Ferrets- your opinion please???

[banter]

I have had 9 ferrets over the years. Please do some research on them. They MUST have ferret food, and they are more like a dog or cat in their social needs. They more like a perpetual puppy/kitten in their temperament! They are not rodents, they are mustelids which are in the the same family as otters and skunks-weasels of course. If you have the time for them I highly recommend them. They also must have shots as cats and dogs for rabies and distemper.

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

I would love to own ferrets again. But the dh has said "No" quite emphatically to them.

I had one male named Navarre that would climb the back of my dresser and then get into anything that was up there. He once licked the choc off a Milky Way bar that I had left there. Left the bar undisturbed except for where he he chewed through the wrapper.
He was a riot.

My mom had her ferret Jake cremated when he died. She hasnt had another since.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I have SIX ferrets.

They DO not stink unless they are sick or not properly cared for and their glands don't have anything to do with whether they smell or not. If a ferret still has their glands, they may "poof" when frightened or startled. That DOES have a stink to it. Bathing ferrets makes the smell worse. Ferrets shouldn't have a bath more than 1 time a year, unless they get really really dirty.

Rice boxes are great with keeping ferrets clean in between baths. They like to play in the rice, will dig in it, and the rice absorbs some of the smell oil from their fur.

Ferrets need rabies and distemper shots. They are also prone to certain diseases, like Adrenal (one of mine is). Adrenal ferrets have a smell to them. Some describe it as burnt popcorn. These ferrets sometimes need Lupron injections or adrenal surgery (removal of the adrenal gland).

Insulinoma...which is a type of diabetes in ferrets. This needs treated with meds.

Enlarged spleens resulting in surgery to remove the spleen. This is not a cheap operation. It can cost anywhere from $200 to $600!!

Ferrets need weekly nail trimmings. Ferrets need constant supervision when let out to play. Ferrets should NEVER be left unsupervised with children for both the child's and the ferrets safety. (member on a ferret forum I belong to recently lost a ferret because their five year old drowned it!)

Ferrets need a high protein diet...mostly made of meat. Ferrets should not have grain/corn products. Nor should they have chips, chocolate, sugars, etc.

Many people live or raw feed their ferrets. A whole prey diet is ideal. If that is not an option, than a high quality ferret kibble is a must...and a 4lb bag of high quality kibbles is at the minimum $15 a bag!! Natural Gold is $30

Ferrets can be litter box trained, but they also like to leave their packages in shoes, in corners, or as revenge on the walls.....

Cats and dogs can hurt a ferret.

Your ferret can KILL and eat your pet rabbit (this is a natural food for them after all) assuming a person with a ferret has a pet rabbit that is.

Ferrets are a high maintenance pet. They have a lifespan of 8-10 years on average. They are a HUGE responsibility.

Ferrets don't sleep on pine or any other woodshavings. They like cloth hammies, sleep sacks, or any dark place to sleep in. (check shoes often!)

They can fit into very small spaces! Homes should be ferret proofed for them to be able to safely play out of their cage.

My ferrets get 4-8 hours out of the cage a day. We have one that bites. I scoop their litter box 3-4 times a day. I feed 8n1 and Totally Ferret kibbles. I make them weekly soupies. They get ferretone for treats and their weekly nail trim. I also make all their bedding.

 

[Godsgrl]

Oh my, ferrets. Oh my. I have ONE. I love her dearly, she is a riot. First let me tell you her name. Swiper, after the fox on Dora that steals everything. Yeah, her. LOL

Swiper steals fish food, food, crackers, pop tarts, little Debbie cakes, pencils, coins, anything she can get her paws around. She tries to steal my hand, but it's attached.

She loves to knock things over, that is really fun. Such as all the shampoo bottles in the tub. She is an excellent climber, and loves to dig in potting soil. It's so much fun trying to have plants around here.

Ferrets love to get into things, and places. Like your cupboards, closets, and drawers. In the beginning, you're likely to pee your pants when you open a drawer and find a ferret. Oh yeah, she also steals stuffing from something ( a mattress, old pillows, etc) and stuffs it under my stove.

Ferrets have to have some time every day to be out of the cage. Otherwise, they can go cage crazy and die. We let ours out in the AM for the day. If we forget to lock her up at night, she lets us know. At 3am, she crawls on us, sticks her cold nose in our ears, her whiskers in our noses, licks our eyelids...I love ferrets.

Not all ferrets are sweet. Our zoo had one that was evil. She would bite and draw blood. I guess the biggest factor in your decision is if you like the puppy stage of a dog. And a puppy that doesn't grow up. Ferrets are not like any pet I've ever had before. But like Silkies, they will steal your soul. Call and ask about their temperment. Good luck!

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

What Quail said.

Seriously, ferret ownership is a HUGE committment. I've had ferrets for over 17 years and while they are a joy and a delight, they are not the easiest of pets.
Ferrets have a distinct odor. I love their smell, but some people (my mother for one) can't stand the odor. If you are not really, really proactive about the litter box that part does get smelly. Ferrets are nominally housetrainable. Generally they pick a corner that they like and they go there. If you put a little box there, then presto they are potty trained.

You will do your share of cleaning up accidents and cleaning out litter boxes.
Ferrets are expensive. The start up costs are the cheapest part. As they age they get astronomically expensive problems. The majority of ferrets in the US have adrenal problems or insulinomas when they get old (and old for a ferret is around age 5). Surgery for either one runs anywhere from $300 to a couple of thousand.

It is hard to have ferrets with any other pet, especially dogs. Ferrets don't play fair. They play very rough with each other and expect to play the same way with other animals. Most dogs will bite back. That will either be fatal to the ferret or very, very expensive to deal with. My two dogs are NEVER allowed around the ferrets. The ferrets do play with the cat, but he was raised in with the ferrets and has a healthy respect for ferret teeth.

I could go on and on. Before bringing them home do lots and lots of research. See if there is a local ferret shelter you could volunteer at. If you still live at home with your parents you need to make sure that they are firmly on board before you get the ferret. My mom never agreed to let me have one. I got my first ferret in graduate school when I was living on my own and I was self-supporting.

Be aware that the lifespan of the average ferret in the US is around 8 years. They have such short little lives and it is so very hard when you lose them.

Again, let me say that they are not easy pets. I love mine dearly, but sometimes it's like dealing with spoiled 2 year olds. Only messier! Those compact little bodies can do a remarkable amount of destruction!

 

[Epona142]

It's a shame to see so many negative comments about ferrets! The prior poster made some very good points though.

I had three ferrets at one time and they didn't smell. Granted, their box was cleaned twice a day, but it didn't take but a few moments. I also used a very expensive litter.

You will find most smells come from feeding a poor quality food. Our ferrets got raw feeding twice a day and free choice HIGH quality kibble kibble. Some people disagree with feeding kitten kibble, but at the time, there was NOT a ferret food that matched the quality of the kitten kibble I was using.

Most ferret foods use a lot of fish for some reason, which results in horrible stinky fur and poo. Ick.

None of my ferrets ever bit after they were taught not too. All baby animals mouth and bite, you take the responsibility to teach them not too. One adult ferret I took in bit, and I quickly showed her this was unacceptable behavior. If she bit me, she either got a squirt with the water bottle, or I "scruffed" her and gently drug her along the floor, as a more dominant ferret would. It didn't take more than a week.

Yes, ferrets are closer to dogs/cats in care. Regular vaccines and nail trimming. If you get a bit of paste, something called Ferretone, and smear some on their belly, they will lick away while you trim their nails with no problem.

Ours were also taught to "walk" in a leash and harness. We took them to Petco all the time to go for "walks" and pick out new toys.

We kept three boxes of toys, and every four days about would switch boxes and wash the used toys. This kept the ferrets from getting bored with their toys.

Ferrets need at least 4 hours of play time outside their cages. We had a ferret proof area where they could play supervised. We made them a maze out of black tubing you can buy at Home Depot and they loved it.

I miss my ferrets extensively and can't wait until I have a place that is acceptable for getting more.

Oh - prey drive. It depends on the ferret. I had ferrets who were very much prey driven and WOULD kill. And then I had ferrets who had no earthly clue on what to do if they came across some sort of prey. Do remember the ferret is a DOMESTICATED animal, it has been domesticated like dogs and cats for thousands of years. It is not a wild animal, just a pet with needs.

I see that right now is probably not a good time for ferrets for you, but I just wanted to make sure that my friends here don't all think bad of ferrets!

ETA: Phew, I took my time typing! There were two or three more posts while I was typing.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I love my fuzzies dearly and they give me great joy. I just know a lot of people get sucked in by the fun part and are shocked by the hard part. Four of my nine over the years came from a local ferret shelter. Someone had adopted them from a pet store and then couldn't handle ferret ownership. Thank heavens for this ferret shelter! The four I adopted were crazy, goofy, silly, full of life little fuzzbutts! But somebody wasn't prepared to own them. Sadly, ferret shelters all over the country are full to the brim with abandoned and neglected babies. Most shelters are at capacity. Most shelters are run by individuals and get no gov't funding and operate on blood, sweat and tears. It's a sad situation and one that seems to be getting worse as more and more pet stores are selling them.
I was just trying to point out the downside to ferret ownership. The upside is a lot easier to get at.

 

[rjv_piper]

I had a ferret. His name was Dobby. He loved playing with the dogs, he was littler box trained, and he was really nice. He was great, but the only problem was that he was very curiouse and one day, he crawled down a tube and couldn't get back out. We couldn't find him but a few days later, we found him dead...

He was great. I miss him lots...

They don't stink if you clean their litter box every few days
They are very playful and friendly
They actually don't eat too much
They are very entertaining
The dogs shouldn't bother them, although I'd supervise them the whole time they are together until you trust the dog enough to leave them alone together

 

[debilorrah]

Ferrets are awesome animals if you have one with a good temperment like any other animal. They can be boxed trained and they are ver devilish little things. They learn what you favorite items are will steal them and hide them. I swear they snicker behind your back.

They are perpetual kittens in the aspect that they are always palyful, they are perpetual puppies in the aspect that they will plop down in front of you and pee if you make them made. They are smart and loveable and altogether irritating and the best animals.

 

[al6517]

I am not a big fan of have a hard to care for stinky weasel running like crazy around my house, that is reserved for me and me alone. LOL LOL My BIL has two and yes they do smell awfull and I just do not see the attraction even if they were for free, remember nothing in this world is free. They might make cool looking hat though, Good luck with your decision.

AL