Thursday, June 7, 2012

Traveling with Ferrets

In a few weeks the boys and I will be headed out west to Utah and the annual Blog Paws Conference. This will be my 3rd Blog Paws and the boy’s second one. We will be driving almost two thousand miles as ferrets aren’t allowed in the cabin of any airlines and I will not put my boys in cargo.

Which is why we are driving and thanks to a lot of help from some awesome folks on twitter we will be traveling in style. The Ferret Chariot will be set up for traveling with ferrets not a small task in itself.

Because ferrets are curious little critters you can’t let them run free in a vehicle as they will find a way under the dash and find the one hole they can get through and will either end up in the engine compartment or worse on the road in the middle of traffic.

So the first thing you need is a crate or carrier for the ferret. The size depends on how much traveling you will be doing with your ferret. As I tend to take my boys as many places as I can and often that includes long distance trips I have a medium dog carrier that I use. It is big enough to hold a small litter pan, their hammock, and the door supports their food dish and water bottle. I also put a dollar store rug on the bottom of the carrier to give them something to curl up on if they don’t want in the hammock.

I seat belt the carrier so that the door of the carrier is pointing towards the vehicle door for easy access. In the case of the van the carrier will be pointing forward on the long bench seat.

Packing for the boys Mind you their suitcase can be bigger than mine depending on how long of a trip it will be. Short day trips only require a bottle of water, their harnesses and leashes, poop bags, and maybe a couple of treats.

For this cross country trip the requirements are a bit different.

Leashes Harnesses Puppy Pads
poop bags food A gallon Jug of water from home
A few toys playpen Health Certificates
Rabies tags Groom kit First aid kit
Information kit Treats Hand Sanitizer
Trash bags litter disposable foil baking dish
food/water dishes Photo Id’s List of Ferret Vets along route
freezer cooler packs The Mini Ferret Chariot Ferret Backpack
a few outfits    

 

I am pretty sure I am forgetting something but as you can see it isn’t a short list. What’s in my suitcase?

Clothes Groom kit Journalism bag
Business Cards shoes coffee cup

 

As you can see it is a much shorter list. Traveling with ferrets isn’t for the faint of heart as you have to keep an eye on temperatures both inside and outside of the vehicle. Ferrets don’t do well with temps over 68-78 degrees.

When taking breaks be respectful of the rest stop and use the areas marked for pets and even though ferret poop isn’t that large I still set an example and pick it up and dispose of it properly. Be aware of who is around and any other pets.

Some dogs will chase anything that moves and neither of my boys knows to be scared of dogs or cats as they have both at home. Also watch for children that might come running up to pet the neat/weird animal. Some parents have never taught their children to be respectful of others and will touch without asking. I have a strict policy of picking up my boys off the ground and holding them to me and asking them certain questions before sending them off to have their parents come talk to me about them petting the boys.

This does two things it keeps my boys safe from being mauled and keeps the child from getting bit because they have something yummy smelling on their hands. It also gives the parents a chance to come talk to me about my strange critters. This is where the hand sanitizer comes in no matter how much a child says they have washed their hands some don’t do it.

To be continued…

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A great way to share your ferrets is to show people how to give them a bottle. I use a mix of Ferretone and Olive oil. I cleaned a hotel shampoo bottle and used a needle to poke a hole through the top. The ferrets can't chew it and the flow is controlled by how much I squeeze the bottle. All my ferrets will remain calm while licking the bottle. Others can pet or touch the ferret while he/she is enjoying her treat.