Does anybody have ferrets? Tips? Good websites? Experience?

Answer 1

I have 5 ferrets. And to answer your question, I could write a book. I am going to give you the short version, however, please feel free to e-mail me if you want even more info.

A really good website is ferretfacts.com. There are many more websites out there that are good, so my next suggestion is google "ferret information".

Ok Tips.
1. Make sure you have a good and experienced vet in your area.
2. Set aside a ferret fund or a credit card solely for your babies. They are very expensive to keep.
3. Make sure you have someone who can babysit or a good ferret bording place. Also make sure they are comfortable giving meds. If you own ferrets you will definatly at one time have one or more on meds.
4. Make sure your house is "ferret proofed". Ferrets like to get into a lot of trouble. Make sure your house is safe before you let them out. However, there will always be something that you don't find or think of. The first couple of weeks you have your baby, follow it. Your ferret will find the things you didn't and if you follow them, you can correct the problem before they get in trouble.
5. Baby gates. These are great for keeping you babies out of places you don't want them. Now some ferrets are great climbers, so you will still have to keep an eye on that area.
6. "No Bite" or bitter apple spray. Great for training not to bite or chew.
7. Ferretone. A good supplament for a ferret. Use it at a treat and also a distraction. Put it on their belly while your clipping their nails. They will be more interested in their treat then what you are doing with their feet.
8. Don't spend a crap load on bedding. There are so many things that you can use instead of buying the cheaply made bedding from the stores. First off, old tee shirst, sheets, towels, etc. Next, go to a fabric store and watch their remnents. They love fleece and cotton fabrics. Finally, if you can sew or know someone that knows how to, making sleepsacks and hammocks are very easy to do. And making them yourself, you get a better made bed and it's cheaper. Lastly, if you want, get on e-bay. There are a few people out there that make homemade bedding that is of a high quality and your fuzzies would love them.

Ok there are some tips, but I could list hundreds more. Now for some experiences.

Ferrets are a blast. They know just the way to get you to fall madly in love with them. The hardest part of owning a ferret is when they get sick. This past year two of my babies (Rudy and Anoki) passed away due to medical problems. Rudy had a tumor growing on his penis. It was not bothering him, but if let go it was going to end up causing major problems. I decided to go ahead with surgery to remove it. Rudy's heart couldn't take the anistetics. He made it through the surgery, but when they started bringing him back to, he little heart stopped. This was a very hard loss for me since it was not at all expected.

Anoki was my special boy. Around Jan. of last year I started noticing Adrenal issues. (If you don't know about adrenal disease, please do your research. There is way to much info on just that to write it here.) Now Anoki had his left adrenal glad removed before he came to live with me, so I knew we were in trouble with the right. I had Anoki put on Lupron and the melitonin implants right away. Through the year things didn't get better. He had a prostate infection that didn't want to go away. This caused him to spend some time in at the vet, and required me to learn how to make him pee. He also lost the use of his back legs. We think this was due to a tumor on his spine, however, it could have also been cause by low blood sugar (which he was on meds for, but they never helped his legs). I got my hands on some wheels for Anoki. He loved his wheels. Even though Anoki was a very sick little boy, he was full of life. He never slowed down. Anoki passed on his own. This made things a little easier on me, as I didn't have to make the decision to give him a "mercy" shot.

Anyways, what I went through with Anoki and Rudy is not uncommon. Anoki had a disease that majority of ferrets get after the age of three. Not all ferrets respond so poorly to their meds as Anoki, but either way it is very hard and expensive to deal with. This is one reason that any true ferret owner will try and stress the fact that you need to do your research before getting a ferret and to make sure you are financially prepared.

Answer 2

I have no idea any web sites however i reside local Disney World and i assume my handiest tip might be if viable, plan your travel within the wintry weather. Any time essentially from November to February in view that that is more often than not while the least quantity of persons pass to the subject matter parks. November is relatively pleasant climate in view that both an extended sleeve blouse or gentle jacket will do wonders. Other than that, while It involves Disney, its going to be busy. Just get ready for that. Great a laugh regardless that. Hope this is helping, exceptional of success!

Answer 3

Ferrets are wonderful pets, but they're not like cats or dogs or other standard pets. They are highly inquisitive and as intelligent as a small child. In fact, they're very much like having two-year-old kids in the house -- they get into EVERYTHING! If they don't get enough exercise and stimulation, they'll be extremely mischevious; if they're kept in their cage too much they're likely to learn to open it themselves.

Typically, a ferret bought at a pet store will be neutered and de-scented. Unless you plan to breed your ferrets (and if you're asking for help here, I'm guessing you're not an experienced ferret breeder), you should make sure that they are neutered. De-scenting is also very important because they have musk glands under their tail (like skunks) and can be pretty smelly if you don't de-scent them! Normally when this is done they will receive a small dot tattooed on their ear (I think it's the left one).

Ferrets need to eat a good quality food formulated especially for ferrets. Some people will tell you that they can eat quality kitten food, and they can, but they won't live as long or be quite as healthy. It's just not made for their bodies. Ferrets also love fruit and yoghert, which should be fed as a treat, not a major part of their diet. Yoghert, in small amounts, helps their digestive tract. Fruit is good for them in small amounts but will give them diarrhea if they eat too much. They love it and will eat all they can get their hands on, if allowed.

Clean your ferret's cage regularly. Ferrets can be litter-trained like a cat; their waste is particulary bad-smelling so needs to be changed every other day at most. Otherwise your house will smell and the ferrets will refuse to use their litter -- instead hiding their waste under clothes, blankets, etc, wherever they can.

Ferrets love to sleep in hammocks (made for ferrets) which you can get at your pet store. Get the fuzzy ones -- they're washable and your ferrets will love you for it!

They are very, very social creatures. It's a good idea to get more than one, because they'll keep one another entertained -- otherwise they'll be a real handful! They need lots of mental stimulation; toys, etc. They love to play, and they love attention -- but they don't care much whether it's "good" or "bad" attention! The best way to discipline a ferret when it's misbehaving is to put it in "time out" -- put it in its cage (or better yet a carrier), alone, with it's toys removed and ignore it completely while you do something else for five minutes. When you bring him out again he'll be eager to make it up to you! Don't overdo this (leaving him like this for longer periods of time) because it'll lose it's effectiveness quickly if you do.

Ferrets and cats don't typically get along well. (Cats instinctively hate them!) Ferrets and any kind of rodent (mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, etc) don't get along at ALL because they are the natural diet of ferrets in the wild, and ferrets haven't been domesticated long enough to breed that out of them. They try to eat them. I couldn't tell you about dogs, having never had them together with ferrets.

Hope this helps, good luck with your ferrets!

Answer 4

Wikipedia has the general information, but other that that I don't know.

Answer 5

http://www.ferrets-ferrets.com/ferrets-general-information.htm
it should tell you all you want to know