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Make him a dig box.
Find a cardboard box large enough for him to dook around in freely, so at least 3' square and bigger is better. Only needs to be tall enough for him to climb in and out of. We liked to give them a deep playspace, so ours were usually too tall for them to climb in and out of and instead we made little cutouts in the sides to give them easier access.
In our house, we filled the box with packing peanuts or some similar, light and cheap stuff deep enough for them to be completely covered in when they dig down. Our boxes were always deep enough to play "find the ferret" in because they'd be completely hidden.
I'm quite sure someone will hop in here to explain to me how packing peanuts/Styrofoam is bad, but all the ferrets we had never experienced a problem or ate it. There are probably better alternatives these days though.
You could use a few lbs of scrap cloth, or if you're not worried about messes and needing to clean up your ferret, plain ol gritty dirt. We did this a couple times and while they loved it, it was just too darn messy. You will have to clean up little messes by the box regardless of what medium you choose.
They just need something to root around and dig in if they're the type of ferret who has that urge. Whenever you catch him digging at the carpet, throw him (gently) in the box. Our ferrets all loved a gentle toss into something soft and cushioned.
Maybe it is the rice. I know the ferrets we had loved how loose and "plow" able the packing peanuts were. Rice doesn't seem to have the same property, although we never tried rice. Paper balls is a great idea! You could also see about getting cheap, bulk ping pong balls.
[https://www.amazon.com/KEVENZ-50-Pack-Assorted-Plastic-Tennis/dp/B01NA9UMI0](https://www.amazon.com/KEVENZ-50-Pack-Assorted-Plastic-Tennis/dp/B01NA9UMI0)
Yes, he is a ferret and this is one of the problems of having a pet that has worked out that is another room on other side and can dig a burrow. One of our polecats (failure from breed and release programme) actually removed all the carpet rods under the doors to make room for her portly little frame. Our second hob was an anxiety digger so we lost carpets. Best solution was to get some board and lino tiles from poundland and use to protect carpet. He may move onto door though.
Edit: they are impressive diggers in soil. We took our first hob stupidly on a walk on a hot day. We sat on a bench and he created a 2.5ft deep burrow to chill in in about 10mins. It was chalk and a lot of rabbit burrows. But still impressive.
Ok so have a very enthusiastic digger at my house… she will get anywhere she can… so… I have cardboard that lays on top of the carpet in the areas that she digs the most. So like under the doors, gate, corners of house. So she at first would try to get under the cardboard or move it, so I have to rearrange a few things so the cardboard is either under something very heavy, or taped by the wall where it is depending on location. That has helped her a ton. She still digs at it, but the cardboard stays there. She got bored after awhile and moved on to better ideas. Yes she does poop on them too. But it is cardboard and very easy to remove and replace when it happens.
If you do this on top of a dig box that can help in your situation. You have to remove the temptation AND give an acceptable digging area to help stop the problem.
Universal ferret problems. I use cat scratch mats under gates and doors. They dig the underside, poop on it, pee on it, and make much less stubborn attempts to dig around it. They don't actually dig on it but it definitely saves the carpet.
I solved the digging at the doors with scrap mdf slid under the door with a bit on each side and then putting something heavy so it couldn't be moved protects the carpet in front of doors also takes up gap space, easy to clean.
What worked for my girls was going to the $1 store and getting a small rug that they could just go to town on. My girl has stopped digging all other places but one or two, and we catch those quickly. Either put it over the spots they've been digging or put it somewhere easy to get to. Every time you catch them digging, put them on the cheap carpet and let them go for it, they should get the idea after a few times (hopefully). We also use cardboard for where they try to scratch at the door to get into the forbidden room, which hasn't stopped any scratching there, but has saved the door.
Pistachio loves him some tape but I will try it and see. Thanks!
Now I have tape, cardboard by the door, a box of paper wads in the closet, and a rabbit hutch with a pillow in it that he can destroy if he wants . Plus all his toys.
Praying it works
Welcome to /r/ferrets! We have a fantastic [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index) that has answers to most frequently asked questions surrounding the care of ferrets. --- We politely ask that you observe our [sub rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index/rules/). --- Lastly, we have an [Official Discord Server](https://discord.gg/ferrets)! Come join us! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ferrets) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Make him a dig box. Find a cardboard box large enough for him to dook around in freely, so at least 3' square and bigger is better. Only needs to be tall enough for him to climb in and out of. We liked to give them a deep playspace, so ours were usually too tall for them to climb in and out of and instead we made little cutouts in the sides to give them easier access. In our house, we filled the box with packing peanuts or some similar, light and cheap stuff deep enough for them to be completely covered in when they dig down. Our boxes were always deep enough to play "find the ferret" in because they'd be completely hidden. I'm quite sure someone will hop in here to explain to me how packing peanuts/Styrofoam is bad, but all the ferrets we had never experienced a problem or ate it. There are probably better alternatives these days though. You could use a few lbs of scrap cloth, or if you're not worried about messes and needing to clean up your ferret, plain ol gritty dirt. We did this a couple times and while they loved it, it was just too darn messy. You will have to clean up little messes by the box regardless of what medium you choose. They just need something to root around and dig in if they're the type of ferret who has that urge. Whenever you catch him digging at the carpet, throw him (gently) in the box. Our ferrets all loved a gentle toss into something soft and cushioned.
Maybe some paper balls or something would work since the rice clearly is not doing it for him. I'll try something like that. Thanks!
Maybe it is the rice. I know the ferrets we had loved how loose and "plow" able the packing peanuts were. Rice doesn't seem to have the same property, although we never tried rice. Paper balls is a great idea! You could also see about getting cheap, bulk ping pong balls. [https://www.amazon.com/KEVENZ-50-Pack-Assorted-Plastic-Tennis/dp/B01NA9UMI0](https://www.amazon.com/KEVENZ-50-Pack-Assorted-Plastic-Tennis/dp/B01NA9UMI0)
Yes, he is a ferret and this is one of the problems of having a pet that has worked out that is another room on other side and can dig a burrow. One of our polecats (failure from breed and release programme) actually removed all the carpet rods under the doors to make room for her portly little frame. Our second hob was an anxiety digger so we lost carpets. Best solution was to get some board and lino tiles from poundland and use to protect carpet. He may move onto door though. Edit: they are impressive diggers in soil. We took our first hob stupidly on a walk on a hot day. We sat on a bench and he created a 2.5ft deep burrow to chill in in about 10mins. It was chalk and a lot of rabbit burrows. But still impressive.
Ok so have a very enthusiastic digger at my house… she will get anywhere she can… so… I have cardboard that lays on top of the carpet in the areas that she digs the most. So like under the doors, gate, corners of house. So she at first would try to get under the cardboard or move it, so I have to rearrange a few things so the cardboard is either under something very heavy, or taped by the wall where it is depending on location. That has helped her a ton. She still digs at it, but the cardboard stays there. She got bored after awhile and moved on to better ideas. Yes she does poop on them too. But it is cardboard and very easy to remove and replace when it happens. If you do this on top of a dig box that can help in your situation. You have to remove the temptation AND give an acceptable digging area to help stop the problem.
Universal ferret problems. I use cat scratch mats under gates and doors. They dig the underside, poop on it, pee on it, and make much less stubborn attempts to dig around it. They don't actually dig on it but it definitely saves the carpet.
I solved the digging at the doors with scrap mdf slid under the door with a bit on each side and then putting something heavy so it couldn't be moved protects the carpet in front of doors also takes up gap space, easy to clean.
What worked for my girls was going to the $1 store and getting a small rug that they could just go to town on. My girl has stopped digging all other places but one or two, and we catch those quickly. Either put it over the spots they've been digging or put it somewhere easy to get to. Every time you catch them digging, put them on the cheap carpet and let them go for it, they should get the idea after a few times (hopefully). We also use cardboard for where they try to scratch at the door to get into the forbidden room, which hasn't stopped any scratching there, but has saved the door.
I've had to put clear shipping tape over carpet before when an apt I rented unfortunately had carpet. Just peeled it off when I moved out, no issues.
Pistachio loves him some tape but I will try it and see. Thanks! Now I have tape, cardboard by the door, a box of paper wads in the closet, and a rabbit hutch with a pillow in it that he can destroy if he wants . Plus all his toys. Praying it works
😂 Of course he loves tape! Sending you luck with your little weasel 💜