Got Ferret ?

[kraniumz]

Anyone here has or had em as pets ? My cousin is asking me if i wanted one of his packs. I did some research but it thought i ask someone here who has any experience with em.

[Python-77]

I have two Merry and Pippin (yes I'm a lord of the rings geek). They are wonderful animals so long as you understand them. They will very rarely cuttle with you like say a dog or cat. Ferrets do 4 things: Eat, poop, play, and sleep. They are like having constant 2 year olds every thing needs to be baby proofed as they can get into jsut about anything I had mine blocked off into one room of my house now they have free roam when out since they have both masted the are of "escape". I reccomend a harness with a bell on it since you can atleast hear them. They need to be out of thier cages atleast 3 hours aday mine get about 5-8 hours depending on my day.

[tigerlily]

They are like having constant 2 year olds every thing needs to be baby proofed as they can get into jsut about anything

Sean that's a great way to describe the little boogers. They are VERY energetic, and love to play and play and play. (did I mention play) Very sweet little critters, but do require a lot of your time and attention. Be sure you have that time before you commit to owning one. I loved the one I had in college.

[Jeanne]

We have 3 of them! And I agree with the others, they are little boogers. We have had to ferret proof the rooms that they are allowed to run in nightly, and we still do not leave them unattended at all times. They do require close to the same care as a cat, litter box cleaned and changed regularly, they also smell a bit musky, it does go away with bathing, however bathing too often is not good for them. They maintain thier playfulness like a kitten even throughout adulthood.. heck, we have a 11 year old ferret that even though he is grey and silver still runs around like a youngin most of the time. They are also prone to diabetes esp. with age. Also, over the years I have personally had over 12, and I have seen tumors in these animals, currently, our old man has one, it does not continue to get bigger, but it is there and we will not have it removed due to his age, our vet tells us he is the oldest ferret he has seen in many years. They can be very sensitive to anethesia. Also, they should be vaccinated like you would a cat. Most vets use the cat vaccines.... old man no longer gets his shots because everytime it has resulted in a very sick, almost dead ferret, the other 2 have sensitivity issues also, just not as bad, and they still get thier vaccines yearly. Please be sure this is the type of animal you want in your home, they do get into everything, and have odor more than you realize now (wont till you get it home and have had it for a week or so), they can be sweet or nasty. Our old man is sweet and wonderful, likes to be loved on, but Draeco is kind of a snot, he waits till you are not paying attention and runs up and attacks (visciously) your legs and feet and draws blood. Socks is a sweet guy, just does not tolerate loving to well, and usually wants to do his own thing.

[kraniumz]

Thx for the info folks! Sounds like a real trouble makers! Hehe. I went to see em farrets today and boy they are playfull little buggers. I told my cousin to hold on it until i do my homework and make up my mind.

Do they chew on furniture and etc ? I had to train my cat not to, just wondering if that is possible for ferrets as well.

[Python-77]

Mine dont chew on the furniture, but I did have to teach them not to "dig" at the carpet. You can train Ferrets but its not easy and even harder in my case since one of mine is deaf (Merry) and needs visual training as apposed to the boomign voice I can give Pippin when he mess's up.