We are considering buying a ferret and our just-turned-four son really wants to have one, tho it would be for the whole family. I have been around them and they seem like a lot of fun. However, I have heard there can be a smell issue with them as well as damage to carpets and furniture. Also, some say they require a lot of time from the humans to be entertained and healthy. I have even read that they are illegal to own or at least discouraged in some States (but not in ours I believe). Why? Not many pets fall into the “Declared Illegal” catagory.
Does anyone here have any experiance, good or bad, to help me make an enlightened decision here?
I have never owned one, but have friends who have them. (My cats won’t let me get one.) One thing you must do before you get a ferret is ferret-proof your house. The ferret will need a cage for when you aren’t with him, but they can move quickly and can get into holes you would never believe they can fit through - such as around plumbing access, behind and under appliances, etc. Do lots of research on training - a badly trained ferret can bite hard. They are so cute, tho, and the ones I have met have been really sweet and affectionate.
Thank you. Good tips. The appliances and plumbing I hadn’t considered. We have a 4yo as I said and I’m concered about the tales of problems from small items laying about were the ferret can get them. With a 4yo? We got nuthin’ but little stuff everywhere. And up under stuff? How can I catch it and put it away each time I go to leave the house if it’s under who-knows-where? I need to know so much more.
Thanks again.
I had two great lil guys, Smokey and Bandit (adopted separately, but what a coincidence!). I prefer them over cats.
Ferrets sleep a LOT, so it’s not so bad to keep them in a comfy clean cage most of the time. Mine had hammocks and toys and each cage had a corner litter box. One ferret was trained so well he’d always go back to his cage when he hadda “go”. The other would let it out as he ran. Luckily that stuff is easy to clean up.
We kept one room ferret safe. No holes to escape through, nothing dangerous to chew on (we learned early on that Bandit had a taste for telephone cord). They will carry off socks or small toys, and those rubbery childrens toys can be dangerous for them to chew on so keep them up while your ferrets are out. Some people are brave enough to let theirs run free all the time, but at least one of mine preferred to go back to his cage to sleep after an hour or two of wardancing and toe nibbling. The other one wasn’t crazy about it, but he played so hard he’d get exhausted enough that I could just slip him in his hammock and he’d go right to sleep.
I never had a complaint about the smell but I was vigilant about keeping the cage clean. I rarely bathed them but I had a nice sweet spray I’d use sometimes made just for ferrets. The litter box never smelled anywhere near as bad as our cats’ litter boxes.
They got along with my dogs great. I had a standard poodle mix that treated them like babies and after I got the ferrets we got a shih tzu pup that thought the ferrets were his brothers. The cat tolerated them with disdain but there was never any trouble.
You need to know your ferret before you have your small child around it. Smokey was gentle as they come but he still took great pleasure in attacking moving objects like fingers and toes. Bandit liked to bite though, and it broke skin more than once. One time he leaned in for what I thought was a nose nuzzle and he took a small chunk of skin. I would never have wanted these guys around a small child.
Make sure you have a vet that specializes in ferret care. I had one that claimed he did, but recommended euthanizing Smokey when he came down with ECE (?), or green slime poo disease. I decided to get a second opinion and Smokey lived another three happy healthy years after the illness finally passed (it did take a few months and a lot of finger-feeding and nutravite and droppers of water but he was a fighter). He lived eight years and just went in his sleep one night. He was going blind by then but he was a happy fella until the end.
My second vet charged quite a bit more for “exotics”, so be sure you can cover any extra medical expenses you might be in for. He was the one that talked me into adopting Bandit, who was full-grown when I got him. I loved that little guy, as wild as he was. He died of pneumonia that just came on overnight; never knew why really. We had him about three years so he was probably around five when he died.
I know they used to be illegal in California and I think another state, but I never understood why, other than they might get loose and create a feral ferret population. I don’t know why that would be. It’s rare to buy one that is able to reproduce anyway.
I think they are great pets, as long as you feel you can adequately care for them. Don’t skimp on food. Some stores will suggest giving them kitten food as a cheap alternative, but it really doesn’t satisfy their nutritional needs. Make sure they have clean cages and toys and you train them early. They can usually be trained if you are patient but that takes someone being there for them more than a few hours a day, in my opinion. They can be leash trained and litter box trained fairly easily. The biting thing is trickier…I never could get that one across.
OOh also some toy recommendations: We had these clear plastic globes they’d roll all over the house in. Not sure what they are called but they were great for bringing them out of the safe room. We’d also take them outside like that, but make sure it’s not too warm or sunny because they overheat easy.
And tubing. They sell ferret tunnels but you can buy cheap hoses or tubing and DIY …they don’t know the difference. Also boxes with holes cut out here and there make great toys, but they will start chewing on the cardboard so watch them.
One more: spare socks. This is really more fun for the humans though. Pop a ferret in a sock. They fight so hard you’d think they aren’t enjoying it, but why do they keep bringing the sock back, huh? 
Make sure it is neutered or spayed before you get it. And I guess I overlooked the part about the 4-year-old - I really don’t think they are suitable pets for children that young. (Not saying anything about your son - but ferrets can nip.)
I’ve had three ferrets in all. Great little critters.
I agree with all the above.
They are really smart and love to get into things so keep that in mind. If they can pull something over, get into a bag of something, pull out the stuffing of something else,… they will. Not to say they’re evil bastards, just goofy and curious.
Ferrets have 4 modes. Play, sleep, eat and crap. Sleep is their major mode (because Play mode goes to eleven and I think they burn off all their engery quickly).
I’ve heard some can be litter trained. Mine never were. They liked to crap behind the toilet on the floor. If I put a litter box back there they’d crap in front of it. Ferret poo is easy to clean up so it wasn’t a big deal. At least all the “out of cage” poop was in one area.
I never had a problem with biting. One would nibble, but he never clamped down hard. One would wake up at 4am and go after my toes under to covers. I think he thought they were morning grub worms.
At the time I had my ferrets I had several cats. One was a kitten and used to play with the ferrets. The other couldn’t care less about them. The bunny didn’t like the ferrets one bit.
The smell wasn’t bad. They liked baths so part of their weekly play was in the tub. Plus, the just clean ferret dance used to crack me up. The first time you ever wash a ferret, towel dry him and set him on the floor you’ll think you broke him.
And just so you know the language. Cats go meow-meow, dogs go bark-bark, ferrets go dook-dook. They arch their backs, hop across the room and go dook-dook-dook-dook until they run head first into a wall.
One day I’ll get another one.
I also have a just-turned-four son and we have a hamster. LOVE IT! Bryan loves Peanut and is learning to be very gentle with him. I think hamsters are a great idea for a first pet. Ours is soooo sweet, he never bites and tolerates the child handling very well. We were lucky!
Just a note, althoutgh I’m pretty sure most folks already know this.
Hamsters and four-year-olds mix well. Ferrets and four-year-olds might mix well. Ferrets and hamsters together are not a good idea.
Both species are noted escape artists and ferrets are predators.
Sailboat
Ah, ferrets. A tale of joy and heartbreak. So cute and funny, so short-lived. Here’s my advice:
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ferret-proof one room/set of connected rooms, and have a nig cage where you can let them sleep and can lock them up when you go out
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you need to watch them like toddlers; they can get into anything.
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ferret-proofing involves not only blocking up small holes (plumbing, etc.) and not leaving around things that they could bite/swallow and injure themselves (electrical cords, foam rubber that they might swallow, resulting in an intestinal blockage, etc.) but also making certain that there’s nothing they can pull over on themselves (like heavy books/jars/vases/etc.)–because they will knock over everything they can find–and making sure they can’t climb up to anything dangerous. They aren’t as limber as cats, but they can still climb like you wouldn’t believe (like, up your bookcase!)–and jump surprising lengths. Also, no more potted plants on the floor.
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be wary of furniture, esp. couches that are open underneath and any furniture with moving parts (recliners, fold-out sleeper sofas, etc.), as they can either climb up inside them and not want to come out or get caught in the moving parts when you don’t realize they’re in there.
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if you can afford it, get a ferret from a breeder, not from a pet store. They are hardier and live longer. This is not the same as the whole “don’t buy puppies and kittens from pet stores” argument. You see, ferrets have to be spayed/neutered before they are sold, and the pet store ferrets (from Marshall, usu.) are done before the ferrets reach maturity. Some vets believe this is the cause of so many of the ferrets’ health issues (more in a moment). When my vet started in the business, he regularly saw ferrets (almost all professionally bred, then, not from pet stores) live to 12 years. Later, it was just 8. Now, he hardly ever sees one live past 5 or 6.
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ferrets are tough little guys, but when they get sick, they get majorly sick. You should be prepared to spend $1000 on a major surgery/hospitalization for the ferret at some point in its life. We’ve had 4 ferrets. The first (female) died of lymphoma. The second (female) also died of lymphoma, but we caught it sooner and were able to treat it slightly. The third (male) was developing adrenal disease, which is about as common in ferrets as prostate cancer is in human males (i.e., almost all of them wind up with it, if they live long enough). But we didn’t know that he was. One of the major signs of adrenal disease is hair loss, esp. from the tail. Well, he wasn’t losing enough hair for it to be noticeable, but he was losing enough that, when he groomed himself, he ended up swallowing a lot of hair, until it formed an intestinal blockage. When he was getting too skinny we took him in to the vet (a ferret specialist–as others have said, make sure you can find one in your area), who performed surgery, discovered the blockage, removed it, and also removed the one enlarged adrenal gland. The ferret recovered fully and lived for another year and a half, until he died of old age.
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ferrets do better with company; i.e., get two ferrets. You catastrophic costs go up, but really, it’s no harder to care for two ferrets than it is to care for one.
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if you can find one, buy a simple rubber toy called a “ferret squeak ball”; it’s a small ball with little knobs all over it (for ferrets to grab on to), and it squeaks when you squeeze it. I don’t know who designed it, I don’t know what the secret is, but when you squeak the damn thing, your ferrets will drop whatever they’re doing and come racing to the ball (and then, if you don’t stop them, pick it up in their mouths and carry it off to a corner somewhere). I don’t know if perhaps it sounds like a ferret infant in distress, and they’re carrying it to “safety”, or if it sounds like prey (prairie dog?) and they’re capturing food, but the thing is invaluable when you need to get your ferret out from behind the couch so you can go to bed.
Ferrets are awesome pets, but you should definitely know the downsides, too.
Lots of great advice above
For my own .02… Ferrets are not for children. They are wonderful and exciting, but also excitable and can be rough while playing. They think nothing of biting the hell out of each other while roughhousing, and their human companions are definitely one of them when it comes to nipping and grabbing. I’ve not owned a mean ferret (although I’ve met a few that were not socialized properly, and they were mean little buggers) but even well adjusted ferrets will nip occasionally.
They do not take to cuddling… although I’ve-never owned a single fuzzy (i’ve always had 2-4 at once), and am told some singles have a good temperament for constant holding. We recently adopted a 2 year old fuzzy from a family who’s 6 year old daughter became allergic to him… He was described as very cuddly, but once he got accumulated to his new cage mates he lost any interesting cuddling. All of my ferrets are well socialized, but none of them like to be held for any sort of time.
Eric
Currently owned By:
Nipper (guess how she got that name)
Bear
and our new adoptee, Charlie
I owned 5 of the critters, once. Ex-wife #1 got them in the divorce. I’ll ech everything you’ve already been told about them. Lovely animals, enormous fun, can be nippy. I have a four year old daughter who wants one. When she is older, say around 12, we’ll get one. Although I’m sure there are people with small children and ferrets who haven’t any problems, my experience with them is that they aren’t a good mix.
Ferrets nip, can sometimes nip very hard, and need to be trained not to nip. This means immediate negative reinforcement…30 seconds later and the ferret won’t understand what was wrong and what s/he is being punished for. Because of this, they may not be appropriate for a 4 year old. Also, mine need to be trained not to nip each new human they encounter.
I keep one room “mostly” ferret-proofed. My 2 cinnamon girls spend most of the day in their roomy cage, but when someone is home, they are let out. Ferrets will hide items they can drag around, and one of my girls is a climber who likes to knock stuff off of my desk.
Regarding the “illegality” of domesticated ferrets. In NYC, it was due solely to the pig-headedness of one man - Rudy Guiliani. He heard one scare story (and I don’t think there are many more than the one story, which unfortunately I can’t currently find) and he bullied his appointees to amend NYC rules making them illegal. It such a non-issue to most people that it is very hard to get it on anyone’s agenda to get it changed. Same story for California, one of two states (that I know of) where ferrets are illegal. The other state is Hawaii. I’ve heard (no proof) that Hawaii is more concerned about potential diseases not present on the islands than any other reason.
Owned by 4 ferts here.
Overall ferrets are wonderful creatures. Yes, they do have downsides. I believe every pet does, it just takes research and the ability to come to your own conclusions as to whether you can handle the downsides involved.
Ferrets are carnivores, some people feed cat food but nutritionally it is not the best option unless it is high quality kitten food as it has more protein. Ferret food is usually more expensive as well. You also have to be careful what kinds of treats you feed them, as things like raisens they love, but can cause blockages because they just can’t digest them.
Ferrets are prone to some serious health problems, so being aware of signs and symptoms of the most common illnesses is a must. Most of that information is available online or by getting this book which by the way is an amazing reference book.
The little guys can be misleading in their behavior. Things that if you would see in a cat or dog would make you think they were rabid or mad is just play for ferrets. They play rough, but you can teach them to not be rough with you. When they get excited they will hop back and forth teeth bared and fling there head back and forth. Some people refer to this as a “weasel war dance.”
When training my ferts, all I would have to do is scruff and hiss, sometimes drag them a bit of the floor - like a mama ferret would do to discipline. At this point even at their most excited they only touch teeth lightly to me - just like saying, “Tag, you’re it!”
Ferrets are very social creatures, so if you are going to get one, make sure you have the time to spend with it. Approximately 4 hours at least if it is a single ferret. If you don’t spead as much time w/them, then give them a friend and they will bond and keep them from being lonely. Ferrets can get along with other animals, ie cats and dogs but anything smaller than the ferret will be regarded as prey or a toy and try to play with it…trust me - that is a bad picture.
Like someone mentioned earlier, the best thing is to ferret proof one room. The whole house can be done but it is a huge task and one room where the ferret cage is can work fine. Think of kid proofing a room and then shrink the kid down to about a foot, then add an insane amount of tenacious curiosity, add the fact a ferret an fit anywhere its head can fit (yes, they squish and squirm) and then they will still find things to get into that will tie you up in knots. For a (very) brief time I had one of my ferts free roaming a little bit. Within 5 minutes, he found a hole underneath the stove that we did not see and if I had not dove for his disappearing tail, he would have been stuck under the apt. and into whatever poisons, creatures he could find. One room has worked well for us.
Next, on cages, size depends on fert number and how long they spend in the cage. If it is too small, or they don’t have any playtime, they will likely have cage stress, biting the bars and basically acting like little snits. On litter training, the best method we have found it so keep it simple. We took the bottom floor on the cage, which pulled out from the bottom and turned that into a big litter box. Granted the little heiney hikers will not get it all the time. but we have a pretty high overall average. Do not use pine shavings or clumping litter for litter boxes, floors whatever. Pine shavings are hard on their lungs and the clumping litter can get caught …ummm… up in things and cause blockages.
Toys are easy. Dryer exhaust tubing or something like, some cat toys, plastic sacks, sandbox, and then there are ideas all over online. Heck, we came up with a hit with a Lays potato chip container. You can also find different treats and toys online. Plastic easter eggs and little jingle balls. Things they can hide are really great.
Now, I have listed a whole bunch of downsides but the upsides come with time. When you are holding a fert and they look at you like you are his goddess and just loves to spend cuddle time in your arms. When your little girl fert dances and dooks across your shoulders because she is playing with her human. (dooking is ferret laughter) When you are upset about something and the ferret just knows… and insists on either being the clown (look at me, look at me) or just loving on you to let you know you are not alone. When you see your fert do his weasel war dance and knock himself against the wall and he just keeps dancing away like the hard headed like rascal that he is. Watching the pouncing games between the ferts to see which one wins. They are a wonderful pet to have, as long as you know what you are getting.
By the way, I posted pics of my guys here.
Hope I helped.
Shan
Thanks to all!
Great information and perspective. Based on the discussion here and the few sites I have visited I think we are going to wait a while on bringing a ferret into the home. This is mainly based on the concerns about the ability of a 4yo and ferret to interact well almost all of the time. This, along with the fact that ferret-proofing this house will be all but impossible at this time. My favorite seat in the house is a rocker/recliner that I am sure would not be good for these little guys.
As always, the people here have been a wealth of information. When we first began to discuss it, I was talking with Mrs.Nic and thinking “Who do I know that can give me a good and complete idea of the details of this” and then, :smack: Of course! Dopers know all!
Thanks again. We are currently looking into differing types of small to medium sized dogs in a short-hair variety. Something like the Rat Terrier or the Jack Russell terrier.
Having owned 2 scotties, let me warn you in advance that terriers are hard-headed and require a real commitment in training and exercise from their owners. They also aren’t always a good fit with children, in contrast to breeds like beagles and black labs which nearly always are.
Well, we went to a few Humane Society places in the area and an Animal Control in a neighboring County before we learned of a Pet Rescue place and the showing of animals at a PetSupermarket (IIRC). There we found our girl. She’s a 1.5 year old Lab-and-something mix and looks alot like Petey on the Little Rascals except for a brown patch on her eye instead of the black ring.
She’s a sweet heart and very good natured and calm.
Her name is Jenna.
Thanks to everyone for your help in this decision. I would have hated to have introduced an animal to our home only for it to turn into a thing we’d regret.
Thanks again.
Nic
As much as I love ferrets, it’s probably wise to wait on getting one until your son is old enough to understand that they require a lot more supervision than other house pets that are expected to spend some time outside a cage.
Also, if you have any thought in the back of your mind about getting a cuddly little pet that’ll sit quietly and let you pet it, forget it. A ferret is not that pet. Many of them don’t even like to be held at all, never mind be pet.
That said, they’re great pets, so don’t completely discount the idea of getting one some day; my brother got his for his eleventh birthday and he did very well with it.
So, for future reference:
You have to keep in mind that although they do show some sparks of genius (what other type of pet can you think of that covers itself with a blanket?! Every one of my three ferrets did) they’re not smart as a cat or a dog. Or, maybe smart isn’t the word I’m looking for - their sense of curiousity far out-weighs their self presevation instinct. My first ferret escaped her cage, found a crack in the attic floor, climbed between the floor and ceiling, and needed to be rescued by removing the entire casing of the ceiling light fixture on the floor below!
If you’re not keeping a close eye on them, they need to be in their cage. Although that might seem a bit harsh, ferrets are, at least according to a couple books I’ve read, the only mammals that sleep more than cats - averaging 20 hours of sleep a day. Once you see them bounce off the walls, you’ll see how they manage to use up all their energy. Unlike a fan or a mixer, there are only two speeds on a ferret - asleep or full tilt. Even a ferret woke from a sound sleep will bounce around within seconds of being put down.
On the plus side for kids is that ferrets are pretty rough and tumble. I accidentally held one of them upside down by the tail - it was the only part I could grab before she landed on her head while diving off the bed - and she didn’t even flinch. Try doing that with a kitten! figure of speech, please don’t really. And when they want you to let them go, they often lick before they nip, so a kid could be taught this warning sign too.
I know that general consenus is that they don’t live long, but that isn’t always the case. My first ferret, Bandit, was victim of one of the down sides of ferrets - they are one of the few animals that can catch your colds and flu. My great-grandmother got very ill, and so did Bandit two-year-old. Grammy recovered and Bandit didn’t 
On the other hand Fang, my brother’s ferret, lived to be ten and Claudia was eight and a half. Our vet was amazed since he’d never treated ferrets that old before. The only thing I can think of that we did differently was diet (and didn’t give them the run of the house like some people make the mistake of doing. They make ferret food and ferrets can eat kitten food too. Ours wouldn’t eat any ferret food - loved ferret treat, though- so they ate kitten food their whole lives. Kitten food seems to be even higher in protein than ferret food, so there’s that.
Some day they might make a very good pet for you.
My former girlfriend, Louise, owned a ferret. One weekend, she brought it to my apartment. While I was sleeping, it crawled into bed and stuck its cold, wiggly nose up my ass. Apparently, it liked what my chocolate starfish had to offer. I awoke to a cold wet nose and twitching whiskers in my crack, accompanied by tiny digging claws, frantically trying to get in my ass.
I really hate ferrets.
There are people who will pay good money to experience just what you are complaining about, you know.