how good a pet is a ferret, what would be the implications of buying one (feeding, exercise, poop, etc), and finally, could they really be trained to sit on your shoulder?
PS: ferrets are rodents, right?
2007-09-19 07:48:36 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Rodents
Ferrets can make excellent pets-- they're playful, smart & friendly. They're *not* rodents, btw, but are more closely related to skunks & weasels. When we had our ferret, I'd often refer to her as 'my little weasel.'
Many ferrets have already been neutered & descented when you adopt them, which is a *really* good idea, but there is some smell involved b/c they have scent glands in different areas. Some ppl don't mind the odor--my SO actually like it--but a weekly bath will help a *lot* & there are deodorizing sprays made especially for ferrets.
There are several commercial foods for ferrets of various life stages but if you can't find them you can use a high-quality kitten food. You can get special treats for them too, or use cat treats & an occasional bit of whatever fruits or veggies your little friend might enjoy (tastes vary, just like with ppl).
Some ppl let their ferrets have the run of the house but it's probably safer to keep them in a spacious cage & let them out while you're there to keep an eye on them. They are active little guys & get plenty of excercise by playing & exploring their environment. Ours used to play 'tag' with one of our cats & I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there to see it every day. Ferrets also have their 'happy dance' which you may have seen or heard about, it actually freaked me out a bit the 1st time I witnessed it.
With patience & persistance, you can train your ferret to sit on your shoulder. They can also be litter-box trained, which I highly reccommend but which takes a *lot* of patience. Since they are so smart & playful I would guess you could teach them to play fetch as well. Some ppl also leash-train their ferrets but we never tried this.
Good luck to you & your ferret if/when you decide to adopt. You'll love the little guy!
2007-09-19 08:32:23 · answer #1 · answered by Catkin 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Hiya, Firstly a ferret isn'e a rodent, they eat rodents...ferrets are frome the Pole cat/ Stoat etc family.
They are fabulous pets... my ferret 'Captain Jack' climbs up on to my shoulder and sits there quite the thing, I take him to the park on his harness, (to do this they must be innoculated as they can pick op canine distemper) on the way back he's on my shoulder!
Not expensive to feed, you can get a good quility complete mixture for around £5 a bag, this will last 1 ferret 2 - 3 weeks.
Excersise wise, a mad run around the house will keep him happy, ferrets sleep for up to 14 hours a day, my guy is actually pretty lazy!
Poop wise... they seem to never stop pooping, and it is very smelly, but they are easy to litter train, I have a corner tray in his cage, makes cleaning much easier, also training him to use a litter tray will encourage him to use one when he's running about the house.
Male or Female? Personally i'd go for a male, many first time ferret owners dont realise, but a female ferret has a very complex reproductive system, she WILL stay in season untill he is mated, if she is not mated it can often be fatal. So she would either have to be speyed OR have a vasectomised male bring her out of season. We've had a girl ferret too, and she was very tame, but in my eyes the boys are more loveable.
Finally... Ferrets are full of charactor, fun and mischeif! There is never a dull moment with a ferret, they are natures comedians!
Good Luck .... you'll love him if you decide to get one! x
2007-09-19 17:04:34 · answer #2 · answered by linda o 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
ferrets make great pets and u can get then catastered that helps reduce the smell, male ferrets are hobs and female ones are jills, i have 31 pet ferrets and they have all been done, if you are going to keep ferrets they really need to be kept in groups as they like each others company, and they are very playful, the best place to get a ferret from is a rescue centre as they are loads wanting forever homes , as for poo you can litter train ferrets to poo in litter trays and you can nip train them not to bad as for getting them to sit on ur shoulder i wouldnt say it was good as if they were to fall they could be hurt or worse killed if they land wrong, and ferrets are not rodents they are carnivore's feeding ferrets they are loads of good ferret foods on the market the best been vitalin ferret food as it has a higher protine content than the others excercise as long as they get out of there cages for at least 2 hours aday they should be ok but if you can build them a run but make sure they cant dig under it as they are good little diggers and if they get out in to the wild they dont do too well, on there own or you could even take them for a walk on harnesses and leads if u need any more advice you can get hold of me on tatxxx@hotmail.co.uk i have kept ferrets for over 30 years as pets and working animals and are more than welcome to help you out where poss i hope this advice helps you you can also find loads of ferret chat groups to join on the internet try friendly ferret on msn groups we are all a helpful bunch of ferret owners
2007-09-21 07:07:56 · answer #3 · answered by tat4ferrets 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ferrets are brilliant. Clean as in they only poop in one place. They are social peeps. I used to have ferrets and polecats that when I went out at night I had to go round them all and give them a cuddle !
Feed them rabbits
2007-09-19 19:44:05 · answer #4 · answered by Lady Isis 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ferrets do make good pets, but get a book and read up on them first because female ferrets can die if they are not mated... honestly.
2007-09-19 14:55:26 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
ferrets are great pets i have two of them if you have a female one you must get her a injection from the vets every year when she is in season to bring her out of season or she will end up with a bone disease and die i have two my male had a vasectomy so he can bring my female out of season with no fear of her having babies they are 8yrs old now i had them as babies they live for up to 9yrs so has mine are old i spend a lot of time with them they are great pets
2007-09-20 12:38:44 · answer #6 · answered by shirley v 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They can be quite tame if handled frequently. But they can stink like you would not believe.
2007-09-19 14:56:45 · answer #7 · answered by fred35 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
they do make good pets, but they do have a very distinct smell about them.
2007-09-19 14:57:12 · answer #8 · answered by LISA J 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋