Ferret Pregnancy and Gestation

You can tell if your female ferret is pregnant if after a week from mating her vulva begins to shrink. After 2 weeks you should be able to feel the tiny babies but her tummy will only show after 1 month.

Females will need more food and an increase in calcium, protein and fat for the babies, production of milk and to keep her health up. Her health will need to be monitored as there are many diseases she can suffer from. A suitable nest box with suitable bedding should be provided for the mother to make her nest in ready for birth and rearing the young. The pregnant female should only be handled by one main carer and she should not be picked up during the last stages.

Pregnancy takes 42 days and the female can have up to 3 litters a year but 1 is sufficient. A normal litter has 6 - 9 kits which are born naked, blind and helpless and only weigh between 6 - 12 grams. Delivery takes around 3 hours and it should only be observed from afar. Do not clean anything up, let mum do that as this is part of the bonding time.

Ferrets are not always good mums, especially new inexperienced ones. They can neglect their kits, eat them or be physically unable to nurse them. Hand rearing is difficult, the mortality rate is high and the babes need to be fed every 4 hours with a dropper for 2 weeks.

Disturbing the nest after birth can cause the mother to harm her babies so DO NOT upset her or allow strangers near the nest. If there is a problem or there are opportunities to clear up after a couple of days then only the main carer should do this.

The kits soon become covered in fur, at first white then later changing colour. At day 10 they start to get some of their baby teeth, they open their eyes at around 21 days. They begin to explore, play and attack everything at 2 weeks. At 3 weeks the kits can be given mashed up meat and be fed puppy meal. By the time they are 10 weeks old they can be fed adult food. Permanent teeth should be coming through and their baby teeth coming out. This is the time that the ferret kits should be handled frequently and gently other wise you will end up with terror kits.