Getting a New Baby

[Jay_Bunny]

We have four ferrets as of right now, but today sometime, my friend is going to be coming over with her ferret Seek. She got a dog recently, an australian shepard and she says she doesn't have time for her little ferret anymore and asked me to take him. She's giving me a play pen to go with him.

I'm not sure how old he is or what kibble he eats, but he will be switched over to a raw diet. He'll be a feisty little carnivore in no time. I'll post pics once he's here and settled in.

[kitsunex]

good luck on the switch, i hope it works out for. i've found that some ferrets, if fed Kibble for too long when young won't ever switch over to a raw diet.

[Jay_Bunny]

It actually took me a long time to get my littlest ferret, Lily to consider raw. She just now started eating raw with as much excitement as the others and I've had her for over a year now, and she was young when I started her on it.

[ItsMichael805]

lcuky, i heard ferrets are mean?

[kitsunex]

lcuky, i heard ferrets are mean?

far from it. some might be a little nippy if not properly trained as kits, but its just like a puppy, you don't let them keep the play biting habit into adulthood. I've never encountered a ferret that bit hard enough to draw blood though. Owning a ferret is like having a tiny 2 year old child running around

[Jay_Bunny]

I only have one ferret that bites and its always in play or a reminder that "Hey! Mom! I'm hungry down here!" One of mine is a complete teddy bear and one loves to give kisses on your nose and chin.

They bite when they are babies because that is how they play (just like a puppy) and it needs to be trained out of them. Some people don't properly train them not to bite and that is when you get a nippy ferret. Ferrets are amazing and I can't imagine my life without them.

[frankykeno]

How do you go about introducing a new ferret into an established group of ferrets (I'm assuming maybe incorrectly they live somewhat communally)? Is there any sort of QT you have to do with this species? Do they sort out whose boss of the cage, that sort of thing?

[rabernet]

far from it. some might be a little nippy if not properly trained as kits, but its just like a puppy, you don't let them keep the play biting habit into adulthood. I've never encountered a ferret that bit hard enough to draw blood though. Owning a ferret is like having a tiny 2 year old child running around

I dated a guy in college (VERY briefly) that had two mean ferrets. They had free roam of his apartment, they pooped everywhere, and one came up and bit me on my nose when I was sleeping and drew blood. The ferrets and his lack of concern for the filth and stench in his apartment left by the ferrets made the relationship VERY short lived.

[Jay_Bunny]

You normally just introduce ferrets like you would any other animal, with supervision in a neutral space. Since the ferrets don't have free roam of the house (one day I will have a house that the ferrets will have an entire room to themselves) any space outside their cage is considered neutral space to them. So we just introduced Seek to the group during play time. Once the ferrets roll around a bit and my group lets him know where he stands, then they get along great. Their first introduction went really well and we moved him into their cage last night. When I went to check in on them this morning, they were all cuddled up together.

Normally I QT any animal that comes into this house. QT is normally about 2 weeks-month depending on where ther ferret came from. With Seek, I made an exception. He came from a friend who is very neat and tidy and always keeps her animals incredibly clean. He's showing promise with switching to a raw diet too, so I've got my fingers crossed. When we go grocery shopping and pick up more meat for the kids, I'm going to get some chicken baby food for him to try.

Ferrets do form a pecking order. Twitch is the boss even though she is the 2nd smallest ferret in the group. She was the first ferret and therefore, she is boss. Or so she thinks. Kale is trying to win her spot though. So far I don't think he has succeeded. Ferrets fight all the time. Its the way they communicate, play, and make decisions. Its very rare for a ferret fight to end in blood.

[kitsunex]

Some ferrets just WON'T get along, but that happens with any group of animals and humans. A friend of mine had to let her ferrets out in 2 separate play groups because of conflicts. You can't really tell though until you let them meet and duke it out.

I really miss having the little buggers, but i'm not sure i can ever bear to own any ever again. Mine had their own room, so they free roam for about 16 hours of the day. i always caged them up at night for safety reasons.