It’s play time for college ferrets

Hopwood Hall College animal care student Nicole Jackson with one of the ferrets in their new enclosure

Hopwood Hall College is home to five ferrets, a male, which the students have named John, and five females (a female ferret is called a Jill). Whilst ferrets sleep for up to 18 hours a day, they like to fill the time they are awake with lots of play. So the college’s animal care students recently transformed the ferrets’ home to ensure they will have many hours of fun ahead of them.

The enclosure was designed by animal care student Nicole Jackson, 17, from Rochdale, with the help of the college’s new animal technician, Chris Lusby. As ferrets are very inquisitive creatures it’s vital their enclosure includes lots of activities to keep them busy and give them exercise. As well as the ball diving area and swings, the enclosure is now also equipped with footballs, toys and tunnels, which the ferrets have been fully exploring.

Nicole and Chris are pleased with how the enclosure has turned out, and so it seems are the ferrets. Since they moved in John and the girls have been taking full advantage of the space and activities that were designed for them and have been keeping all the students amused with their playful antics. In particular, the ferrets have been enjoying the treats the students hide for them all over the enclosure, a game which is designed to mimic the hunting the ferrets would do in the wild.