How To Find a Lost Ferret

Despite being compared to cats and dogs all the time, ferrets are very different and you need to be very careful with them, especially when it comes to caging. Ferrets will run away the first chance they got and their chances of survival in the wild are very slim.

You should always keep your ferrets caged in a high-quality, outdoor hutch or inside the house. If you want them to get to know their environment a bit more, put a leash on them and continuously supervise them.

In this article, we’ll talk about what you can do to find your lost ferret and how to make sure it never happens again.

How to find a lost ferret. A Few Tips.

Black Sable Ferret
Source: Adobe Stock Photos

A lost ferret is quite hard to find as these animals don’t have a homing instinct, which makes it very difficult for them to find their way home. This is why you need to do as much as you can, as fast as you can if you want your ferret back unharmed.

The best way to make sure you always know exactly where you can find your ferret is to invest in a GPS tracking device. They’re quite affordable these days and all you need to do is place it securely in their harness. Of course, this only works if the ferret runs away while you’re out on a walk or simply exploring the garden on a leash. But it’s a very good start.

Before you start panicking and looking everywhere fanatically, you need to take a deep breath and think things through. Get all the things your ferret loves, such as a favorite toy, blanket, treats, etc, and get ready to begin the search. Looking for your ferret when you’re panicked can only worsen the situation. It’s important to keep calm and get as much help as possible while looking for it.

Search the house and the backyard. Is he really lost or just hiding?

Before you think of the worse, make sure the little mischievous ball of fur is actually lost and not hiding behind the TV taking a nap. When ferrets are in their deep sleep they won’t hear anything, which means that calling for them is like calling for a brick. Search every single room one by one to make sure the ferret isn’t snoozing somewhere.

Start with all the drawers and closets you have. Ferrets prefer napping in a dark and comfy place. A sock drawer is often the first place a ferret would go to burrow and get comfy. When it comes to bigger closets, take everything out with a lot of care. This includes removing all the clothes, storage bins, and shoe boxes. Go through each closet carefully. Check your laundry hampers as well.

Then you need to start looking under furniture and appliances. This includes chairs, couches, dressers, tables, refrigerators, stoves TVs, etc. If there are any signs of recent chewing or damage, the ferret might be close and playing hide-and-seek with you, unintentionally.

If you used to show the ferret your backyard, go there and look under the deck, in bushes of flowers, and other places the ferret might hide in.

Look in the neighborhood. Put up fliers with the missing ferret.

When you’re sure that the ferret has actually escaped, get your neighbors on the phone and try to see if anyone saw it without knowing who it belongs to. Then get a flashlight and a few neighbors and start looking around. Ferrets are burrowers so look under porches, decks, and other similar places.

After you’re sure you have looked everywhere around, place a few humane traps, the ferret’s cage, and lots of treats in your garden. This will help the ferret get back by following its own smell.

You can also try and print out some fliers to get as much help as possible in finding your pet. The fliers need to include a clear photo of the ferret, your contact number, and where it was last seen. To encourage people to actually look for your pet you can also offer a prize if the pet is returned to you safely.

Contact animal services.

After a day or two, you should contact the animal services department in your area as well. This will alert them about your ferret and will keep an eye out to see if someone has found it. Typically, if the pet is brought to an animal services shelter you will have to pay a boarding and handling fee for lost animals. And depending on how strict is your area about ferrets, you might not be able to take it home until you prove the ferret was vaccinated for rabies.

Calling local veterinarians and emergency pet clinics is also ideal. This lets them know who the ferret belongs to if it’s ever being brought in with injuries.