Dear Anonymous,
 
There are two things that should be taken into consideration here... 1.
Location, and 2.  Nature.  I'm not surprised time-outs are not working
because they are not directly dealing with the problem at hand.  Ferrets
dig... and they dig... and they dig.  It is as natural to them to dig as
it is for us to eat, drink and sleep.  This is something that you can
work with by providing your ferret with a sand or dirt box.  You need not
worry about any sand or dirt getting into her swollen vulva, as you have
to keep in mind that this animal has relatives out in the wild who go
through similar biological changes.  If you are really concerned about
it, you can give her a rinse off once she has her fun in the box.
Remember, wet dirt or sand gives them the most fun.  Children's play
sand works great as does potting soil for a dirt box.
 
The location of the digging needs to be looked at.  Most severe diggings
happen in front of doorways, between rooms, in front of furniture that
has a space under it that seems enticing to get to, or in the corners.
The reason... the door diggings are symptomatic of a ferret wanting to
get into the room (or space) it can't get to (and sometimes can).  There
must be, in their minds, something of more interest to explore by being
in that space than being on the outside of the space.  Just try closing
a door on a ferret when you are in the bathroom... scratch, scratch,
scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch... it is never ending and
persistent.  Corners hold the most smells if there were pets prior to
you living where you are..  If you rent, chances are there may have been
previous pets where you live and they marked that corner.  Also, it
mimics a door opening.  If there were never any pets, then it is the
closest to original smells possible in your living area, as a corner
is not a high traffic area.  Smells attract ferrets.  There could be
something in a particular spot that is attractive to your ferret and
needs to be dug up.
 
What can you do?  First of all, do not punish your ferret for something
that is natural.  Keep the nails trimmed to lesson the damage done by
digging.  Secondly, understand that the ferret is showing you that it is
bored and that it needs to have activities that will stimulate its need
for exploration and fun.  A sand box will help, but keep in mind that it
could become a litter box if not supervised.  You can lay down clear
hallway runner on the trouble areas and duct tape them into place.  If
you rent, you need to do this sooner than later, as your landlord will
not refund your damage deposit after seeing torn carpet.  Also, you need
to be aware that anything negative that happens while a ferret is living
in your quarters that is damaging his/her property, will hurt future
ferret owners from having a chance to live there too.  Deal with the
problem now and save yourself the headaches in the future.  If you own
your place, then you may want to protect your own investment.
 
betty and her blur o'fur
for the love of ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 3867]