Anyone who has ever owned a ferret knows that these cute little critters can be both fickle and super-fast. One minute they will be comfortably resting in your arms and the next they’ll have slipped through your grip, skirted off up the stairs, and found a place to hide behind the couch.
It’s not a problem in a closed-in area, but if you plan to take your pet ferret outside for a stroll in the wider world, you’re going to need a good harness.
There are several different styles to choose from, and many different makes and models, which can make selecting the best harness for your ferret somewhat of a challenge. As with most things, some of these are great products, some not so good, and a few can even be downright dangerous for your pet. Knowing which is the right one to choose can be a bit tricky, so to help you out, we’ve put together this list of reviews of the best ferret harnesses available.
A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites for 2023
The 10 Best Ferret Harnesses
The harness is made from lightly padded nylon material and is fitted with two adjustable plastic clips that will ensure a snug and comfortable fit for your pet. There is also a metal D-ring securely positioned on the back of the harness for easy connection to the supplied leash.
The Kaytee Small Animal Harness is a fully adjustable vest style harness and leash combination. It is available in three different sizes and comes complete with a safe elastic-style leash.
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Fully adjustable
Available in 3 sizes
Light, comfy vest
Price
Build quality
Elastic / Stretchy leash
- Fully adjustable
- Available in 3 sizes
- Light, comfy vest
- Price
- Build quality
- Elastic / Stretchy leash
Limited choice of color
- Limited choice of color
The harness itself is made from a nylon mesh material, and the fasteners have both Velcro and plastic clips. It is available in three sizes and comes in three different colors, purple, red, and blue.
The small animal harness from Living World is another fully adjustable vest style harness that comes complete with a leash. Unlike our Best Overall choice above, the supplied leash isn’t made from a stretchy elastic material. Nevertheless, this product is, in our opinion, the best ferret harness for the money.
Price
Light and airy mesh
Adjustable
- Price
- Light and airy mesh
- Adjustable
Non-elastic leash
Build quality
- Non-elastic leash
- Build quality
The design of this harness is such that it allows your ferret full freedom of movement while still ensuring he is unable to slide out of the harness.
If a premium H-style harness that has been designed for ferrets is what you are looking for, you should take a close look at this model from Marshall. It is made from quality nylon strapping, is fully adjustable, has easy to access plastic clips, and comes complete with a leash.
Specifically designed for ferrets
Allows full movement
Well built
- Specifically designed for ferrets
- Allows full movement
- Well built
Price
Non-elastic leash
- Price
- Non-elastic leash
- FunPetLife Animal Harness
Check Latest PriceThis small animal harness may be a good choice if you’re looking for an H-type harness that has a bit of style. It comes complete with a non-elastic leash as well as a set of decorative material wings that adds a bit of pizzazz.
This harness is constructed from nylon webbing, has small plastic fastening clips, and also has a D-ring on the back to allow secure connection of your leash. Though not specifically designed for ferrets, the harness is fully adjustable and comes in a variety of colors.
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This small animal harness may be a good choice if you’re looking for an H-type harness that has a bit of style. It comes complete with a non-elastic leash as well as a set of decorative material wings that adds a bit of pizzazz.
Stylish harness
Allows full movement
Choice of colors
- Stylish harness
- Allows full movement
- Choice of colors
Price
Build quality
Non-elastic leash
- Price
- Build quality
- Non-elastic leash
While fully adjustable and designed to allow maximum freedom of movement, this type of harness can be a little challenging to fit and adjust. When not correctly fitted, ferrets can easily wriggle free from this type of harness. So, you will need to take care to ensure your pet is secure.
This figure-eight style harness is constructed from polyester strapping and has nylon buckles. It has a reliable D-ring attached to the back of the harness and comes complete with a non-elastic leash.
Fully adjustable
Soft polyester strapping
Allows full movement
- Fully adjustable
- Soft polyester strapping
- Allows full movement
May be difficult to fit
Non-elastic leash
Price
- May be difficult to fit
- Non-elastic leash
- Price
This harness is a little more expensive than some of the products we’ve reviewed. The harness is secured by Velcro, which makes it easy to put on. However, it is not adjustable, and there are no safety clips to hold the harness closed. As such, you will need to make sure your ferret does not pull the Velcro fasteners open.
The RYPET small Animal harness is another vest style harness is constructed from breathable mesh style fabric. It comes with a non-elastic leash and a stylish checkered bow. It also has a large heavy-duty D-ring on the back of the vest where you can fasten a leash.
Lightweight and breathable
Sold D-Ring
Easy to put on
Stylish look
- Lightweight and breathable
- Sold D-Ring
- Easy to put on
- Stylish look
Non-adjustable
Velcro fastenings only
Non-elastic leash
Price
- Non-adjustable
- Velcro fastenings only
- Non-elastic leash
- Price
Our one concern about this harness is that we’ve seen several reports that it can be a little challenging to adjust at the neck. This is something you may need to be careful with, as if not fitted correctly, this harness will be quite easy for a ferret to wriggle their way out.
This denim vest style harness has been specifically designed for small animals like ferrets. It is adjustable, simple to fit, and comes complete with a denim leash.
Stylish vest type harness
Secure clips
Price
- Stylish vest type harness
- Secure clips
- Price
Difficult to adjust
Non-elastic leash
- Difficult to adjust
- Non-elastic leash
- Alfie Pet Kobi Harness
Check Latest PriceThe Alfie Pet Kobi Harness is an H-type harness that is made from quality nylon material. It is adjustable and designed to be non-restrictive and allows maximum freedom of movement. The harness comes with a non-elastic leash and is fitted with sold and secure plastic clips.
We have some concern about the size of the neck loop with this harness as it may not be able to be adjusted to fight the narrow neck of a ferret. However, with some care, this is unlikely to be an issue as, by all reports, the main body strap can be adjusted to fit securely.
The Alfie Pet Kobi Harness is an H-type harness that is made from quality nylon material. It is adjustable and designed to be non-restrictive and allows maximum freedom of movement. The harness comes with a non-elastic leash and is fitted with sold and secure plastic clips.
Build quality
Available in blue or pink
Solid plastic clips
- Build quality
- Available in blue or pink
- Solid plastic clips
Price
Tricky to adjust
Non-elastic leash
- Price
- Tricky to adjust
- Non-elastic leash
This type of harness design is quite well suited to ferrets. However, this particular model is expensive and offers no real additional benefits that some of the cheaper models we have featured above.
This is a no-fuss H-type harness that is made from quality nylon webbing straps. It is available in red, green, and blue and comes complete with a matching non-elastic leash.
Practical design
Build quality
- Practical design
- Build quality
While there is nothing flash about this harness, it is still a good harness. However, it is the only model that we have reviewed that does not come with some sort of leash. This is a significant issue as it means that you will need to purchase a separate leash before you can use the harness to take your ferret out of the house.
This ferret harness from Sandia Pet Products is another no-frills H-type harness made with nylon webbing straps. It has solid plastic clips, is adjustable to fit the smallest or largest ferret, and has a little bell located on the back.
Practical design
Strong plastic clips
Adjustable
- Practical design
- Strong plastic clips
- Adjustable
Price
Doesn’t come with a leash
Only available in black
- Price
- Doesn’t come with a leash
- Only available in black
Buyer’s Guide
If you don’t know what it is that you are looking for, choosing the right harness for your ferret can be a bit of a challenge. There are hundreds of different makes and models to choose from, many varying in price, quality, and design. However, there are only four basic harness types, each of which differs in terms of fit, comfort, effectiveness, and safety. These are:
The Basic Collar
This is the simplest form of harness available and the cheapest. Collars can be constructed from all sorts of material, and it is usually quite easy to attach a leash directly to them. However, this is not an effective or safe way to harness a ferret.
Collars can place a lot of pressure on your ferret’s neck, which can be a problem as they have a habit of jumping from your arms or running and leaping onto things. It is quite easy for a ferret to seriously injure itself, or possibly break their necks if it suddenly runs out of leash. Hence, while you may want to put a collar on your ferret, we would never recommend attaching a collar to a leash.
The Pet Vest
The pet vest is a soft padded vest that slips on over your ferrets back and clips underneath their abdomen and across their chest. They are easy to put on, comfortable to wear, supportive, and generally have a D-Ring on the back of the vest to connect to a leash.
These vests can be made form a variety of different materials, come in a wide range of colors and are typically a good design for ferrets.
Single Strap 8-Shape Harness
As the name suggests, these harnesses are made from a single rope or material strap, shaped into a figure eight. The harness can be fitted without fuss, but is not the best design for a ferret, as they can often easily wriggle out of them.
H-type Harness
The H type harnesses have two large loops. One that fits around your pet’s neck like a collar and another that wraps around his abdomen. Like the pet vest, these harnesses have a D-Ring located low on the back of the vest where you can attach a leash.
These vests are usually adjustable and will fit your pet snuggly. They are safe to use, and as your ferret won’t be able to wriggle out of them, they are generally a better choice.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these reviews have given you a clear place to start when you’re considering the best ferret harness for your pet.
There are plenty of different makes and models available. Still, we’re confident that if you choose any of the harnesses from the top of our list, you won’t go wrong.
To recap, our top picks are:
- Best Overall: Kaytee Small Animal Harness
- Best Value: Living World Small Animal Harness
- Premium Choice: Marshall Harness & Lead Ferret Leash
Check out these posts for more gear for your ferret:
- Best Ferret Toys – Reviews & Top Picks
- Best Ferret Cages – Reviews & Top Picks
