Ferret and rabbits in same household?

[Blue eyes]

Does anyone have any experience or advice on the possibility of keeping a ferret as a pet in a home that has pet rabbits? I know that ferrets view rabbits as prey, but is there a way to safely do this?

Background: My bonded rabbits have the whole downstairs all day long. They roam free from morning til night. We have a labradoodle who is also with us in the house and is just fine with the rabbits. The upstairs is off limits to the rabbits. It is barricaded.

Is it possible to care for and keep a ferret upstairs somehow. If it got out would it attack the rabbits? I have no experience whatsoever with ferrets. My 13 year old would really like to have one.

 

[Watermelons]

I personally wouldn't risk it. Especially because they can be extra sneaky and escape. (nevermind the fact that I still cant stand the smell, ugh! even if they are de-scented! haha)

Heres the most recent topic this exact question was discussed in.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f17/i-...lity-owning-ferrets-rabbits-same-house-73316/
Have a read

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

I would not risk it as well. Ferrets are predatory and have sharp teeth. Even in play they can do a lot of damage to the thin skin of a bun.

 

[Blue eyes]

Thank you for the link.
I meant to do a forum search for ferrets and then got side-tracked looking at other posts. You saved me the trouble.

I'd be happy to hear anyone else's thoughts as well. I can see this is going to take alot of thought and consideration.

 

[PaGal]

I have had ferrets in the past and like buns should have time outside of a cage every day to run and platy. Is there a way you could have the buns locked in a room while the ferret was kept in another room to run around? How responsible is your 13 year old? If you explained the danger to a rabbit and the importance of making sure the ferret did not escape would your 13 year old do everything in their power to make sure that was the case?

I do know that all of my ferrets would play as all ferrets do. One if human would have been an Olympic athlete. The things she would do and the speed with which she would do them including biting you as she ran past was amazing and she bit hard. My male would bite while playing but not hard at all. My third one was an absolute Angel and that was her name because of it. She would play but she was very dainty and soft in her movements and she never bit. In fact she would run at you playing with her mouth open and if she happened to bump you with her open mouth would freeze and give you a look as if she felt horrible for the accidental bump.

I think a lot would depend on the people involved as well as the ferrets personality and the set up you could work out. Cats are predators as well yet many cats leave house buns alone. Whether or not a ferret would is not something I personally have an answer to. I would look into getting a young one though. Maybe being raised in a home that smells of rabbit could make a difference.

 

[whitelop]

A girl on the forum, lost her rabbit to her ferrets. She said it was a terrible sight to see.

I think that if you had them on different floors of the house, always separate, there wouldn't be an issue. When you let the ferret out, make sure the it was always always monitored. I think it would be a good lesson in responsibility for your child. To take care of an animal and make sure it doesn't kill the other animals.
With that being said, I think you should have a backup plan for the ferret. Like if it doesn't work out and you child doesn't like having it, or stinks or whatever. Make sure someone could take it? Or there would be somewhere you could take it to.

Personally, I think they're a little weird. I've met a few and I don't like they way they feel. They're like super slinky feeling and I don't like that. I think they're too smart for their own good, and they can fit into anything. Its creepy. I also don't like the way their fur feels. I met a girl who had one and either hers was dirty or whatever, but the ferret felt crunchy. It was strange. You also have to remember that they're weasels, and weasels hunt for small animals. Minks have been known to break into chicken coops and kill chickens.
Don't ferrets have little hands? Would the locks have to be special, like a raccoon? I don't know, I think they're weird.

Could you talk your kid into a Chinchilla? They're a lot like rabbits! And they're adorable and they have little hands and hold their food!

 

[Blue eyes]

Could you talk your kid into a Chinchilla? They're a lot like rabbits! And they're adorable and they have little hands and hold their food!

I'm open to other pet ideas and so is my son. What he most wants is something that is highly interactive.

His hamster recently died after 2 1/2 yrs, but she wasn't as interactive as he'd hoped. I understand they do require constant handling to remain tame.

My nephew had a chinchilla many years ago, but I don't know much about them. I thought they were more nocturnal? Are they very interactive?

I've had a few rabbits that were more interactive, but most weren't. (Should I clarify? You know how rabbits aren't always ready and willing to play...)

We have also been considering a cat, but only if I could find one that I'm not so allergic to.

 

[Watermelons]

I'm open to other pet ideas and so is my son. What he most wants is something that is highly interactive.
.

RATS!

Their sort of slinky and curious like ferrets. They are MUCH smarter then hamsters. I had a few hamsters when I was younger and theres really no comparison in personality. My girls will snuggle in your hood or pocket, the expect to share your breakfast, lunch, and dinner with you just like our dogs and cats. My single girl will literally dive into your glass to share your drink with you. As soon as You enter the room, they all leap to the front of their cage to come see you (mostly because they think you have food) MY single girl gives kisses and likes licking eyelids and ears. My other girls will give kisses if you taste like food. And they wont walk right off the end of a table like a hamster

 

[Zeroshero]

I had ferrets as a kid and they are a lot of work to keep clean and "fresh smelling" have you ever smelled the drug Metacam? They pretty much smell like that all the time. Like Pagal I believe that it has a lot to do with the ferrets personality, ours were rescues, my sister and I caught a stray albino ferret that was extremely docile and sweet, I took over the care of a dying sable ferret that was very sweet, and playful she loved to attack my mom and other house animals. It was all play though nothing serious. Then I took an extremely aggressive albino ferret that was horrible! He didn't just bite and draw blood he would twist his head at the same time and try to tear your skin. I loved my ferrets but I can't stand the smell anymore, they were fun and interactive little guys even the nasty one. I have had pet rats and they are great little pets. I don't know much about Chinchilla's but the little bit I have read about them is they tend to be aloof and require a lot of handling otherwise they can get aggressive.

 

[PaGal]

How about a guinea pig? My daughter when living at home had two. They seemed to be pretty interactive. I know they would start squealing when I came home from work as I would always give them a snack. They are noisy with the squeling though. I only spent so much time with them as they were my daughters but I would think from everything I have ever read or watched about them that they could be interactive as long as you spend the time with them. The more you put in the more you get out if you know what I mean, just like with a pet rat.

I think it's recommended to have two or more. You can build a NIC cage for them inexpensively and I believe they eat hay and I'm sure you have that already.

I myself loved the ferrets as well as my kids. The only downfall I found was they weren't 100% with the litter training but mostly used their box. Definitely want a corner box.

 

[Tauntz]

I will toss in my two cents as a person who was looking into a furry pet to add to my avian family. I went through much thought & research trying to decide on a safe addition to our little family. Anyway the bottom line for me was the safety issue. I did not want anything that I would have to constantly be on alert to see that my birds & the new pet did not hurt either one should one accidentally get out & get to the other. Of course, even same species animals/birds can fight & injure or kill but I wanted to hopefully keep accidents/injuries, etc. to an absolute minimum. Even though I am normally very careful, I was sick & my little Quaker wanted to be out with me for a few minutes of loving. Anyway I accidentally got too close to another bird & he got injured before I could do anything. So I prefer to stay away from predator/prey animals in my house altogether. Just too easy for something to happen in an instant. Sorry I don't have any suggestions but I prefer to err on the side of caution to prevent the possibility of injury to anyone. Hope you can find a good pet that will work for your family & be safe for all involved.

 

[Blue eyes]

I appreciate everyone's responses. It's great to hear your opinions and experiences. --so helpful.

We started looking more at rats and chinchillas but found that they prefer temps between 68-75F. I think this would be a problem. We live in the desert and even with a/c, we are seldom below 80F. All summer we are usually around 83F inside the house (still 30 degrees cooler than outside!)

We've started researching hedgehogs -- anyone have experience?

oh, we thought about guinea pigs, but they seem sooo messy. And they need a bit of space. His room isn't that big.

 

[whitelop]

My friends litter sister had a hedgehog. It wasn't super interactive. Although, I don't think that one was the best example of a hedgie. Those people aren't the best pet keepers and it got mites and had them for so long that they killed him. Poor thing. Anyway, he was sleepy a lot of the time I was there but that could be because he was being sucked dry by mites.
They are adorable! They have the sweetest little faces. They're litter trainable and they run around outside of the cage, but I think they like to get under beds. I think they pick a corner to potty in, so a corner litter box would probably fit them well.

I think the only issue they had with that one, other than being terrible pet owners. Was the food. Hedgies eat cat food or special hedgehog food and I think the poop stinks. But if you could get it to poop in a box, it shouldn't be an issue.
I'm not sure how normal ones interact though, if they're not infested in mites.
They said that the pine bedding is what gave it mites, I don't know if thats true or not.

 

[Blue eyes]

RATS!

Their sort of slinky and curious like ferrets. They are MUCH smarter then hamsters. I had a few hamsters when I was younger and theres really no comparison in personality. My girls will snuggle in your hood or pocket, the expect to share your breakfast, lunch, and dinner with you just like our dogs and cats. My single girl will literally dive into your glass to share your drink with you. As soon as You enter the room, they all leap to the front of their cage to come see you (mostly because they think you have food) MY single girl gives kisses and likes licking eyelids and ears. My other girls will give kisses if you taste like food. And they wont walk right off the end of a table like a hamster

In your opinion, are singles OK to keep? I keep reading about pairs. Or is it like rabbits, where generally 2 is better, but singles are ok too.

He's leaning more toward rats. Do you think the heat will be an issue. I'm wondering if we'll just have to keep a wet rag over the cage, maybe, to help keep it cool?

 

[Watermelons]

In your opinion, are singles OK to keep? I keep reading about pairs. Or is it like rabbits, where generally 2 is better, but singles are ok too.

He's leaning more toward rats. Do you think the heat will be an issue. I'm wondering if we'll just have to keep a wet rag over the cage, maybe, to help keep it cool?

IMO the rats will be like rabbits in the heat. If you can keep your rabbits comfy in the heat, rats should be fine.
Honestly when it comes to heat, its harder for animals to go from really cool to really hot then it is for them to stay at a consistent temp. Up here in the nasty North West, we go from about 60f in the house in the winter to 90f + in the summer in the house (NO AC when it hits 110 outside and bakes us in the house). It was raining this AM and pretty cloudy and in the last hour or so its just starting to become sunny and inside the house is sitting at 78 right now. So during the summer, were MUCH warmer inside and the rats could care less. Never had an issue with heat with any of my animals except myself!

As per singles/doubles. Doubles are definetly better, and it doesn't affect how social they are, just the size of cage you get. Its really cute to see them snuggle with each other.
I kept my group of 4 girls (down to 3 now) in this cage (not my ad) http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/for/3972359196.html its 27"x23"x33"h not including the legs. I have it decked out with laminate flooring as shelves, flexible drainage tubes for tunnels, hammocks, solid ladders, etc.I have a dog bed under the cage so its not wasted space.



I also have a single female rat. She was a few months old when I got a second rat, and she wanted NOTHING to do with this new friend! She would actually draw blood on this new rat. So I ended up getting the new rat a friend right away, and leaving the single rat single. My single rat is my friendliest, but I also took her home when she was about 1.5 - 2wks old (GRAPHIC NOTE - I had a snake that refused to eat and it was my last ditch attempt before tube feeding this snake... Needless to say the snake hid under the rat, and the rat fell asleep on top of the snake.)

So honestly, my single girl is totally fine on her own, but she never had the opportunity to grow up with other rats, she came to me when her eyes were barley open so she didn't get to grow up with her litter or other rats. I think if she did, she might be a little more upset and anti social with out a friend. She grew up knowing HEY! you fed me! you're my mommy!

I think a single is doable, given a lot of social time, but honestly, its easier to keep 2 rats then it is 2 rabbits. They don't need as much extra room in comparison for a 2nd buddy.

So long story short, I would personally go for 2. When I get more rats after I loose my current girls, I will always get them in pairs. As for the heat, I would just offer a ceramic tile or marble slab if you're worried. Little fan in the room for a gentle breeze to keep air moving might help too, but honestly I'm a wuss in the heat (and the cold...) but our animals do fine.

 

[Blue eyes]

Thank you again.

It doesn't sound like you'd do too well living in our heat, lol.

We've been doing more research into rats online and have been looking at caging options too. You mentioned laminate. Do you meant like countertop laminate? Would stick vinyl or linoleum be a chewing temptation for rats?

 

[Watermelons]

Laminate flooring. We had lots of extra pieces from doing the house, and the pieces from the basement are a nice width for shelves, so I cut the length to fit a few shelves in the cage. Maybe I should get off my butt and take a picture of their cage. Its the same Laminate flooring I use as a border in my rabbits cage to keep hay and hair and what not in. Nobodys ever chewed it. The rats also have access to regular wood in the form of their ramps, and hidey huts, and they haven't chewed those either. The only thing they like to chew is their Hammocks.

 

[Watermelons]

Heres some pics of their cage setup. And as can see, as soon as I come anywhere near the cage, they RUSH to the front to come see me, in hopes I have food! Their as bad as our dogs and cats when I open the fridge....

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/Lolaandthecrowd/20130804_110501.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/Lolaandthecrowd/20130804_110433.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/Lolaandthecrowd/20130804_110406.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/Lolaandthecrowd/20130804_110328.jpg

Anything small and light like the purple igloo, and purple tube, is fair game to be re-organized. I attempted potty training and that just failed and I didn't care honestly, I can let their cage go for quite awhile with out needing to clean it. They have rope bird perches to run along. 2 Wood hides, shelves, 2 hammocks. But the only thing they chew is their hammocks and that purple tube thing (that's over a year old now).

Ample hides is important so they all have a private spot to eat. They like to steal food from each other. 2 will eat and the 3rd will act like a hamster and hoard all her food. So by the time the first 2 are done with their supply, the 3rd is just starting to eat and the other 2 steal her food.

Never had an escapee unless somebody left the door open. In which case, only 1 of the group has ever actually left the cage when that's happened. Its the same one too! (she did it yesterday morning). They use every square inch of that cage. None of my rats use an exercise wheel. I use Kaytee clean and cozy bedding, or aspen shavings. Both work really well. I will typically sprinkle a bit of baking soda on the bottom of the pan before I put the bedding down. No smell issues here unless its been awhile since they've been cleaned. Plexi Glass blocks the larger opening at the bottom where the grate from the bird cage would have been. It also helps keep in stray bedding.

So just like rabbits and any other animal. The bigger the cage the better.

 

[carlysoup]

Rats, or alternatively, a guinea pig.

Rats are AMAZING PETS, and guinea pigs are sweet little loaves that sit in your lap & squeal.

 

[EMMIE]

Hi, you said you would consider a cat if you weren't allergic? Have you seen the Siberian Forrest Cat?