Hey there Delilah! (new non-herp pet)

[python.princess]

sooo cute

Thanks! She caught our attention!

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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

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

WANT!!!!

Too cute

Well then you should get!

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

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!

[katiadarling]

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

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!

[python.princess]

Thanks for the tips Katia!

[kitsunex]

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

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!

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

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.

[PigsnPythons]

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!

[python.princess]

Thank you all for the great comments and advice!

[Debbienflorida]

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.

[Jay_Bunny]

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).