Do you want to buy only the best ferret toys for your pet?
How can you tell which ones are ferret-safe toys?
These and many other questions I will answer in this post. Here I will share with you why should you get your ferret toys, which one should you choose, and what are the most popular toys for them. Also, I will share with you a few homemade ferret toys so you can make a small DIY ferret toys project in your free time!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Why Should You Give Your Ferret Toys?
Ferrets are curious by nature. If you leave your ferret without any toys around him, he will look for fun elsewhere. Usually, that situation results in a broken vase, drawer break-in, destroyed house plant, or any other mischief ferrets are famous for. So, to avoid those types of situations it is good to keep them entertained with toys. When a ferret has a toy that keeps him occupied, he will be too busy to do anything else.
Help Ferrets Drain Energy
When a ferret runs around and plays with any toy, doesn’t matter if it is a tunnel or a ball, he exercises. So, besides keeping them entertained, ferret toys will also keep your ferret in shape and help him drain the energy so he can sleep the rest of the day. It is better to see your ferret chase a ball than see him explore the content of your bedsheet drawer.
Help Improve Ferret-Human Bond
Ferrets are social animals which means they love company. That company can be another ferret, but you too. Most time ferrets are awake they spend playing. If you want to bond with your ferret, you should spend quality time with him. The best way to do that is to play with your ferret.
If you have a young ferret, I recommend avoiding playing with your hands, instead use a toy on a string. That way your ferret won’t consider your hands as toys and he won’t bite you. If you want to see other tricks to stop your ferret from biting, read my post about bite training ferrets.
Ferret Toys Are Fun
Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by a huge pile of great toys? We would all love that and I am sure ferrets wouldn’t mind that too! So, why don’t you get your ferret a bunch of toys so he can play and you can play with him too?
But, unfortunately, you can’t just enter the pet store and buy every toy there is. You have to choose only good ferret toys, the ones that won’t hurt your ferret and keep him safe at all times.
How To Pick The Best Ferret Toys?
There are a few rules you have to respect when you are buying ferret toys. Those rules will keep your ferret safe and entertained. Not only there are harmful toys for ferrets, but there are also toys your ferret will ignore. So, with that in mind, let’s see what are the things we should know before choosing the best ferret toys.
Choose The Best Size
Ferrets are small so their toys should be small enough for them to play with, but not too small for them to swallow. The ideal size of a ferret toy depends on the type of toy. For example, plush toys can be as big as a ferret, but balls don’t have to be bigger than a tennis ball.
On the other hand, everything smaller than a ping pong ball is not good for ferrets. Ping pong balls are a good border because they are rather small but not that small so a ferret can’t put it in his mouth.
Toys Without Small Parts
Small parts like eyes or noses on plush animals are one of the choking hazards in children and small pets like ferrets. They love to chew those parts, but they can actually harm your ferret. If your ferret swallows one of those parts, he can have a blockage which is a very dangerous situation for any ferret.
So, to avoid accidents from happening choose only toys without eyes or noses or the ones with sewn eyes and noses. The same story is with any other type of toy that has small parts – not good for ferrets and you should avoid it.
Forbidden Toy Materials
The blockage is actually pretty common with ferrets and besides small parts, there are some materials that can cause it. The sponge and rubber are high on the list of forbidden toy materials. That means that ferrets and squeaky toys aren’t a good combination although most ferrets love them. If you want to use a squeaky toy with your ferret, make sure that it is made of hard material your ferret can’t chew, and don’t leave him unsupervised with it.
Avoid Ferret Exercise Balls
Exercise balls are made for small animals like rats or hamsters. You put the animal inside when you are cleaning his cage and that way you can keep an eye on him. But, this is not a good option for a ferret. Yes, ferrets love tight spaces, but they don’t like this ball.
They will do everything in their power to get out. There are many reasons why this toy is not a good ferret toy. If you are curious to know what are those reasons, read my post about Ferret exercise balls.
What Toys Do Ferrets Like The Most?
Now that we removed the unwanted toys from the list, let’s focus on ones we know ferrets love. There are a few toys ferrets simply can’t resist and I will show you only the most popular ones. They are all ferret-safe toys and you can give them to your ferret without any worry in mind.
Ferret Tubes & Tunnels
The best ferret toys are tunnels and tubes. Ferrets love them because they love to go through tight spaces and tunnels provide them that. There is no bad ferret tube as long it is more than 10 cm wide (around 4 inches). You can buy flexible ferret tubes, plastic ferret tunnels, made of fabric, the ones made for cats, you name it. As long as your ferret can go inside the tube without trouble, it is a good choice for him.
When it comes to the tunnel length, the ferret would say the longer the better. But, I wouldn’t go that far. I would say that 1,5 to 2 meters is more than enough for a good ferret tunnel adventure. That is around 5-6.5ft. There are a few cat tunnel models on the market with small balls and bells on one side of the tunnel. Those are also good options especially if your ferret loves to play with balls.
Ferret Ball Pit
A ferret ball pit is great for more than one reason. First, it usually has 50+ plastic balls inside so your ferret can play, jump and dig through balls. Second, you can use it as a playpen if it is big enough. Once your ferret enters the ball pit (if he finds it interesting) he won’t exit that easily. There are numerous ball pits on the market, those can be ones made for pets or ones made for children.
What you have to keep in mind is the size and the material of the balls inside. The balls should be plastic. Avoid those made of sponge or rubber. Also, their size should be like a tennis ball so your ferret can’t put it in his mouth. Of course, there are ferrets who can chew balls that big so make sure you check the balls in the ball pit regularly and dispose of those with teeth holes.
Ferret Chew Toys
This is a tough category because, as I have already mentioned, ferrets are prone to blockage caused by a foreign body. Most of the time it happens because a ferret chewed something forbidden. So, are there the best chew toys for ferrets? I would say that there are a few, but I would strongly recommend monitoring your ferret when he is playing with a chew toy. Good ferret chew toys are toys made of extra hard rubber.
Most of you are familiar with the brand Kong and their almost indestructible chew toys for dogs. That is one of the good options, but only a small model and the toughest (the most extreme) one they have on their offer. Also, just like with the balls in the ball pit, examine the toy every week, and if your ferret has managed to tear some small part, cut it off so your ferret can’t swallow it.
Ferret Ball Toys
This is a very wide category. This means every ball there is on the market you can give your ferret, as long it is made of hard plastic or metal. So, this can be a basic plastic ball, it can have a small bell inside the ball, it can be a wired ball with a small toy inside, etc.
The only rule is that your ferret mustn’t be able to chew it. I have tried numerous balls and I will say that the best results for my ferrets come with basic plastic balls. Every other type is interesting for only the first few days.
Toys On String
Another pretty cool toy for ferrets is a toy on a string. It is mostly made for cats but you can easily use it for your ferret too. This toy is great if you want to play with your ferret without worrying he will bite you (on purpose or not). The toy is great because a ferret has to jump and run to grab the decoy and the only thing you have to do is move your hand.
Snake on a string is my ferret’s favorite toy. It is the only toy you can play with at any time, any day. This is the second one, the first one was destroyed around the neck. That is where he bites it and shakes it before stashing it behind the cage.
Plushies
Plushies and other toys made of fabric are a good choice for ferrets. It is a good idea to get a smaller plushie (at least half the size of the ferret) but some ferrets love big ones too. As I have already mentioned, it is important to get a plushie without plastic eyes, noses, or ears. Instead, use plushies without faces or with the face directly sewn on the plushie.
What Else Can Be A Toy?
The most interesting part about ferrets is that they can turn anything into a toy. There are some household items you can give to your ferrets and they will have the time of their lives. So, let’s talk about those items!
Plastic Disposable Cups
There is something special about plastic disposable cups when it comes to ferrets. My opinion is that they are light so they can move it around, loud so they are attracted to the noise, and small enough for them to bite it and carry it in their lair.
Disposable cups were one of the most favorite toys to my Frida and she could play with them for hours. I am not sure whether a paper disposable cup is that interesting. Probably not because it is not that light or loud.
Plastic And Paper Bags
There is a special connection between a ferret and a plastic or paper bag. The moment you put it on the ground, a ferret will come to investigate. But, before you do that, you have to cut the hand holes on plastic bags. Those holes can tie around the ferret which can lead to serious injuries, especially if it is around the neck.
Cardboard Boxes
Ferrets are a lot like cats when it comes to cardboard boxes. The moment you put a new box on the ground, your ferret will enter and sniff every inch of it. The best part about cardboard boxes is that you can easily turn them into something else.
Simply cut a few holes, close the box with some tape, connect two or more boxes in one unit and let your ferret explore the interior. Who knows, it might be his new favorite sleeping spot.
Toilet Paper Rolls
Toilet paper rolls are super interesting to ferrets because they are like small ferret tubes. But, that is their biggest downside. If you give your ferret a toilet paper roll, make sure it is cut in the middle. If you give your ferret a whole toiler paper roll, your ferret will try to squeeze through it and he can get stuck.
That situation can be extremely dangerous to the ferret because a toilet paper roll is too narrow for a ferret. If you cut the roll on one side, it will still have tubular shape ferrets love, but it won’t be a hazard to them.
Rice Filled Container
If you want to give your ferret a chance to dig without stepping out, rice is a great option for you. Rice is good because it is small, safe for ferrets, and extremely interesting. The only thing you need for this ferret toy is a container and a large amount of rice.
The only thing you have to be aware of is that you mustn’t use instant rice. Instant rice blows when it comes in contact with liquid. So, if a ferret eats instant rice, that small piece can blow into his digestive system and cause a blockage. The best choice is long grain rice.
Check Every Toy Your Ferret Has
You have to check every toy your ferret has for any holes, loosen stitches, or any other type of damage. I would recommend doing it once a week and the moment you notice damage on the toy, repair it or replace the toy. There are too many ways for ferrets to get hurt, from a nail getting stuck in the fabric to swallowing a forbidden part. So, with a regular ferret toy check-up, you can be sure that every toy is in a good shape and your ferret is safe.
Homemade Ferret Toys
If you are looking for good DIY toys for ferrets, then this post section is the one for you. Through the years I have made several homemade ferret toys, from very simple ones made in minutes, to big DIY ferret tunnels in a shape of a fortress. Here you can find each and every project I made and you can check them out.
Fantastic Fortress For Ferrets
This is the biggest DIY project I made for my ferrets. Each tower of the fortress comes with some type of staircase so ferrets can get on top. Also, each wall has a tunnel so ferrets can travel from one tower to the other without getting noticed. In this post, you can see what I made and how I made it. So, visit my ferretastric fortress for ferrets post and check it out!
DIY Fabric Ferret Toys
This post is filled with several simple DIY ferret toys you can do in a couple of minutes. They are a perfect choice for people who don’t have much DIY project experience. So, visit my post about DIY fabric ferret toys and make one yourself!
DIY Ferret Hidey Hole
Hidey Hole is technically not a ferret toy, but it is a great DIY project you can do for your ferrets. You can choose between two hidey holes I made in this post, or you can do them both! Start reading the DIY hidey-hole post for more tips!
Rice In A Box
Rice in a box is a very simple but very interesting toy for ferrets. I have made it in a transparent container so I can see what is happening inside and with a lid so that most rice stays inside the container. How I made it? Read my Rice in a box post and find out!
Conclusion
Keeping your ferret entertained is as important as it is to keep him safe. So, make sure to use only toys made of materials your ferret can’t chew through. Also, don’t forget to play with your ferret so you can create and strengthen the bond between you and your ferrets. What is your ferret’s favorite toy? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and don’0t forget to subscribe to our newsletter!
