Anyone own a ferret??

[Chicks_N_Horses]

We have one now. It was given to us and I'll post pics of it when my batteries charge up. I have a bag of ferret food. He is a creamy color and is running around crazy. The kids are going to flip out when they get home tomorrow.

My dad has a bad habit of buying animals and then penning them up with hardly any human interaction. It burns me and I end up having to confescate all his critters. That is how I have the macaws. My husband is not happy I took this ferret but I couldn't leave it in a cage out by itself when it came from a woman who hand raised it and it lived inside its whole life until my dad got it......

Gimme what you have on ferrets so I'll know...this is my first.

 

[Haviris]

I have 3! I have a female I got as a baby, then last year someone gave me two young males. So I have Breeze who is a dark eyed white, Ah Choo is a sable, and Zoom is mostly white w/ silver high lights (not sure what you call it).

What is your boy's (or girl?) name? Sounds like he got lucky!

 

[Love my Critters!]

I have had many ferrets before, and am friends with a woman that runs Ferrets First of New Mexico. It is a rescue program, so if you have any questions just ask... If I don't know the answer I can definately find out for you. Be sure to only feed it a high quality ferret food. They shouldn't eat cat food, it has too much filler and grains. They need 95% meat diet. Also be careful of small objects that they can swallow or tear up and swallow. Ferrets are notorious for getting a blockage in their intestines. Most ferrets come from a big breeder called Marshall Farms. They will have the tatoo on their ear. Most of them get adrienal cancer after about age 3-5 years old. They will start loosing hair, first is from the tail, then moves all over their body. Just keep an eye out for that so when it starts you can get her/him to a vet.
We always enjoyed ours very much. They are a lot of fun and have great personalities.
The best toy you can buy them is a plastic dryer hose from Wal-Mart, they cost about 3 dollars and the little boogers LOVE to run through them. We had several and would make "obstical courses" with them. Yours will love it!

Michelle

 

[arllcountrygirl]

We had one before - but fair warning --- if you let them out to run in the house, they will kill chicks and guinea pigs. Just to give you a heads up.

They are awesome to watch -very entertaining.

 

[SpringChickens]

They are a lot of fun, but I would recommend at least 2, so they can keep each other entertained. Ours used to chase our dogs around the house

 

[SpringChickens]

Oh, she would also steal all of our socks, and take them up inside the couch to hide them... Silly ferret!!

 

[gabrielle1976]

Ferrets are soooo awsome , I havnt ever owned one becuase I Alaways felt that I wouldnt have enough time to play with them , htey should have at least a couple hours out of htere cage a day IMO, be carefull though ferrets are fun but there major predators they will kill birds , rodents , reptiles , anphibaians , just about anything smaller then they are , I am not shure if the macaws would be a math for them or not , defently not if the ferrets could get at them at night while there sleeping they will even kill puppies or kittens sometimes. My friend owned a pet store and a couple of hers got out one night , It wasnt pretty when she came in the next day.

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

Yes, I am aware they will kill chicks, birds, etc..... I don't have any birds inside the house. They all have their own building. No chicks inside either. I keep my brooder on the porch.

It is a male. He has been de-sceneted, although I still smell him!

He is a cute little bugger. I brought him inside and I was sweeping and he started jumping in the air and chasing the broom! LOL He is investigating everything. He looks dead when he is sleeping. LOL

I do have ferret food. I got it at WalMart. Do they eat anything else...like fruits/veggies/snacks?

Will they get along with cats? My cats are pretty good, they don't kill things.. I'm not sure we can get him a mate/buddy right now. My husband was not happy with me (still isn't actually - he said it would make a nice scarf

) for taking him so it might be a while before I can sneak in another one! We have 3 children so he should receive loads of attention.

 

[spotsplus]

I've had ferrets for years. My husband is actually allergic and can't touch them so after my last little guy died a few years back I figured no-more-ferrets but when I went to a tailgate chicken sale someone had two that needed rescuing (it was freezing and they were shivering, no shelter, out in the wind and skinny) so I paid the $20 and took them home. Two very sweet young boys. They are wonderful and hubby likes them too (but still can't touch them!). Ferret food should cover all the daily requirements. They can become allergic to foods (or sensitive) so try to stick to a fairly bland diet but a treat now and then doesn't hurt. They can get through any hole a quarter size or larger, love to eat foam and erasers that block them up and will dig out the inside of your couch so outside the cage play should be monitored and have toys. My ferrets and cats got along- but they played rough. A ferret in the wild is a natural preditor and eats prairie dogs and the domestic ferret still retains its "catch a moving object" mentality so any small animal- even possibly a kitten- could be hurt so they should be supervised. A dog can kill a ferret as can a good hunting cat. They can climb baby gates too. I let mine play in my large bathroom with toys for a few hours each day. They tend to poop in corners so put your litter box in your ferrets chosen "poop corner" and it makes for easier cleanup. Good luck with your new boy!
Tammie

 

[MagsC]

We have had ferrets in the past when my kids were little. My grandpa and uncles way back when also hunted rabbits with ferrets.
They ARE fun and have great personalities but pretty smelly!