Hey there Delilah! (new non-herp pet)

She's quite the handful already! The other fuzzies (cat and dog) aren't real sure what to think of her yet! Here she is...

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...DSC_0663-5.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...C_0649-2-2.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...C_0646-2-1.jpg

Ferrets are cute, but every ferret I've encountered smells. -Sighs.- Cute little bugger.

Cute little thing! I have always enjoyed playing with them, but dont thing I could have one full time.....LOL

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! A ferret.. how adorable. we used to have a ferret, but we had to find him a new home due to major changes in our life and we felt it wasn't fair to keep him in a cage constantly due to not having time for him anymore. It was a difficult decision to make, but we both felt it was best for him. We need more pics.. okay I need more pics :P. congrats on the new member.

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Originally Posted by Melicious

Ferrets are cute, but every ferret I've encountered smells. -Sighs.- Cute little bugger.

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Thanks! She is descented. We gave her a bath as soon as we got her home and will be doing so at least once a week. Hopefully it won't be a problem!

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Originally Posted by RichardA

Cute little thing! I have always enjoyed playing with them, but dont thing I could have one full time.....LOL

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Eh. We have nothin better to do! Just dishes that can be put off... Haha!

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Originally Posted by Ladydragon

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! A ferret.. how adorable. we used to have a ferret, but we had to find him a new home due to major changes in our life and we felt it wasn't fair to keep him in a cage constantly due to not having time for him anymore. It was a difficult decision to make, but we both felt it was best for him. We need more pics.. okay I need more pics :P. congrats on the new member.

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That's sad but you gotta do whatcha gotta do! As for the pics... there MAY be a few more postable ones... We'll see... ;)

She's absolutely adorable! :aww:

You can wash them a hundred times....they still stink! LOL

She is purdy!!!

They are so fun, you guys will enjoy them I PROMISE!!!

Bet ya cant have just one!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y81...n/100_5048.jpg

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Originally Posted by nwheat

She's absolutely adorable! :aww:

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Thanks!

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

You can wash them a hundred times....they still stink! LOL

She is purdy!!!

They are so fun, you guys will enjoy them I PROMISE!!!

Bet ya cant have just one!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y81...n/100_5048.jpg

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I bet we CAN have just one! Haha! Yours are freakin fatties! Cute but fatties none the less!

Mel, ferrets are awesome. I love mine.

Daily spritzers are a Godsend... seriously!! ;)

Thanks for the tip, Ben! We didn't get any deodorizers today (kind of overlooked it) but we will in the near future!

Also, my cousin reccomended this vitamin paste stuff? Anybody use it?

BTW- more pics and a short vid coming up soon! ;) Stay tuned!

The biowaste stuff? I have used it, I really liked the effect. It comes down to, are you willing to scoop the poop that much more often and save your money, or buy the poop deodorizer and get lazy?

I only buy it when I know I'm gonna be too busy to empty it three times a day (I have two and a roommate not too fond of ferret smell.) lol

Haha! We'll have to see! But she said she put the paste on their bellies when she clipped their claws to keep them distracted! :shrug:

ahh, that's the thing with ferrets, there's 50billion different types of supplemental vitamins you can give them. Easiest for me is just to scruff them while I do their nails...

How often do you normally clip em?

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Originally Posted by python.princess

I bet we CAN have just one! Haha! Yours are freakin fatties! Cute but fatties none the less!

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Just he male is huge, the female is sooo tiny compared to him.

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Originally Posted by python.princess

How often do you normally clip em?

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We are having to clip them every 3-4 weeks. Maybe a little less

I would have to venture to guess it's about every three weeks. Depends, I do it when I'm good and ready for a fight. Mine are usually chill with me messing with their feet, but something about the clippers makes clyde fight for dear life... bonnie on the other hand is pretty chill.

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

Just he male is huge, the female is sooo tiny compared to him.

We are having to clip them every 3-4 weeks. Maybe a little less

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Yeah, she does look small in comparison!

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Originally Posted by Gooseman

I would have to venture to guess it's about every three weeks. Depends, I do it when I'm good and ready for a fight. Mine are usually chill with me messing with their feet, but something about the clippers makes clyde fight for dear life... bonnie on the other hand is pretty chill.

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So you guys concur... 3 weeks. Got it!

I love that their names are Bonnie and Clyde! Awesomeness!

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Originally Posted by python.princess

I love that their names are Bonnie and Clyde! Awesomeness!

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Ah damn Bens got one up on us....Peek and Boo are very very jealous!

Lol patty, Peek and Boo is pretty sweet!

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

Ah damn Bens got one up on us....Peek and Boo are very very jealous!

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Not awesomeness like Bonnie and Clyde but still very very precious! :gj:

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Originally Posted by python.princess

Not awesomeness like Bonnie and Clyde but still very very precious! :gj:

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Oh salt my wounds up lady!

Okay... Here's a vid of Delilah trying to play with our cat, Binka
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...h_101_1977.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/101_1948.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/101_1964.jpg

playing with the dog :D
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/101_1962.jpg

sooo cute :)

http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r...101_1977-1.flv

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

You can wash them a hundred times....they still stink! LOL

She is purdy!!!

They are so fun, you guys will enjoy them I PROMISE!!!

Bet ya cant have just one!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y81...n/100_5048.jpg

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that is because the more you wash them, the worse they smell. i NEVER wash my ferrets unless they get into something. when you bath them, you strip their skin of essential oils, so their body goes into overdrive to replace them, which makes them smell worse.

to the OP. Descented, just means that their scent glands have been removed, not that they won't smell.

if you want to avoid smell, DON'T bath them. they don't need it. DON'T feed them the crappy Marshall food. its main ingredient is fish, which makes their poo smell 10x worse.

i've owned Ferrets for 15 years or so now.

Dang, I missed this thread! She's so cute, and so typically ferret. That video was hysterical, even if Jason got nipped there at the end. lol. :giggle:

I'm finding I'm very allergic to our girl, but I just can't bring myself to give her up. She's such a little ball of laughs. :love:

***GUSH*** She is soooo flippin' cute! :oops: That vid cracked me up!

WANT!!!!

Too cute :)

Yea, ferrets are relatives to skunks, and as such have a natural musky odor to them. Having them descented is like removing the anal glands from a dog. It'll still smell like a dog, just not nearly as strongly as when the glands are expressed. At most, no more than one bath a month. Repeated washing isn't the solution. Having them descented, using spritzers (if you care to), and keeping the litter box clean are the most effective means of scent control. There are alternatives, but that has to do with red hot metal probes being shoved up your nose, and most people find that offensive... so we'll stay away from the intricate details of that method.

Jason, I about died of laughter concerning the last second of the film, priceless! Delilah is a lucky little girl, and a true ferret. lol :)

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Originally Posted by Gooseman

Jason, I about died of laughter concerning the last second of the film, priceless! Delilah is a lucky little girl, and a true ferret. lol :)

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She caught me off guard...:oops:

She's a lot of fun, her nips hurt no worse than our cat...who love to bite! But she is deadly scared of this little furball. :8:

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Originally Posted by stacyx

sooo cute :)

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Thanks! She caught our attention!

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Originally Posted by kitsunex

that is because the more you wash them, the worse they smell. i NEVER wash my ferrets unless they get into something. when you bath them, you strip their skin of essential oils, so their body goes into overdrive to replace them, which makes them smell worse.

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This I didn't know. Thanks for the tip!

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

Dang, I missed this thread! She's so cute, and so typically ferret. That video was hysterical, even if Jason got nipped there at the end. lol. :giggle:

I'm finding I'm very allergic to our girl, but I just can't bring myself to give her up. She's such a little ball of laughs. :love:

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Yeah, she's a little crazy! I got a horrible headache when we got home last night so I thought maybe it was allergies but I'm fine today so hopefully it was a false alarm! :D

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Originally Posted by Laooda

***GUSH*** She is soooo flippin' cute! :oops: That vid cracked me up!

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Yeah, we took a few other vids but they had nothin on that one!

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

WANT!!!!

Too cute :)

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Well then you should get! ;)

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Originally Posted by Gooseman

Yea, ferrets are relatives to skunks, and as such have a natural musky odor to them. Having them descented is like removing the anal glands from a dog. It'll still smell like a dog, just not nearly as strongly as when the glands are expressed. At most, no more than one bath a month. Repeated washing isn't the solution. Having them descented, using spritzers (if you care to), and keeping the litter box clean are the most effective means of scent control. There are alternatives, but that has to do with red hot metal probes being shoved up your nose, and most people find that offensive... so we'll stay away from the intricate details of that method.

Jason, I about died of laughter concerning the last second of the film, priceless! Delilah is a lucky little girl, and a true ferret. lol :)

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Thanks for all the info, Ben! We'll have to pick up some of the spritzer junk next time we're in a town that's big enough to carry it... Haha!

Very cute! Congrats on the new little girl. I especially like the video :P

I did want to add that domestic ferrets are very social and like to have friends to play with and cuddle with. When our girls died of cancer we ended up finding our boy a new home with other ferrets because we didn't want him to be lonely. Just a thought. Also, "Ferrets for Dummies" is a great book and has been highly recommended to me by a number of people, it might be a good read for you guys since you're just getting into the wonderful world of mustelids!

Thanks for the tips Katia!

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Originally Posted by katiadarling

Very cute! Congrats on the new little girl. I especially like the video :P

I did want to add that domestic ferrets are very social and like to have friends to play with and cuddle with. When our girls died of cancer we ended up finding our boy a new home with other ferrets because we didn't want him to be lonely. Just a thought. Also, "Ferrets for Dummies" is a great book and has been highly recommended to me by a number of people, it might be a good read for you guys since you're just getting into the wonderful world of mustelids!

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i second this. Ferrets for Dummies is a MUST. its easily the best ferret book you can possibly get.

i've always made sure to have a pair because they are social animals. there have been cases of one ferret dieing soon after losing a cagemate. they've just stopped eating and died of heartbreak.

they really are amazing creatures that are both so devilish and cute at the same time. they will do thing that will infuriate you, but one look at their cute faces and you can't help but forgive them. much like a 2 year old child :P

as for cheap toys, the best i can recomend is a "Rice Box". get a tupperware container and a big bag of UNCOOKED long grain rice. make sure it isn't the instant. fill the container with rice and hide plastic infant toys in it and watch the fun begin!! with the uncooked, its safe for them if they accidentally swallow it, which is why you avoid instant. the instant will expand in the stomach causing a blockage.

i also found that those plastic easter eggs are great toys too. take a plastic egg, put a few pennies in it and then glue it shut. they will push them around with their noses all day long.

YAY!! Fuzz-butt cuteness!! She's precious! I have two named Hank and Peggy (or Lil Girl). I didn't read through all the posts so I don't know if someone already said this but don't wash them every week. The more you wash them the more their glands produce. I wash mine about every three weeks because they get their tails in their litter boxes and start to smell like that and not just like ferret stink...lol Congrats! You will have so much fun with her!

Thank you all for the great comments and advice!

Having spent the last 10 years with up to 4 ferrets at once here are a few tips I learned along the way: (if they are repeats I am sorry, I haven't read all 4 pages of posts) Washing their bedding is better than bathing the ferrets except for the occassional bath out of necessity. Being litter trained is THEIR choice,, 70% is better than most! Keeping one ferret is ok at best but they are social and if you can get another that gets along well with the other it's perfect! I have only fed a quality commercial ferret food, very, very few ferret treats and a squirt or 2 of ferrettone several times a week and all have lived a normal life span. I have one left of the original 4 and he is 8+ YO. I don't plan on having any after this one so it will live out it's life spoiled and given more attention but without a ferret companion. I think it would be difficlt to match up ones at this age anyway. I have loved every funny, sad, stinky playful moment with everyone and have never regretted getting any of them. They were all 4 rescues, 2 each time but after several months of persevering they eventually all got along and lived in a 6.5 foot tall 6 story ferret condo.
I guess you know corner litter boxes are the best and unless they were attached to the side of the cage they had great fun tipping over the box everytime it was clean! I found Yesterday's News the best litter for their boxes. Good luck and enjoy that little bundle of joy for many years to come! Oh, and "scruffing" (my husband's job) to clip nails (my job) was the easiest way I found. It was the quickest and least stressful for all.

As other people have already stated, do not wash your fuzzbutt unless they have rolled in something stinky. Washing them will only make it worse. This is what we do. Once a month, we give them water baths. Basically just fill the tub with about 1-2 inches of water, throw some toys in and let them swim around. Dry them off and they are done. We don't wash with soap unless it is necessary, and they haven't had a soap bath for two months now. They smell fine.

With diet, I highly suggest you do a lot of research about the nutritional needs of ferrets. They are obligate carnivores and most commercial diets are bad for them. Yes a ferret can live to an old age with commercial diets but that doesn't mean it is the best diet. Best case scenario, is that you get your fuzzy on a raw/whole prey diet. If you can't do that for financial reasons or you just don't like messing with raw meat, then do some research and get GOOD quality kibble.

http://holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi

^ This forum is amazing and the people are wonderful. I'm fuzzymom on there. They are full of useful information and advice.

I can't tell you this enough. Tunnels and dig boxes are the way to go with ferrets. My friends have 6 ferrets (well as of Christmas, they have 8. They got two new fuzzbutts for the holidays) and they actually gave up the only bedroom on their apartment to the ferrets. (They sleep downstairs in the livingroom) and they took a rubbermaid tub, attached a plastic drainpipe (those big black ones) and filled the tub with rice. The ferrets LOVE it.

So check out the forum and PM me with any questions. I'm not an expert but I have done a lot of research and have 4 fuzzies myself. (And hang out with the other 6, now 8, a lot).