Ferrets

Branoic

Myself and my wife live in an apartment and have been dying to get a pet. Dogs and cats are out of the question because of the living situation, and I kept hamsters as a child but my wife gets freaked out by them.

We were going past a pet shop today and they had a ferret. They took her out for us and both of us found her adorable. I've been doing a bit of reading up on them and just wanted to see if anyone here has any experience keeping them as pets, seeing as how apparently they're really popular now (something like 3rd most popular house pet in the USA)?

If anyone here has got a pet ferret I'd love to hear your views on them, and i've got a couple of questions:

1) Where's the best place to get one? I think pet shops are grand enough for hamsters and budgies, but i'd never buy a dog or even a cat from one, so I'm not sure about ferrets? Would they be more prone to deseases or poor handling as a kit?

2) What price would you normally pay? The one in the pet shop in our town was €120. Is this about right?

3) Living in a first floor apartment, the ferret would be spending most of its time in-doors, and pet smells might be an issue. I understand they can be quite smelly until neutered, and you can also opt to get the anal scent gland removed. What's people's opinions on this? I read somewhere that nearly all ferrets sold in the US are sold with the gland already removed, while in the UK the general feeling is you can do it but its not really necessary, and in other parts of the EU its considered animal abuse!

4) I read they sleep a good bit during the day? Is this true? Both me and my wife work, but we both work local so are usually home for lunch and home in th evening before 6. Would the ferret be ok sleeping during this time and then active / playing in the evenings?

Cheers.

Our man in Havana

I have 2 both rescues - they are adorable have a very large cage etc.

Pet shops should be fine to get a ferret from but I would not pay €120! In my local pet shop they were €25 each or 2 for €40!! For 120 had they done anything special to the ferret??

they do sleep a lot & will be active when you want them to be! So yes in the evening they will be fine! Ferrets really need company - so 2 are better than 1 - females need to be spayed as jills can get cancer if not mated. My female is spayed & my male is neutered.

MsFifers

Can I add a question to the O.P.'s? Would ferrets and cats in the same home be a bad idea?

I have 2 very adored cats, but I would love another pet. As I'm out working all day, a dog is out, and I was thinking about some kind of rodent - however because of the cats, I thought a little hamster or rat might get stressed.

Would ferrets be less likely to be stressed out by the cats because they are bigger? Or would they stress the cats??!

They do seem like great little animals!

Branoic

MsFifers wrote: »

Can I add a question to the O.P.'s? Would ferrets and cats in the same home be a bad idea?

I have 2 very adored cats, but I would love another pet. As I'm out working all day, a dog is out, and I was thinking about some kind of rodent - however because of the cats, I thought a little hamster or rat might get stressed.

Would ferrets be less likely to be stressed out by the cats because they are bigger? Or would they stress the cats??!

They do seem like great little animals!

The guy in the pet shop that I was in was saying that ferrets are actually part of the feline family, and not rodents, so maybe they'll get on ok!

Regarding the ferret for €120, yeah I dunno why its that price. I've never priced one before so didn't know if that was the norm, or wildly off. I'll check with them if there's anything particularly special about this one to warrant the price.

Bond-007, would you be able to recommend any good places around Dublin to look at getting one? I'm not familiar with any of the pet shops.

Our man in Havana

Ok ferrets are not part of the feline family! They are mustolids same as skunks!

However cats & ferrets can get on just fine - but this all depends on the cats & the ferrets! I had a rescue ferret called Nibbler & a wild kitten called Tiger Lily - thanks to Nibbler Tiger Lily became a tame lovely cat

I got my Ferret a month and a half ago. This was my second attempt as the first turned out to be quite vicious and was bread for hunting . I tried again there as i said and i got a little polecat girl. She was the runt of the litter and suffering from rickets. Good to say i have been giving her some extra vits and that problem is now sorting itself out.

Honestly its the greatest pet ever. They have a personality equil to a dog. There is a slight smell boys problem being worse then the girls. But they are great fun. They remind my of a kitten, but they stay this way their whole life.

If you give this animal a chance i guarantee you , you will be hooked. They sleep alot ! So if you work alot its a great pet. They do need alot of cleaning but honestly once you get one , you will never look back.

Regards the price , that is very high. I paid 30 for mine , she still has to be spade (she will die if she doesnt) But they are perfect for an apartment but you will have that slight smell there. Also remember to Ferret proof the apartment as they will climb into anything . I will put some pictures up of mine .

Best of luck with the decision and let us know how you get on .

Branoic

Hi Dre, thanks a lot for the info. I'd love to see some pictures, she sounds great!

Yeah, dunno why they're charging 120 for the one in the petshop here. That coupled with the fact that they didn't know ferrets were mustolids instead of felines is convincing me to look at getting one elsewhere!

Yeah thats a crazy mistake to make. You have to remember there is a musty smell to them , but it doesnt bother me. If they get starteled they will spray but to be honest a human letting off does a worse smell. If you are thinking about getting one, get a young one that you can train yourself. Now is the time as 4 months ago was the period for them being born. Look in guntree.ie or on the buy and sell.

Here are picture's of Tazz she wouldnt stay still to get a good photo so i had to pick her up.

Branoic

she looks lovely Dre! thanks for the photos.

I'd be quite happy with getting just one ferret if they sleep during the day and won't get too lonely, but my wife is ridiculously soft and reckons that if we're getting any, we need to get two so they can keep each other company.

In that situations, what's the best gender mix to get? Two males, two females, or a male and a female? We'd have no intention of breeding them, so it's just from the view point of personality compatibility. If you got two males could they be agressive towards each other? Or is there a chance a male would be aggressive towards a female if you got one each? I'm leaning towards two females just because I understand females smell slightly less than the males.

Regarding the ferret-proofing of the apartment, its a fairly solid apartment - no holes in walls, and the kitchen appliances and units are all tightly fitted together so there's no gaps they could go down. The only area I'd be a bit worried about is there are a fair few wires and cables in the sitting room. I've got an Xbox 360 and a Ps3 sitting on the floor beside my TV, and I've got surround sound speakers, so there are a lot of wires. Do ferrets tend to chew cables?

Well I only let Taz run around my room, in this room i have an Xbox a 360 a ps2 a PC TV sky box and i havnt had a problem.

Regards what 2 to get , I hear Males are more boistorous then the females. Males like to leave smelly wee's around the place to mark their territory. Its up to yourself. You could get a female that is very boistorous also. They all have their own personality . Let me know how you get on .