Ferrets?

[heidi123]

Hey.

Looking at getting my first ferret quite possibly. Me and my other half have always loved them and now may possibly be in a position in the near future to get one. Really want to rehome one and have seen some that would be perfect at our local RSPCA. Have been to meet, greet and get to know them so just waiting to see if our plans go ahead.

Just wondered if anyone had any as pets? If so any good tips/info that you fancied sharing?

Really not the sort of person to rush into things and have done all the research so understand there needs etc. But still any info would be brill.

Thanks so much.

Helen

 

[s4sugar]

You should be getting two as they are quite social animals.

Contact the ferret welfare societies for better information than the RSPCA.

They do get musky but usually love a bath & blow dry. They need vaccinating against canine distemper ( one dog dose split between two ferrets was how we used to do it.) and a good varied diet.
Use a storage box with a hole in one end as a litter tray instead of the too shallow commercial ones. They can get anywhere and you'll find holes in your home you never knew were there. Keep them penned when you are not around and most cages labelled for ferrets are far too small.

 

[Spiritedly]

Jills need to be neutered, serviced or given a hormone injection or they can stay in season and become ill, Hobs smell more but are supposed to be calmer (tell ours that!).You need to clip their claws every couple of weeks as they grow quite quickly and if you're keeping them outside make sure you have a solid floor on whatever you keep them in as they love to dig. Apart from that they're great fun and very addictive!

 

[touchstone]

I used to have four ferrets that are all now sadly deceased (old age - nothing I did!) They are lovely little characters but also great escape artists, one of ours had a thing for a small wooden spoon that he stole from the kitchen which he would then in his den hide under the drawers in my son's room - socks also went missing on a regular basis, so beware of missing thngs!

They do have a distinct odour, even when neutered/spayed so as long as you can live with that then you should be fine. You can get deodorising sprays, but I thought it made them smell worse.

I also kept a squeaky toy that you can get for dogs handy - if one did escape they used to come running back when they heard it as long as they weren't asleep anywhere too soundly.

They also loved ferretone which helped to keep them relatively still for nail trimming.

 

[heidi123]

Thanks for the info guys.
We have seen two possibles. One can't be rehomed with any other ferrets so rules out the lonely problem. The other can be so more than likely would get another.

We would keep them indoors, seen some really nice cages, really large ones with about 5 levels etc and would be let out every day for long periods to run free around the house. Obv would make it ferret prof haha. Also would take them out for walks etc to.

Yeah we found out the smell is quite punjent but my other half always had rats so we are not botherd in that sense. Do you find it makes the house smell? Hehe just out of interest lol.

Thanks for the heads up about the injections and how frequantley they need there nails trimmed.

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[D66]

whistle when you feed them. When they escape you can whistle and they'll run back to you - probably
One of ours escaped, so we set the rabbit trap next to the cage. In the morning the ferret that had been in the cage was in the trap and the escapee was curled up asleep on top of the cage.
Have fun with them. An aviary is better than a cage and they like toys.

 

[FionaM12]

One of my Facebook friends knits jumpers for ferrets.









Just sayin'

 

[CorvusCorax]

Give them an egg to play with. Hours of endless fun.

 

[heidi123]

Digger66: love it, sounds like such characters. What is there general life expectancy?

Haha the question is do u give them a hard boiled one or a raw one haha

 

[Fantasy_World]

TBH regarding the injections they don't need vaccinating against distemper unless you have unvaccinated dogs, are planning to walk your ferrets outside on roads or in parks where unvaccinated dogs could roam. I have never had any of mine vaccinated as had up to 30 of them at one point. Never lost any to the disease in around 12 years of keeping them.
I would echo comments about the jills though as they can get aplastic anaemia if left in season for too long. Therefore for a first time owner if you planning on just the 2 as indoor pets I would have the jills and males neutered if you mix the sexes or even have the same sex.
For larger groups I would always recommend having a hoblet, a ferret hob who has had a vasectomy to bring jills out of season. The only complication is that the jills can occasionally get pyometra of the womb. I have had one jill out of countless succumb to this. It was closed pyometra and vet said I wasn't to blame as could not have known as no outward signs. Only took to vet as appeared a bit under the weather and a little warm. She was scanned and they though poss infection and plan was to spay. However when she was opened they found that they could not remove womb as it as she had adhesions to her bladder. She would not have recovered so was pts while under GA
I would also recommend going to a rescue centre rather than a breeder. As someone who has bred responsibly and churned out good stock I say this as OP is a first time owner. Also many are actually neutered already so it saves the need to find a vet and have the op done, especially as GA can be risky for a ferret. I was still charged the whole amount of a spay even though the operation didn't happen which cost over £60. As most rescues have arrangements with vets and get the prices reduced it makes sense to have an already done ferret of perhaps 1 to 2 years old in order to get the most out of them.
I would never advise a newbie to get kits until they are familiar with handling and dealing with nipping as their teeth can be sharp, so you need to be firm but fair I have found.
Adults or young adults past the nipping stage therefore make excellent first time ferret pets.
As for feeding then you can go down 2 routes or mix them. Mine get fed a dry ferret kibble, have used ferret feast and dr johns. James Wellbeloved is good but not cheap and I could only ever afford it when I just had 2 ferrets to start with.
They also enjoy fresh meat, offal ( not too much liver as excessive vitamin a is bad for them), mince meat, lamb or beef ( no pork). Day old chicks, chicken, chicken wings, all raw. Rabbits too including fur, alhough none of mine have liked it lol. Although have given cooked mince and pet food roll before.
Give a varied diet and raw meat with bones is good for the teeth as it is with dogs who follow the BARF diet. I have also given fish as well.
Just be careful of raw meat in warmer weather as it goes off and they like to hide meat in their beds.
Also be careful where you site their cages whether indoor or outdoors as they are prone to heatstroke. Had to tell this to someone I visited once whose ferret was panting like mad and they had sited the hutch opposite the full afternoon sun!
If they do ever get heatstroke then basically cool them down as you would a child, either using a fine spray mist of coolish water over them or place in a bowl of tepid water ( depending on time of year) and dry off. Place them somewhere away from the heat source and if you have a fan switch on.
Make sure your house is ferret proof. Believe me they will get into anything at any time. I had 3 youngsters which lived in the house until boy started to smell, he was kept entire as a good stamp of a grey mitt!
Above all enjoy them as they are great fun. Get as many toys as you can. balls like ping pong balls are good, just watch out if they puncture though. Cat tunnels are good as well as are a lot of toys made for cats, just watch out for any that include small bells, feathers or material based toys. It is the same as you would with a cat or kitten just make sure you keep an eye on them or don't leave with toys that could have parts that may lodge in their mouth.
Good luck OP you will have hours of fun believe me lol

 

[Spiritedly]

Should have said, they also rule the house, all our other animals hide when the ferrets are on the loose! even the German shepherd keeps a wary eye and she normally looks on small furries as toys. Mine are only kits though so still a bit nippy, in fact yesterday I had hold of one of the ferrets and the ferret had hold of the gsd...by the nose!...no blood though, they tend to hold with their teeth rather than actually biting now. They are so much fun, if I'm down seeing them do their little hop/run always cheers me up.

 

[abitodd]

They can be clicker trained to return from wanderings. Simply click and treat a few times during play and they will soon come running when they hear the click,which carries well,even outdoors.
They love hammocks, the fresh mice the cat provides,blackberries and other fruit,tomatoes,carrots,sprouts,the last 3 tend to end up under the sofa though!
The smell is OK unless they are alarmed/threatened. They emit a VERY pungent stink if alarmed and it hangs around the house for ages,so watch where you are treading when they are having playtime!

 

[millikins]

Would echo all the above. Sadly our neutered male had to be pts last year aged 6 as had lymphoma, vet said they are prone to this. He was great friends with the dog, but dog came after so grew up together, the cat was TERRIFIED and peed herself if the ferret came near, he'd definitely have killed her if he'd caught her (she's very wimpy). Get them microchipped in case you do lose them!

 

[heidi123]

Thanks so much. The two we have seen are both neutered and vaccinated which is fab. We are pretty taken by the male but we dont mind which really. Deffinatley will rehome one instead of buying from a breeder. Can't stant to see animals in sancturys and kennels.

Thanks for the tip about cage situ. I know they love to be warm but there is warm and warm lol.

Really excited but time will tell. Fingers crossed we can give one or two of them a loving home

 

[PingPongPony]

I really want a ferret too but am not allowed one atm. A friend of mine however has a few and she said that when you take them for walks a) the ferret walks you and b) watch them very very carefully as they can easily wiggle out of the harness no matter how well you think you fitted it
What you could do for playtime if you're scared of loosing them, get 2 collars, fit them well but leave enough room for them to take it off if it gets stuck on anything, and attatch one of the key finders things to the collar not the ones that make a loud beep thou have fun with them!

 

[heidi123]

So sorry to hear about your boy millikins.

They sound like such fun and yep good idea about the harness haha.

Wasn't aware of them admitting a smell when there scared but cool thanks for tip.

Do you find you can generally smell them around the house?

Thanks Helen