Maintaining Your Ferret Playpen

Ferret Playpen

As a ferret owner, and to have a ferret as a pet, you should be aware that your pet’s health is closely related to how clean your ferret playpen is. For example, your pet uses the ferret litter several times in a day, but if waste starts to build up in you pet’s playpen, this will create a condition that is very unsanitary. If your pet’s litter box is already full, your pet will go outside the litter box and this may cause the food and water to be contaminated. If you think your pet’s litter box in your ferret playpen is already starting to create strong odors, then imagine how much it is for your pet since ferrets have very keen sense of smell.

Here is a cleaning schedule that you can use as guide for you to maintain the cleanliness of your ferret playpen (also see ferret houses, ferrets cages and ferret mansion). Remember that the number of ferrets you have in your ferret playpen will definitely affect how often you have to do these tasks. Owners with 3 or more ferrets should make sure that they clean their ferret playpen as often as possible to make sure that your pets stay healthy and away from any ferret disease.

Daily Cleaning:

  • Make sure to scoop all solid wastes (ferret poop) and urine-soaked litter out of your ferret’s litter pan.
  • All water bowls and bottles should be emptied and cleaned with soap and water. Having a bottle brush is helpful as well and is more effective when cleaning water bottles.
  • Get rid of all leftover foods (ferret eating habits) and make sure to wash your ferret’s dishes with soap and water before starting to refill it.
  • “Accidents” outside your pet’s litter pan should be cleaned thoroughly using an enzymatic cleaner.
  • Remove and replace all spoiled beddings such as blankets, sleep sacks, ferrets toys, ferret tunnel, ferret balls, ferret games etc.
  • If your playpen has pullout pans, make sure to check if it needs to be wiped down. If you used to place a newspaper in it, make sure to get rid of all the spooled papers.

Weekly Cleaning (also see ferret care information):

  • Make sure to wash all fabric toys and beddings. You can do this using your washing machine, but be certain to follow instructions from the manufacturer.
  • Empty your ferret’s litter box and clean ensure to clean it thoroughly.
  • Disinfect your ferret playpen using a safe cleaner.
  • Make sure to clean all plastic toys, shelves and other plastic items, except for your ferret’s water and food dishes, in the playpen using a safe disinfectant.
  • When you are cleaning your playpen, make sure to get your pet out of it. Although these cleaning products are safe for ferrets, it is still necessary to ensure that the playpen is already dry before putting your ferrets back in.
  • You also have to make sure that you rinse your ferret playpen thoroughly to make sure that you are able to get rid of the entire residue from the cleaner that you have used.

There are products available that can help you simplify the cleaning process and to make sure that odors are reduced. Deodorizing sprays are available as well as waste deodorizers that can help you reduce the time needed to finish cleaning your ferret playpen.