🎄Ugly Sweater Show Off

[Canina]

Omg I need your ferrets

Are you sure you want the half poley?! She’s the sweetest thing sometimes but Christ is she also a tiny wolverine lol

 

[JadeFarms]

Are you sure you want the half poley?! She’s the sweetest thing sometimes but Christ is she also a tiny wolverine lol

I’ve heard they’re very difficult. But I bet theyre worth it

 

[Canina]

I’ve heard they’re very difficult. But I bet theyre worth it

Oh she is most certainly a challenge, but she's also a very special animal

 

[JadeFarms]

Oh she is most certainly a challenge, but she's also a very special animal

I’ve always wanted a hybrid. I’ve heard they’re very difficult and if I remember right they’re bigger too. Where’d you get her from?
I don’t know if you’re in the USA or not but any ferret breeder at all is hard to find here so that makes hybrids even harder to find here.

 

[Canina]

I’ve always wanted a hybrid. I’ve heard they’re very difficult and if I remember right they’re bigger too. Where’d you get her from?
I don’t know if you’re in the USA or not but any ferret breeder at all is hard to find here so that makes hybrids even harder to find here.

I’d say about the same size as a regular ferret but when I say regular ferret I don’t mean an American one/any ferret with any amount of Marshall’s ancestry! But as you well know they dominate the market and it’s hard to find much else. NGL they’re like an entirely different subspecies or something at this point and back breeding to polecats would be excellent for their health, but people would be shocked to realise they’re not as docile or predictable as they’d expect. Even just comparing her to her regular ferret sibling, she is another class of animal. Insanely smart, fast, agile, athletic, prey driven, stubborn as all heck and despite her size (she is still a Jill after all) believe me if you do not keep your wits about you she could maul a full grown man and make him cry. Even the way she chooses to navigate a room, eat urinate and defecate screams ‘wild animal‘ more than pet. I would go as far as to say have a falconry/snake/dog bite suit glove or something for if they get into something they shouldn’t, at least to begin with. I got her from a shelter in the U.K. (with the advice for experienced keepers only!) and you do have to be on your toes but it’s been really rewarding winning her over; it is the cutest thing when she trusts us enough to go all soft.

 

[JadeFarms]

I’d say about the same size as a regular ferret but when I say regular ferret I don’t mean an American one/any ferret with any amount of Marshall’s ancestry! But as you well know they dominate the market and it’s hard to find much else. NGL they’re like an entirely different subspecies or something at this point and back breeding to polecats would be excellent for their health, but people would be shocked to realise they’re not as docile or predictable as they’d expect. Even just comparing her to her regular ferret sibling, she is another class of animal. Insanely smart, fast, agile, athletic, prey driven, stubborn as all heck and despite her size (she is still a Jill after all) believe me if you do not keep your wits about you she could maul a full grown man and make him cry. Even the way she chooses to navigate a room, eat urinate and defecate screams ‘wild animal‘ more than pet. I would go as far as to say have a falconry/snake/dog bite suit glove or something for if they get into something they shouldn’t, at least to begin with. I got her from a shelter in the U.K. (with the advice for experienced keepers only!) and you do have to be on your toes but it’s been really rewarding winning her over; it is the cutest thing when she trusts us enough to go all soft.

Just out of curiosity, what’s your setup like for her?

 

[Canina]

Just out of curiosity, what’s your setup like for her?

I don’t keep them outside- a lot of drama with my living situation. I just have the pair so they’re in a 5ft tall cage- they have an entire floor just for pottying. I don’t bother with cage liners but they have lots of beds and blankets. They have wood pellet litter and puppy pads in the toilet. They have the run of the living room and hallway in our apartment but not the kitchen or bathroom because the pipes going through external brickwork were never sealed properly and she would be out of there so quick (have complained to the landlord). We have tunnels going around the back of furniture etc anywhere things aren’t flush to the wall and have stuffed cardboard underneath anything not flush to the floor because otherwise she would poop/stash food/bite and dig the shit out of the carpet there so fast. We also have to think about elevation because she will climb and try to leap across the room. If you think your room is ferret proof, ferret proof it again! She loves cat toys but the strength of her... String/elastic/fabric alone is not enough. She’s broken pretty much all her fishing rods but the best ones had very small metal couplings like for a cell phone lanyard and were double ended but I don’t leave her unattended with lots of toys because she might break and try to swallow something from inside them. If you think an item is too large/heavy to be stashed, bull. It will be stolen and dragged into a hole somewhere! Provide as many hiding places as possible if you have an open floor plan or they will get into somewhere they feel safe by any (destructive) means possible. They’re out every day according to how we/they are feeling. Sometimes they are out for 4 hours sometimes 10+ ! If I had a larger place and more money I’d probably line an entire wall with cat trees with multiple levels.

 

[JadeFarms]

I don’t keep them outside- a lot of drama with my living situation. I just have the pair so they’re in a 5ft tall cage- they have an entire floor just for pottying. I don’t bother with cage liners but they have lots of beds and blankets. They have wood pellet litter and puppy pads in the toilet. They have the run of the living room and hallway in our apartment but not the kitchen or bathroom because the pipes going through external brickwork were never sealed properly and she would be out of there so quick (have complained to the landlord). We have tunnels going around the back of furniture etc anywhere things aren’t flush to the wall and have stuffed cardboard underneath anything not flush to the floor because otherwise she would poop/stash food/bite and dig the shit out of the carpet there so fast. We also have to think about elevation because she will climb and try to leap across the room. If you think your room is ferret proof, ferret proof it again! She loves cat toys but the strength of her... String/elastic/fabric alone is not enough. She’s broken pretty much all her fishing rods but the best ones had very small metal couplings like for a cell phone lanyard and were double ended but I don’t leave her unattended with lots of toys because she might break and try to swallow something from inside them. If you think an item is too large/heavy to be stashed, bull. It will be stolen and dragged into a hole somewhere! Provide as many hiding places as possible if you have an open floor plan or they will get into somewhere they feel safe by any (destructive) means possible. They’re out every day according to how we/they are feeling. Sometimes they are out for 4 hours sometimes 10+ ! If I had a larger place and more money I’d probably line an entire wall with cat trees with multiple levels.

Oh so pretty much the same as a normal ferret?
They’re definitely something I’d consider in the future when I have the proper setup.

 

[Canina]

Oh so pretty much the same as a normal ferret?
They’re definitely something I’d consider in the future when I have the proper setup.

Pretty much, just on crack. The things we don’t worry about with the regular ferret we absolutely have to worry about with the polecat (e.g. there’s only 3 beds in the living room and it’s not dark enough so she decides she wants to bite her way inside the couch to sleep inside it) but if your house is 100% secure, there is nothing on any desk/counter/windowsill/mantlepiece/everything at every other level is bolted down and you can supervise them most of the time you should be good. They are persistent though. The amount of spaces I’ve covered all the gaps in layers of heavy duty duct tape and she’s just ripped it all to bits. Be prepared to dig your heels in for tug of war but they love it. Sounds like you have a business already so the company will be a good distraction. The problem with Noodle is that the second Nobu goes to sleep she likes to cause mischief not that he keeps up with her energy level a lot of the time anyway. No matter how much we engage her there’s certain kids of fun that can only be had with other carpet sharks. She’s very skittish and jumpy so justcbe mindful of things like another peorsonwalking around in the next room. She is aroused/alerted by any noise that doesn’t have an obvious source, simple as someone opening/closing a door can make her run for cover, jump or attempt to bite anyone holding her.

 

[Nabiki]

You guys are making me think about ferrets again. They're legal in the new place that I'm going to be moving to.