Ferrets

[SnowyShiloh]

We went to a friend's house for Christmas dinner last night, and the friend's housemate has 4 ferrets. Paul really likes ferrets, but had never had a chance to play with any before. The ferrets were so fun! I can't believe how flexible they are. They were hopping around everywhere and playing and we couldn't stop laughing. There was a big cardboard box full of those cornstarch packing peanuts (the kind that are safe for pets) and they would jump in and play in the peanuts. They would all jump in, and my friend would close the box and gently shake it and flip it over, then open the box and the ferrets would explode out of it. The ferrets really enjoyed it. I couldn't believe how different they are from bunnies. My favorite of the four was a big white boy with beautiful fur. He let me hold him like a baby for about 5 seconds before he left to explore.

They're so different from rabbits! Bunnies are so much more fragile and I can't imagine them ever running around under a blanket or playing in a box. My rabbits love to explore and run around and are very cuddly, but they aren't "explosive" like the ferrets.

The not so great things about the ferrets were there questionable mastery of the litter box (one of them pooped on the carpet right next to it and I've read that they aren't super reliable with litter boxes), and the smell. The roommate takes good care of the ferrets and the room didn't smell like poop or pee or anything, but the musky ferret odor was REALLY strong. My friend said it's because her roommate bathes them too frequently and because there are 4 of them in a fairly small bedroom. She keeps the door closed (there are cats and rats in other parts of the house) and you can't smell the ferrets outside of the bedroom. The smell would really bother me though, I wouldn't want people to walk into the house and only smell ferret musk.

So, what are other people's experiences with ferrets?

 

[fuzz16]

i love ferrets bouncy happy personalities!! i have had my experiance with babies and adults, but also with biters which sucks because those are hard to rehome from shelters and normally stay in the foster care ring forever

i wanted one a long time ago but rabbits are easier, and honestly the smell IS bad. you definately have to have them descented and fixed ):

ferrets, btw, are like kittens that never grow up i know people who have free roaming ferrets and his are very good about the litter box, but he also is a foster parent of the aggressive ones and spends a lot of time working with them

 

[GoinBackToCali]

My best friend has a white ferret.. he did kind of freak me out how flexible he is...I kept trying to pick him up and be gentle with him, and Garrett would just flop him over his shoulder, the ferret would jump and romp and play and got into EVERYTHING...
He also chewed up alot of game controller wires...

He was very sweet.. but the smell was a bit much.. very musky..I kept washing my hands.. but their house did not smell at all. But they just had the one..I think the cats smelled more..

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

Ferretts are fun, and cute and all of that. But They just get into tooo much stuff, and yeah the stink. I can't handle the stink.

 

[jessicalovesjesse]

We have a ferret, or my dad does.
I don't play with it often, because of the smell...
I simply can't handle it.
Even if you DON'T bathe them often they have a strong sent.

 

[slavetoabunny]

Our shelter puts the ferrets in the same room as the rabbits. Whenever they have any, the room smells bad.

 

[Elf Mommy]

My sister had a ferret in college at the same time I had my rabbit, Chaucer. The ferret's name was Tobias and we called him Toby. We later had a cockatiel named Nimbus. I can still remember Nimbus saying, "Tooooooooooooooby!" just like we had to do over and over again when he got into things.

My sister continued to love, adopt and foster ferrets for many years. They are definitely perpetual kittens. They run and play and nip and bat at things....and then they sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep for a long time.

When I had my first home, my ex-husband indulged me in every pet I wanted. When someone he worked with had to give up his ferrets, we took them in. We named them Eddie and The Brain. One was white, the other sable. They were great, but definitely had problems remembering where the litter box was located. They like backing up into corners to defecate.

Another thing I haven't seen people state is that they are HUGE thieves! They like to take your things and hide them. They like anything rubber (balloons, gloves, etc.). They like shiny things and things that make noise, too. We had a waterbed with a little hole that they could fit in. It was amazing what I found under there when I was taking it apart to move to California.

I didn't take lots of photos (didn't find my love of cameras until later I guess), so I have none of Eddie and The Brain, but I do have photos of Toby Here they are!

 

[jessicalovesjesse]

Elf Mommy wrote:

Another thing I haven't seen people state is that they are HUGE thieves! They like to take your things and hide them. They like anything rubber (balloons, gloves, etc.). They like shiny things and things that make noise, too. We had a waterbed with a little hole that they could fit in. It was amazing what I found under there when I was taking it apart to move to California.

Hahaha oh gosh yes.
My Dad's ferret steals the remote and phone and stashes them under the bed.

 

[irishbunny]

We have ferrets in Ireland but very few are kept as pets, they are kept for hunting. I've never met one, would love to though.

 

[MyLOVEABLES!!]

Ferrets are considered pets in NZ. Never met one before.

 

[Flash]

My sister had 3 ferrets, Pugsley, Fester & Lurch. They were so much fun to play with and I think one was de-scented. Her kids loved them and they loved the kids but they would hide in the most unpredictable places like going in a cabinet and sleeping in a large pot, hehe.

 

[paul2641]

I've seen two separate ferret (litters?, Is that the correct name) In one of the good petmania's in limerick and They were so cute, One litter the mother was brought in pregnant and I got to watch them grow, Then another they were kinda older but still cute, They mainly slept any time I was out there, But yes they did look cool!