Ferrets are cute and cuddly, mischievous, and above all else: sleepers! They sleep for about 16 hours a day and are only awake for 8 hours – and that’s when they are young. Beuler – my old man ferret whose 6 now – is only awake for 2 -4 hours each day. It’s important that they have good places to sleep during those long hours. They will curl up just about anywhere, but hammocks are great because they keep the light out, are soft, warm, and good for snuggling in.
With this pattern you can make your own sleep sack hammock for your little one or, as in the case of the one I’m making, for a little one at the local shelters. Unfortunately the rate of abandonment for ferrets is very high. People mistakenly think it’s like having a rat, rabbit, or hamster. It’s more like having a sugar glider or, really, a puppy mixed with a squirrel. Good at getting into trouble, eating things they shouldn’t, and needing many hours of hands on play every day turns out not to be what people thought it would be. So abandoned, neglected, malnourished (Beuler’s case – he was soooo little when I first adopted him at 1 year old), and turned into shelters everywhere. I want to make sure that my local shelter has the right equipment for their ferrets or maybe even something to give the new owner to get their ferret condo set up right.
A great write up on what makes good ferret bedding. You should read this before picking out your fabric for this pattern.
A great story about one woman made a difference with her knowledge, thoughtfulness, and high quality handmade ferret bedding.
Here are some links to sewing patterns for ferrets:
A ferret plushie with a hiding place for your ferret!
A ferret hammock + many other pet sewing patterns
Ferret shoe bed – I think my little citizens would like this one.
Round up of ferret/small pet patterns – sewing and crochet!
From what I’ve red, yarn based bedding is not reccommended – like a knit, crochet, woven fabric – because the ferrets’ claws can get easily snagged in them and could potentially tear them badly or just cause un-necessary stress. Felted fabrics are great though, so knit and then fulled out or crocheted and fulled out is great. Fleece and felt are good. Sweat shirts are a great recycled material to use.
AWW! I love that you sew them for shelter ferrets! So sad that there are so many there. I have a friend who fosters ferrets (sadly, they’re illegal in CA) until they can be rehomed. They’re such amazing little animals! Thanks for sharing this pattern, I’ll be linking.
Hey, you should’ve posted this yesterday, it was National Ferret Day. We’ll call this an extended celebration. Great stuff, Kristin, thanks! The ferret shaped hidey hole looks awesome, but your hammock pattern is more my sewing level. Always great to see pictures of the little citizens, too. :)
Thanks, I am so excited!
Rollo is getting to be such an old lady- a comfy bed is essential.
yay thank you! I am excited to see patterns for ferret stuff when I wasn’t even looking for them. The third picture looks a lot like one of mine, Ziggurat 8.3, who is a tiny little guy, especially compared to the one fluffy one and the one huge one. It’s so sad what happens to them, I’m really glad you’re doing something to help out!
You’re right about ferrets being a handful. Ferrets need lots of time outside of the cage and lots of safe space in which to roam and investigate matters.