Well, I have kind of acquired a ferret I don't know alot about them so Im here to find out what all of you guys know? I know this one is tame, does not bite at all and loves cat food So does anyone know the life span and all about them..this one im told is about 4 years old now..I had heard the life span is not very long..Thanks sam
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07-07-03, 03:41 AM
Wildflower63
Sam, I'm going to be really blunt about this one. Ferrets are adorable. They are horrible pets. Their lifespan is probably as long as you don't get mad and kill them yourself. They are way too smart to be kept in a cage. They will cry over and over for you to let them out.

My cat and kids adored the ferret. I liked the little critter too. They will do great on cat food. They tend to like canned too. They like people food also. Keep it to a minimum so they don't get sick. They are very small animals. Diet is important.

They are supposed to be litter trainable, like a cat. Lots of luck with that idea! This one went to the bathroom all over my carpet. My cat soon caught on to this great trend of not using the litter box too. I don't like living with animal feces. Not in the book for me.

They are chewers also. I lost a few things with holes in them torn up by this rotten pet. He definitely was adorable. My cat and he got along so well. Unfortunately, these animals are intelligent, but on the wild side. If you are to keep one as a pet, it is extremely exhausting and time consuming to attempt to train them.

I lived in an apartment complex where the heat never went below 88 degrees. Yeah, run in your underwear in the winter type of stuff. Try sleeping with that temperature. I had already taken my screens out and stored them for the winter. The airflow is better. My heat was included in rent. I am too cheap to pay for 88 degrees as a normal that did go higher. Cold winter days went to 84 maybe. Those temps do spoil you rotten, but off topic.

I had the window cracked less than an inch. I went shopping with my kids. The ferret slipped through what I thought he couldn't. He would have chewed the screen anyway. Believe me, they are not stupid animals, just wild is all.

I put up notices with a picture all around the apartments after he got loose. I felt horrible. It was winter. My kids and even cat adored this little creature. To me, he was a serious pain. But, when you take an animal, you own the responsibility for them. I wouldn't let him die in the winter without making every effort to get this little monster back.

Apartments are such a social place to live, unlike houses. I got the gossip from my downstairs neighbor. She told me someone had found him, liked him, and wanted to keep him. They were afraid I would find out and demand the animal back. She knew who they were and didn't want to tell me. I understand that.

I would have cheerfully given these people cage and all supplies to keep this annoying little varmint. They were afraid of any objection from me and hid this new found pet. I told my neighbor it was ok. I was glad he had a home with people that cared. I would hand over supplies to her for them to get, but they already bought everything for him.

He has a good home. I am so glad. These are very difficult pets. They get along very well with cats. Neither will get seriously injured. Don't worry about that. They seem to naturally like each other.

I love animals very much. Ferrets need special kind of training and attention. If you can't or don't want to deal with it (I sure didn't!), give the animal to someone who is able and willing to care for a ferret. They are very difficult, but very adorable pets.

I very much thank the people willing to hide this animal from me and feared exposure so they wouldn't lose the ferret. He drove me insane. You have to seriously consider the nature of the animal and talk to people that have owned them, not just enthusiast of the pet.

Ferrets will thrive very well on cat food, canned cat food, and love people treats too. They are too intelligent. Please, don't leave this animal caged. It is against their psychology to handle this. They have to be let out to roam and exercise. They can and do cause damage with urine and feces. They are also chewers. You should get a look at a bedspread I went into hysterics over. You would see what I mean. They don't necessarily go for the cheap stuff, like a towel. They require a lot of time and intensive training to be a good pet. If you cannot give a ferret this, please, give it to someone, who is an enthusiast, of the animal that will give them better.

I take a deep breath and thank who it is that took my ferret. It was an animal that was beyond my capabilities to make a good pet out of. If someone is willing to fear having this animal of mine taken from them, I know in my heart he has a very good home. Thanks, whoever you are.

07-07-03, 10:11 AM
JerseyTomater
Samantha, Ferrets can live up to 18 years, but average life span is 8.

Check out, Ferret Care

Good luck with your new pet!

07-07-03, 08:56 PM
samantha
Jeeze I must have posted this under the wrong thread and someone moved it...I could't find it for awhile.. Roll Eyes but, thanks so much Jersey for the webb site and Jeeze wildflower now Im not so sure I want to mess with this creature or not.. Frown

07-08-03, 12:54 AM
Wildflower63
I got the ferrit dumped on me. I told my mother to let me think about it. That was a real easy thing to misunderstand. She bought it for my son for Christmas. Gee, thanks mom.

What I hate about books is they are always written by enthusiast. I have a dog book with all breeds. I want something that wont eat my kids, cat, and neighbors. I read something like, "requires early obedience training". I take that to mean you may have a rock head on your hands that can be agressive and will challenge your authority. Sounds like an innocent enough statement. It's hard to get the facts to see if a pet will fit into your home.

07-08-03, 02:10 AM
samantha
The ferrot is my brothers but its now with me..I don't have to keep it but, I was wondering more about them. I let it out of the cage and it went into our bathroom and tore up all the toilet paper Roll Eyes, and i guess it was making its bed...now whenever i let it out thats the first place it runs too. So I decided to lock in in the bedroom with me so it could only run around in here..well, it kept going to my door and pawing at the door and the carpet Eek So then I placed it back in its cage to "teach it a lesson" and it kept taking the cage and biting on it...it was mad at me I guess...so I made it stay there for awhile anyway and it kept taking its little paws and putting them through the bars of the cage and trying to reach my tennis shoes!...Finally it got in its hammock and went to sleep! Big Grin

07-08-03, 07:41 AM
Wildflower63
I hate to say this, but this is exactly what being a owner of these animals is like. I dealt with the exact same type of thing. I wish the toilet paper was the only thing he tore up.

They do react towards dicipline, which they much need. It isn't easy though. They are very smart. You can't leave them in a cage without animal cruelty. They can fully comprehend gestures of giving them their way, obivously or they wouldn't beg to get out of their cage.

These animals also understand firm dicipline. You have to be up to it though. I wasn't. I found them to be way more time consuming and difficult for what I had to give. They are stubborn little monsters, but do learn. Carpet, show them what they did with a firm NO that you would train a dog with. The same goes with every training, like soiling your carpet and chewing.

Give them things to chew on in their cage. It does help some. But, you still absolutely have to spend time training these animals. Yes, they are plenty intelligent to understand. Yet, they are stubborn little creatures. You absolutely have to teach them with a very firm hand. Going back in the cage does not teach them what they have done wrong. Showing them with a firm barking of NO does. You have to keep doing this, showing them what they have done wrong and putting them in their cage.

They do see their cage as punishment, but they have no idea why. You have to show them and immediately put them in their cage. That, they figure out when you keep it up. You have to be more firm and stubborn than the animal you are dealing with.

Sometimes you learn the hard way, as I did. If another ferret was dropped in my lap, I would have done things so much differently. There is hope if you like the animal. I did, but had no idea how to handle him until it was too late. Treat them as you would a rock headed dog. It is the only thing that works if you wish to keep this pet.

Personally, I really like the little monsters. I just wish I had known much more than the book I bought told me about realistic care and being able to train and live with these animals. They are smart. They can learn easily. They are stubborn little critters.

You can make them into good pets. I just didn't have a clue. Firm hand with dicipline as you would with a rotten puppy is my advice. I wish that I had known what to do with mine. Again, too late for that. Hand the little monster right back to your brother if you aren't up to this sort of training. It is worse than a rotten puppy. There is hope if you are willing to do it though.

07-19-03, 09:15 AM
gizmogram
Sammy...gotta tell you about our ferret. Although I hated the thing and he stank (this was before they descented them prior to sale), he provided us with some pretty good laughs.

He was an Albino and quite large. He was also highly intelligent, and would regularly go out of his way to annoy us - you could almost see the mischiefous glint in his eye when he was up to something.

He did quite well in his cage, but we only kept him in there when we were away...he had the run of the house whenever we were home. He was litterbox trained, but whenever he wanted to annoy us he would look us in the eye, back up into a corner, and take a dump, probably just to show us who was boss.

This ferret had a thing about potatoes. He would get into the pantry, grab a potato and strut around with this potato in his mouth, half as big as he was! It was quite comical.

When we moved out of that condo, we were cleaning out a junk closet and found about 20 potatoes stashed in the corner - obviously his winter store! Big Grin

As I said, I pretty much despised the ferret, and don't feel they make good pets. Years ago when it was totally "IN" to have ferrets, in my town there were three cases of babies that were attacked by them, one so severely that she needed plastic surgery later. Mad

07-21-03, 01:15 AM
samantha
LOL Giz on the potatoes Big Grin NOT the dump! Eek

Im really sorry to hear about the kids jeeze this one never bites even.. Frown

08-01-03, 08:56 PM
mattlynda
if you do decide to keep it, get a really big cage with lots of platforms, tree branches, rope toys, hammocks, and hiding boxes for it.
they like to play. a lot.
keep it in the cage at night and when you are not at home so it dosent destroy everything.

if you have old towels or dish clothes, give them those to make nests with.

and yes, they do smell.

08-05-03, 04:34 AM
samantha
Thanks lynda..got to tell you here that the ferrot was out running around playing. It hid under the love seat and everytime I walked by it would run out and grab at my socks with its teeth playing. OMG i got the biggest laugh out of it. Big Grin

08-18-03, 06:00 PM
FredPuli
Sorry, but who on Earth who knew anything about ferrets would try to keep one in a home, let alone an apartment?

Ferrets are for putting down rabbit holes to kill or drive out the rabbits or down men's trousers in competitions ( I tell you, round Newmarket we have to make our own entertainment Smile ). They are not for keeping in a house.

Whatever next? Whoever had that crazy idea ? Ferrets are certainly kept as pets by local children here and all over the countryside but only in an outhouse; farmer's children always had them and many still do (not with pet rabbits though !).They would put them to work too.

Ferrets have a sharp bite; it's what they are bred for; it is nonsense to say they can be easily 'house trained' like a dog or cat (there are reasons why we keep them outside, you know) and they are the domestic version of the polecat; they are usually thought to be descended from the European polecat, bred selectively for their usefulness in pest contol.Now if someone said "Keep a polecat in the living room" you'd think they were , well, ill-advised. What about the smell, never mind anything else?

I recommend the trousers thing though. It makes for a cultural evening. You all ought to try it sometime ! Smile

[This message was edited by FredPuli on 08-18-03 at 06:09 PM.]

[This message was edited by FredPuli on 08-18-03 at 06:11 PM.]

08-18-03, 07:53 PM
Wildflower63
Thanks for posting that Fred! Now I don't feel so bad about keeping a ferret in an apartment and feeling so overwhelmed by the pet.

Got a few questions for you if you don't mind answering them. I know that they were used for hunting in Europe. I don't believe people have used them much in the US for that purpose. I know ferrets are very intelligent. But, mine wouldn't follow a single command. During hunting or keeping them outside, do they stay or run off? If used for hunting, can you get the ferret back or do you lose it?

I do think the animal is plenty intelligent to learn and take voice command. I don't know if they have the disposition for it. I had problems with him going to the bathroom on the floor. My cat adored the ferret and started having bowel movements on the floor in the same places as the ferret. He was a bad influence on my cat!

I was always unsure if it was a challenging pet that I wasn't training properly or it was an animal that couldn't be trained because of disposition. I had chewing problems also. He did not bite.

Input appreciated!

08-19-03, 11:38 AM
FredPuli
The ferret is taken to the scene in a cage ( posh!) or in a bag or sack. At the hole the usual procedure for pure pest control is to fit purse nets ( a net which has a draw string to pull it shut), pegged out over all bar one of the exits from the warren concerned; the ferret is set down the last hole to find and drive out the rabbits which then run out into the nets.This supposes that all the exits are known; rabbits may keep an exit which is hardly used, no fresh droppings are seen there then, or difficult to detect .

Another method is to simply shoot the emerging rabbits; wasteful if you want them to eat as the shot and the injuries to internal organs can contaminate the meat.

In practice round here we often take suitable dogs ; a terrier will try to go down the holes itself and collect the exiting rabbits though lurchers are often used, particularly by 'travellers'( 'Gypsies'). The lurcher is a crossbreed based on the whippet, a small greyhound. It can easily catch the rabbit running. The farmer's boys will take a farm dog, or their own pet dog, and get their sport that way. They get more fun out of it because they cannot always find or attend all exits and so rely on the speed or skill of their dog to stop the fugitive . (I expect the rabbits prefer it too Wink)

Do they get lost? Well we have high- tech ferreting! It is very common for the ferret to be fitted with a radio collar; this is usual with the professionals, the gamekeepers and pest controllers. That way you can tell where the ferret is underground and prepare accordingly ; this may be important because the little devil may either be gorging itself underground or it may have found nothing and be rushing out to dive in elsewhere. When we speak of a confusingly large office block as 'a warren' because of its many corridors leading all ways we are remembering rabbits.

Some ferreters may have the ferret on a line to do early soundings in the absence of radio . The idea is that it cannot get too far. A ferret may return without bolting rabbits out doing this but if it has blood on its snout the ferreter knows that they are there as it must have nipped one.

I've not encountered anyone keeping ferrets without an eye to using them for ferreting; but I suppose that fashion and a taste for the 'exotic' may play a part in some places. The ferret is associated with the far from fashionable here; it's a 'pet' which has a practical purpose not a pet in itself.

I see that one authority here, addressing hunting, stresses that it requires a large space with good ventilation; that's why we have them outside in a strong cage or pen.

Personally if I wanted a playful, amusing, unusual, agile animal as a pet I'd keep otters, subject to getting the requisite authority.

Note: There is an expensive, stylish, jeweller in the South of France called Ferret. I wonder if they know how odd the name seems to the Britons ?

08-19-03, 02:05 PM
Wildflower63
Thanks much for that information! That was very interesting. Now I see why a ferret isn't a suitable pet. They are like smart wild animals. That is interesting using a radio collar on them. I thought that was for dogs to keep them in the yard or stop barking. Well, those shock. I guess that I will stick with cats and dogs. They are domesticated and very good pets.

08-21-03, 02:44 PM
FredPuli
As an afterthought Wildflower: You should not think that townspeople are alone in finding quite the wrong animal and discovering the truth too late about what you don't get told. Goats are a good start. There must be many an innocent who kept a nanny ( female) or two and thought to get a few more and get a billy ( male).Nanny goats are so sweet. It is only after the owners get the male that they find they might as well have invited Hannibal Lecter to dinner with his choice of menu. There can hardly be a more psychotic animal in 'domesticity'; not that the seller is going to tell them so. I once found that the nearest billy to us was 30 miles away but the nearest nanny -goats were only about 2 miles; happily I found out why soon enough! Smile
[Very old country joke: " I'm thinking of keeping a goat in my house, as a pet"
" Really ? But what about the smell?"
" Oh , that'll be all right. The goat won't mind about that ." ]

09-10-03, 01:51 AM
LaPisLaZuLi
Wow! These are some amazing ferret stories!

We had a ferret for 2 years. His name was Clyde. He was a sable, which I guess is the coloring most people think of when they think of a ferret.

My experience with ferrets was quite different from the proceding stories. Maybe because we obtained Clyde as a young ferret. He had been handled a lot as baby by the breeders and was very friendly.

He never bit any of us, though I had heard many stories of how ferrets love to bite toes. When we bought Clyde, the total purchase price included a big cage and a small litter box that fit inside it. The breeder said to keep him inside the cage for one week after moving him to our apartment. Then gradually let him out to wander, just a few minutes at first, then more and more. Eventually, we just left his cage door open all the time, unless we weren't at home. He never pooped anywhere but in his litterbox in his cage.

We fed him cat food and he drank water. Even though he was descented, he needed a bath every day. They are very musky little guys! Roll Eyes
And my main objection was the odor of his poop.

Incidentally, we named Clyde after Clyde Barrow (of Bonnie & Clyde fame) because it looked like he had a mask on his face. The name was a good one. After finding a new home for Clyde because we were moving, I was cleaning up the apartment, and behind the stove I found a great stash! He loved shiny, silvery things. There were quite a few dimes and nickels, pieces of tin foil, foil gum wrappers, a pair of nail clippers, two barrettes and a ring I had been looking for for about a year.

What a little sneak! Big Grin

09-10-03, 03:00 AM
Wildflower63
My ferret was a young sable also. He never bit anyone. He really was adorable, but not suited for a cage or apartment living. He was extremely intelligent, but had wild ways. He couldn't be tamed for our apartment lifestyle, no matter how intelligent he was. It was like having an extremely intelligent wild animal loose.

I would strongly advise anyone taking on this pet to know the seriousness they are undertaking. These are not typical dog/cat type of animals. You really have to be more stubborn than they are, which is hard for an animal lover. Mine would beg to get anything he wanted. He would not stay satisfied in a cage at all.

Now I know, a little too late. You have to be extremely firm with a ferret. Otherwise, they absolutely will run the house. Mine did! He did it only because I always felt sorry for him and gave in to his every demand. They are so smart and skilled at manipulation.

I would take another in, but at least I now know what I'm dealing with. These are extremely difficult animals and not for the average owner.

06-01-05, 09:05 PM
fallenangel32
Im sorry to say, but I totally disagree with everything you have said about the ferret.

I have 4 ferrets myself, 2 cat, a dog, and a horse.. and my ferrets (all 4) come EVERYWHERE with me.. they are GREAT animals.. thay are very litter trained, never chewed on anything..

its not all about ther "ferret" itself, its all on how you train it.. there not like hamsters or rats.. yes, there more like a dog or a cat.. you need to work with them.. you need to disipine them if need be- if you see them starting to poop or pee somehwere, move them to the litter box before they even start..

please don't talk Samantha out of getting a ferret..
They are also known to live 8-10 years.. some even longer.. I have a 9 year old.. and hes still a baby. he jumps around and plays as much as my 2 year old.
Also, to like your ferret or any animal you have to be bonded, and it sounds to me, you were far from it.
have a good day-
-Melissa

06-18-05, 12:10 PM
DvdGStwrt
I suppose pet ownership is of personal tastes.

I'm just wondering if I serve ferret with Mashed Potatoes or Stuffing.

Big Grin Big Grin Big Grin Big Grin Big Grin

THAT WAS JUST A JOKE! PLEASE DON'T CALL THE SPCA

10-19-05, 01:20 PM
Siana
Hi! I am new here and the first thing I saw was this thread. I hope I don’t step on any toes but I am the VERY happy owner of two male ferrets, Oliver and Bob. (Oliver is mine and Bob is my husbands)

I just wanted to state that ferrets are a domesticated animal. They are nothing like the ones which live in the wild. For instance they no longer have the instinct to hunt. When I say that what I mean is they will not and cannot hunt for food. If they were to escape they may live approximately three days, maybe less. Now they might go after a bird, rodent or reptile, and the end result would more than likely be the death of the smaller animal but they wouldn’t eat it. As for my own ferrets they reside happily with our other animals which include two dogs (Heidi and chubs) two rats (voodoo and sweet pee) two sugar gliders (Sophie and Schmegal, who I am currently tying to sell) and two iguanas (Rita and baby) However for the safety of the smaller animals I do not allow my ferrets to hang out with them. They showed little to no interest upon meeting them but even so I do not want any accidents therefore they are never allowed to roam the house completely free.

Yes they do get into the darnest things and yes they make some gawd awful messes but since I adore them I am willing to clean up after their play times.

As for smell all ferrets have sent glands. You can have them desented but that will never completely get rid of the musky odor they carry on them. When we first got our ferrets I thought their smell was very similar to that musk perfume which was popular in the 1980’s. I cant remember the name of this perfume but I do recall my mother who is a school bus driver complaining that the girls sprayed themselves with this stuff that made them smell like weasel pee. LOL Now the ferret odor is a lot stronger than the perfume I am referring to but I do not find it overly unpleasant. Some people probably wouldn’t care for it but as for me it is no bother. Yes I can still smell it but I don’t notice it through out our house, only when I am holding them do I smell their musk. Perhaps our friends can smell it but no one has ever said anything and believe me our friends are pretty outspoken folks!

Like a puppy ferrets love to chew! A good ferret owner takes the time to ferret proof their house, just like you would when you have a new baby. We have had to learn by trial and error on exactly how to keep our baby’s out of things such as the bills, and my book collection. Anything and every thing is fair game to a ferret. They seem to think life its self is one huge game. The end result in ferret proofing our house made us a lot more organized and the house is a heck of a lot tidier than the pre-ferret days.

A few examples of ferret proofing would be the box spring to our bed. We keep our ferrets in our bedroom and do not allow them to roam anywhere else. As you know the covering to the underside of a box spring is very thin. Ours in particular had gotten caught when moving and had a small tear in it. One day we couldn’t find Bob or Oliver and I was sick with worry that some how they had escaped. As a last ditch effort my husband lifted up the entire bed while I crawled under it and who did I find up inside out box spring! You got Bob and Oliver! Well I fixed this problem by taking the box spring turning it upside down and using a staple gun stapled two cheep but thick king sized flat sheets to it. (Maybe using two was going a bit over board but I wanted to make darned sure this wouldn’t happen again!) Needless to say they wont get in there any more! Another example is our bedroom door. It had a gap of about an inch between the bottom of the door and the carpet. It didn’t take Bob or Oliver (actually Oliver discovered it first) to figure out if they wiggled just right there was a whole other world on the other side of that door! My husband and I didn’t want to ruin the door by nailing a board onto it. After all is a 200 year old door and VERY lovely! We got a brass plate installed onto the lower part of it and escape problem solved! We also invested in filing cabinets that lock and cannot be crawled under for our paper work, ink pens, loose photos, and computer stuff. As for cords and wires well so far so good. Oliver did stick his tongue in an outlet once and LOL got a surprise! I haven’t seen him do that since. If there is ever a problem with chewing those I suspect either we will have fried ferrets or I will come up with some way to cover the cords.

For the right person ferrets can be and are wonderful house pets.

10-19-05, 03:36 PM
Siana
I ended my last post before I was done because my sister called me. I would like to add that like a dog or cat even a ferret is only as bad as its owner.

Our ferrets have a cage and they are put to bed by 9pm every night are allowed out in the morning. If I have to leave my bedroom for more than 10 minutes they are put back into the cage. They like to take naps a lot and if they are not napping in my arms they have learned that they must go to their cage. I suppose you could say I have ‘kennel trained’ them as you would with a new puppy, although I never did use that method with my puppies. I suppose Oliver and Bob are let out for a few hours at a time several times a day. I hope that some day they will mature enough to be allowed out all the time but with the inquisitive nature of ferrets I doubt that will happen until they hit old age. Of course their cage is a nice play zone for them as well as a feeding and potty place. I have never had a problem with my ferrets not wanting in their cage. Now I have seen some who don’t like it and that I have found to be due to people keeping them locked up too much. They need to wander and love to explore. Ferrets are loving and social animals they need a lot of this and if they don’t get it they will behave like a very rotten 2 year old in order to get it.

As for the firm hand with discipline, well I don’t smack them. I say NO in a stern voice and if needed hold them by the back of their neck and give a gentle shake. This is how the mother ferret disciplines their young and it works wonders! I did this with my dogs too and it worked well with them also. They don’t tear up my carpet and they don’t chew my wood work. They did in the beginning but that is to be expected. I simply used Bitter Apple spray in the areas they did this and eventually they decided they didn’t care for that taste and stopped.

Someone said something about a ferret biting feet? LOL they love to make you dance that’s for sure! I have to remind mine that feet are not toys and tell them NO and give them something that is more acceptable to play with.

Now potty training that’s something else. Ferrets do not take to litter naturally like cats do. They have to be taught. This can take some time but it DOES happen. We have two litter pans for them one inside the cage and one outside the cage. Ferrets have a VERY small bladder and bowel so they have to go often. They are actually quite clean about this and do not like their potty close to their food or sleeping areas, would you?

I sounds to me as though there is a lot of misunderstanding about ferrets and exactly what being owners of the entails. Getting a book is one way to learn more but another is to talk with pet shop employees and with other people who have owned them. I hope I haven’t offended anyone but when I saw all the negativity about ferrets here I had to say something! They really do make a wonderful, playful, quiet, and loving pet! You just have to be educated about them and be willing to make changes in your home in order to accommodate them.

I hope I helped if even just a little in the education of being a ferret owner.

PS

Oh I forgot to mention the rabbit, LOL we have a pet rabbit too his name is Hershey kisses that is a total of 6 teenagers (5 girls one boy bless his heart for putting up with all of US! LOL!) and 10 pets! OMG we should live on a farm not this old house in town! LOL

10-20-05, 01:34 AM
FredPuli
You have a pet rabbit ? And you keep two ferrets ? Blimey, you do have the ferrets domesticated !

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,