Holidays - the time for reunions, celebrations, decorations, and favorite dishes -are also some of the most hazardous times for your ferret. The milling of guests, the abundance of all kinds of food, the bright and colorful decorations, and the traditional holiday activities can easily cause stress, health problems, and even life-threatening risks to your inquisitive ferret. Be sure to adequately ferret-proof your house during holidays for your pet's health and safety. And while guests are excitedly celebrating the holiday, keep your ferret safely inside her cage to prevent her getting accidentally stepped on or stressfully handled by inexperienced visitors.

Winter Holidays

Your ferret's curious and adventurous nature will quickly lead her to the sparkling, interesting tree that suddenly grew in your living room. The smell of the tree, the attractive, glittering ornaments, and the piles of boxes under it are simply irresistible to ferrets. Unfortunately, these are all potentially hazardous to her, too.

Pine needles, poinsettia, mistletoe and other decorative holiday plants can cause digestive problems in your ferret. Metal, sharp or breakable tree hangings will not only be toxic to your pet, but can also cause choking and gastrointestinal problems. Wrapping, cardboard, foam packing materials and shredded paper - often easily accessible to your ferret during the holiday time - are the common causes of choking and intestinal blockage. The treated water in the tree holder can also be toxic. Extension cords are perhaps the biggest hazard to your chewing-prone ferret, as well as the toys (chewable, metal, detachable parts, battery-operated) and the food treats (sweets, chocolates, preserved meats, nuts and dairy products) that are exchanged to celebrate the holidays.

Ferret-proof your winter holidays by taking these precautions:

• Keep your ferret in her cage while there are guests in the house.
• Do not let your ferret get lost among the gift boxes. Playing with wrappers and packing material, and sleeping inside one of the boxes, can be hazardous to your ferret.
• Keep all ornaments, lights, candles, toys, foodstuff and electrical wiring out of your ferret's reach.
• Make sure the tree stand water is inaccessible to your ferret.

The turkey dinner will smell as appetizing to your ferret as it does to you. Refrain from giving her a taste of your Thanksgiving dinner. The fatty dishes will give her an upset stomach, and the turkey bones will be brittle enough to crack and lodge in her intestines, if they don't choke her first. Therefore, during the Thanksgiving festivities, remember:

• Put your ferret inside her cage when the guests start to arrive.
• Refrain from upsetting your ferret's diet by giving her a share of the Thanksgiving dinner treats.
• Do not feed your ferret any turkey bones, even if they look perfectly "chewable."

Springtime holiday dinners and Halloween trick-or-treating are fun for the kids, but your ferret must be spared the agony of an upset stomach by keeping her away from these types of foods. Dairy products (including cakes and pastries) will discomfort your lactose-intolerant ferret, and high-sugar sweets will disrupt her nutritional balance.

Getting your ferret involved in an outdoor egg hunt is not a good idea, either. Her inherent curiosity could lead her to nibble on dangerous plants, and her burrowing tendencies could get her into trouble.

During springtime and Halloween, remember to:

• Keep your ferret in her cage when everyone else goes outdoors for egg hunts or trick-or-treating.
• Keep spring holiday and Halloween treats (chocolates, candies, and pastries) out of your ferret's reach.
• Keep your ferret away from holiday decor like candles, lights and chewable or toxic knick-knacks.

Aside from the parties, the food and the traditional rituals that are potentially hazardous to your ferret, the Fourth of July adds another stressful element to your pet's holiday: noise. The din of the gathering itself is already unnerving to a ferret who needs restful sleep for the greater part of the day. The firecrackers will upset her even more. Move her cage to the quietest corner of the house, or to another relatively peaceful room when the noisemakers start the Fourth of July festivities.