Ferrets are moody animals and can be stubborn at times. But with some training they can be made to do what you want them to do. A good way of achieving this is by giving them a reward whenever they do something you would like them to do. For example, ferrets litter only in their pans when trained well.
Punishing them will never help as they will never learn what you expect them to do. A small treat is a good enough reward for a ferret. Another thing that works well with ferrets is time out. Ferrets love the attention of their owners, even if it is an angry reaction. So leaving them in a cage for an entire day could be a good way of making them realize that their behavior was not appreciated.
Training a ferret to use its litter pan needs some careful observation and patience as there are bound to be a few misses. These are the 5 things that you need to follow:
Fasten the litter pan to the part of the cage that the ferret uses most for littering. Use the remaining part of the cage as sleeping or eating area with bedding and toys.
Leave a small amount of litter in the pan so the ferret understands that it is the litter area. The edge of the litter pan facing the cage should be lower so the ferret doesn't face problems with it while the other end should have higher edges. Ferrets litter by usually backing up right to the corners. High edges also helps to keep surroundings clean in case the litter overshoots.
In case you find your ferret using the litter pan, give it a treat and then open it to a small area outside the cage and place a litter pan there. Try to observe if the ferret is using it in that small area.
Once your ferret learns to use the pan regularly, allow it to play around in other rooms as well. But ensure that every room where the ferret spends time has a pan.
Make sure the pan is in a visible corner that the ferret can find easily.
By following these simple tips you can make ferrets litter in their litter pans, thereby making them more disciplined and neat.