. Prey type animals need a safe space away from the movements and smells of predatory animals such as ferrets. The consistent presence of ferrets in their territory can cause distress as well as other behavioral issues. Bunnies may urinate outside their litter box to try to redefine their territory. Parrots may display more aggressive or territorial behaviors. Allowing ferrets to visit this space also increases the risk for confrontation as these prey type animals will feel the need to protect their territory or their nests against the dangerous intruder. If your bunny or parrot acts in a territorial manner towards a ferret, the ferret will likely interpret that behavior as something fun and interesting. Even if they seem playful, that has a high risk of causing predatory drift. Most play behavior in predator type animals such as ferrets, cats, and dogs, is behavior that helps them practice stalking, hunting, and wrestling prey. Ferrets should not be permitted to play with pets that they could perceive as prey. This does not mean that you should keep your pets completely separated from each other at all times. You can have a shared common space or bring the prey type animal into the ferret’s play area while the ferrets are caged. This is not for the purpose of allowing them to interact, but to allow them to have exposure to each other’s smells and existence. If the prey type animal is significantly fearful of the ferret, this increases the risk of harm. A parrot screaming a call of alarm will intrigue most ferrets and trigger their curiosity. Aggressive or territorial behaviors that are caused by fear also raises the risk of confrontation. Our video below shows an example of the kind of behavior you do not want exhibited as the parrot's confrontational behavior increases his risk of injury if the ferret would choose to engage with him. Ideally, you want the other animal to be aware of the ferret’s presence and to not feel threatened by it. If they share a common play space, this allows them to have access to each other’s scents and makes a positive association. For example, bunnies enjoy exploring and need time out of their enclosure for exercise. If they feel secure in their territory, they should not feel the need to claim additional territory. While they can smell the ferret’s presence, it is also associated with time for play, exercise, and training. So they gradually find the smell less threatening. Parrots should be able to fly and be encouraged to perch in places that are inaccessible to ferrets. Most parrots tend to avoid spending time on the ground where they are vulnerable, but some species are ground foragers so they may need to be redirected. For parrots, they should have the opportunity to observe ferrets from a safe place and be given a positive association. For example, our parrots have a mobile t-stand which is used when feeding fresh food. Our parrots can enjoy their meal while watching the antics of the ferrets below. Of course, our parrots are already very well socialized so this would not be advisable with a fearful bird. If you are exposing a prey type animal to the physical presence of ferrets, it is the ferret that should be restrained. For example, the ferret can be put in a travel carrier or a screen mesh cage. You allow the other animal to observe the ferret from a distance that is comfortable for that animal and you want to reward behavior that is calm and shows a lack of interest in the ferret. While a screen mesh is not a strong enough barrier for a ferret, under supervision, it can allow the animals to smell or get close to each other without the risk of the ferret being able to bite the other animal through cage bars which can be possible when using travel carriers. If you are using a travel carrier, you should make sure there is at least a couple inches of distance between the animals even if they both appear to be calm and curious. Remember, the goal is desensitization and disinterest.
Some people ask how to get their pet ferret and their pet rabbit or other pet to be friends and the answer is that it should not be attempted or encouraged. Ideally, you want a relationship in which they mutually ignore each other. That is what is safest for your pets. This does not mean that it is impossible for these relationships to occur or that people who allow pets of differing species to interact are being irresponsible with their pets. After all, all pets are individuals and there are members of each species that could potentially interact safely with a member of the other species. However, this is incredibly rare and it is also very risky. To review, there should be at least two to three barriers between your ferret and your other pet. One of these barriers should be a door which means that your ferret is not kept in the same room as your other pet. You never assume that cages meant for other animals are ferret proof. Your other pet has space or territory that is not intruded upon by ferrets. For most mammals, this means a lack of ferret smell and for parrots this is a space from which the ferrets are not visible. Finally, your other pet is exposed to the ferret’s presence in a safe way. For most mammals, this means being in an area where the ferrets have left their scent. For parrots, this means an opportunity to observe the ferrets that is enjoyable for the birds. If necessary, training can be done to lessen the fear response and encourage a calm disinterest in the other animal. Now that we have discussed some safety considerations for your other pet, in our next post we will discuss how to work on the ferret side of this multi-species household. |
About the blogFerrets and Friends, LLC has four writers bringing you information on a variety of topics from pets to wildlife, education to conservation, and from new developments in our business to information about our industry. Learn something new each week! Archives
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