Ferrets make excellent pets because they are generally known to be quiet, playful, intelligent, friendly, and inquisitive. As a ferret owner, it’s important to provide your pets with enough physical and mental stimulation. One way to do that is by playing games, such as peek-a-boo, with them.
One of the benefits of mentally and physically stimulating your ferrets is that it makes them a lot happier. Interestingly, a happy ferret is most likely going to live longer. Another way to give your ferrets enough mental and physical stimulation is by taking them on a walk or even traveling with them sometimes by car.
When traveling by car with your ferrets, you must consider the fact that ferrets can get carsick. To avoid that, one of the things you need is to watch and control their temperatures. Besides, it’s also important to watch what they eat and drink and prevent them from burrowing to the base of your seat.
Do ferrets travel well in cars? Do ferrets get carsick? What exactly will happen if your ferret throws up? You’ll find answers to the frequently asked questions above as you read through the rest of this article.
Do Ferrets Travel Well In Cars?
Ferrets have unique behaviors that make them favored and raised by their owners. First, they are known to be very intelligent. Apart from that, ferrets are quite playful and sometimes like to go out for a walk.
You can even consider traveling with your ferrets, as they are friendly and companionable. Being with them, you won’t have to feel lonely. You can always play different types of games with them, such as peek-a-boo. You can even do some dancing, make a sandbox, or even engage them in a tug-of-war fight when on vacation.
That said, you can consider traveling with your ferrets by car or via an airline. However, the easiest way to travel with them is by going by car.
But here’s a quick question; do ferrets travel well in cars? As long as you put everything in order, your ferrets will travel well with you on both short and long trips.
Things to put in order when traveling with your ferrets
- Visit your vet
Before setting off for your road trip, the very first thing you need is to visit your vet to check the health status of your ferrets. And of course, this has nothing to do with whether or not you recently vaccinated them.
In case you don’t know, ferrets can be very secretive when it comes to displaying their health issues. As such, you need to take them to a reliable veterinary doctor for a proper checkup. Before you can take them with you on a road trip, you must be certain they are disease-free and healthy.
Furthermore, since ferrets are known to have great escaping skills, it’s important to get them microchipped before setting off for the trip.
- Things you need to put in place
For the road trip, the very first thing you need is a carrier for the ferrets. The cage has to be secure and big enough to keep your ferrets safe all through the trip. Furthermore, make sure the cage is big enough to keep the litter tray, food, and water for the ferrets.
As for the food and water, the best you can do is to go along with enough for the ferrets. Most times, it’s important to always stop every one or two hours to give the animals food and water. This way, you can prevent them from falling sick during the trip.
Other things you need to take along with you for the trip are a leash and harness. This is especially important if your ferret is mature and can walk freely. During the trip, you’ll certainly need to take the animals out, once in a while, for a walk. This will allow them to stretch their legs during the trip and save them from becoming weak.
- Controlling your ferrets’ temperatures
Another thing to take seriously when going on a car trip with your ferrets is their body temperature. It’s not ideal to keep them in the car during a hot day. That’s so because ferrets are generally vulnerable to heatstroke.
Since that’s the case, you must always stop your car when faced with heat and keep your ferrets in a cool place for fresh air to blow on them. You can also consider going with a cooling fan to help them better control their temperature.
- First aid kit
Before setting off for the trip, you need to also put a first aid kit in place for your ferrets. Inside the kit, there must be medications for the animals in case of an emergency sickness. A good example is Saline, which is effective for flushing eyes and wound cleaning.
Other things that should be inside the first aid kit include a feeding syringe, food, Nutrigel, Pedialyte (in case of diarrhea), bandages, and Bach’s Rescue Remedy (in case of pawing).
The bottom line is that ferrets will most likely travel well if all the things mentioned above are put in order. You need to control their body temperature and give them food and water hourly.
Do Ferrets Get Carsick?
Yes, ferrets can get carsick. This explains why you need to keep them safe during every car trip. The best way to do that is to help them control their temperature and give them food and water appropriately.
If your ferrets are not eating and drinking well during the car trip, they may be at risk of insulinoma. Some of the warning signs of the sickness are drooling and pawing.
In case you don’t know, ferrets possess a very very fast metabolism. With that, it means the food they eat gets digested pretty easily. This explains why you need to stop the car hourly and feed them.
Ferrets can also get sick if they eat the foam material of your chair seat. This usually happens when they borrow the base of the chair. Keep them in the cage all through the trip and cover the base of the chair appropriately.
What Happens If a Ferret Throws Up?
If a ferret throws up, it’s a warning sign that things are not okay with it. The best you can do, at this point, is to take the animal to a veterinarian. It could be that it has swallowed something solid and most likely the object is in its intestine or stomach. If this happens, the ferret will fail to drink, eat, and most likely vomit.
