Ferrets make many noises, from happy dook-dooking to huffing. This blog post will highlight some common ferret sounds and their meanings!

Dooking

Dooking is probably the most well-known ferret vocalisation. It often sounds like a soft and repetitive ‘clucking’ sound, which can vary in pitch. Ferrets mostly dook when they’re happy. But there are actually multiple types of ferret dooking!

Such as:

  • Happy dooks. The most commonly known sound, ferrets will dook when feeling happy, playful or excited. Some ferrets don’t dook — this doesn’t mean they’re unhappy, it could just mean they were never taught how to dook!

  • The dominance dook. Ferrets can dook for dominance when rough-housing or winning an argument with another ferret.

  • The annoyance dook. This can happen if your ferret keeps trying to get something and you interfere. It can also be a warning signal before a bite occurs.

  • The horny dook. Hobs who are in season will dook around Jill’s when feeling frisky. This is also known as a ‘hob song’.

  • Mother dooking. A Jill will call out for her kits to return by making a series of low, rapid fire dooking sounds.

Here’s a video example of ferret dooking:

Hissing

Ferrets will hiss when frightened or angry, they may also hiss as a sign to say ‘back off’. Ferrets will hiss at people or their other ferret friends as a means of communication, they are normally trying to convey that they are agitated and to leave them alone. Some ferrets may also hiss at other ferrets when they are rough-housing or biting too hard. If the hiss is short, then it is nothing to worry about. But, if the hiss is prolonged, low pitch or is accompanied by biting, hiding, fleeing, sulking, or other ‘bad’ vocalizations then it is a sign that your ferret is in major distress.

Here’s a video example of ferret hissing:

Laughing/Huffing

Huffing is commonly known as ferret laughter. It’s a panting sound or a series of breaths, inhaling and exhaling quickly. Huffing is usually seen in younger kits. But older ferrets may laugh when they’re super excited.

Here’s a video example of ferret laughter:

Barking

This is a rarer sound. Sometimes, when trapped, in distress, or startled, ferrets will make a distinct barking sound.

Here’s a video example of ferret barking:
Please note: The ferret in this video is being bathed and is clearly in distress. The laughing from the owners shows a clear misunderstanding of the seriousness of the vocalisations.

Screaming

Ferrets will scream when they are in extreme distress, have been injured or are in extreme pain. Some ferrets may also scream when having a seizure. Screaming is a very distinct sound that can be quite frightening to hear.

Note: While there are videos depicting this, ferrets will only scream when experiencing high stress, I did not want to link a video. The video at the end of this post has an audio-only example of ferret screaming.

Deaf ferret noises

Ferrets who are deaf are notorious for making ‘socially inappropriate’ sounds, which can often be misinterpreted as the ferret being in pain. These sounds range from hissing, screaming and screeching to strange clucking, puffing and clicking sounds. Deaf ferrets can’t hear themselves, so they are more vocal. It’s important to decipher if your ferret is making inappropriate sounds because they are deaf, or making appropriate sounds because they are in pain or distress. You can do this by keeping a close eye on other behaviours and body language. The more you socialise with your deaf ferret, the more you will understand what vocalizations are normal for them.

Here’s a video example of a deaf ferret playing & the vocalizations it makes:

Sneezing

Ferret sneezing is normal, it helps to clear the nose of irritants. Sometimes they’ll have a burst of short sneezes, referred to as rapid sneezing. However, if sneezing is persistent or accompanied by symptoms such as discharge, coughing, or lethargy, it could indicate illness.

Snoring

Ferrets can snore, but kits typically snore more at a higher pitch. Ferret snores are usually quiet and soft but can become an issue if your ferret is overweight and has problems with breathing (similar to sleep apnoea in humans).

Whimpering

Ferrets may whimper when they are in pain or discomfort. The whimpers will be airy short huffing sounds, often accompanied by shallow fast chest movements or breath intakes. Some ferrets may also whimper if they feel they are not getting enough attention or not getting their way (like if you’ve taken away a specific toy or their food).

Whining

Similar to whimpering, whining can be higher pitch and much more frequent. Kits may whine to gain attention from their mothers.

Here’s a video example of ferret whining:

If you’d like to recap vocalizations or hear more sounds that ferrets make, here is a video that shows 14 common ferret vocalizations with examples:

Want to know about basic ferret behaviours? You can visit the blog post here!