Ferrets?

[knittedbreast]

Anyone on here have an experience of keeping pet ferrets at all?

what are they like as pets?

THey stink. Really, really stink. Even when well kept!

I'd love a ferret, they look so slinky and gorgeous. Unfortunately I was told the same thing about the smell so we'll settle for a couple of kittens.

i was told they only smell if you dont get them neutered?

we have ferrets where i work, they are just gorgeous, but very very active

They had an animal husbandry course where I did my horticulture course and they used to take them for a walk on leads. They absolutely reeked

they stink. If you handle them your hands stink.

You have to have them injected rather than newtered because if they don't mate the hormone surge can kill them.
A friend went to view a house once where the owner kept ferrits. She said the whole house stank and was filthy except, the woman had a wall unit with lots of brass ornaments on it which were all beautifully polished. But the rest of the house was a tip.

They are awfully smelly - I agree. They can also be vicious, nasty little shits and I wouldn't want one near my children, for sure.

My DB had them as a teenager and used to let them in the house while he cleaned their cage out. They almost always went for me and I got bitten toes more than once. Maybe this is isolated though?

oh :(

i know that it can be pot luck with their behaviour, id want rescue ones and i have very small children.

i know my 2 year old would want to squeeze them, maybe not such a good idea.

I really want to get the children a pet, i grew up with animals and i dont want them to miss out-they love animals.

i dont like dogs, my sons allergic to cats (nothing else), guinea pigs are adorable but i feel bad for them because they look so scared. mice arent ideal for young children to handle, too small and quick.

i dont know...

Stinky nasty vicious bitey predators.

Ferrets are smelly, but they can be great fun. Plus if you get some nets you can go ferretting and get rabbits for the pot.

Actually I disagree with the majority, I foster ferrets and work with a ferret rescue along with having 8 myself, They are like puppies in terms of nipping, they play nip when they are young and like a dog they have to be trained not to do this.
Ferrets do have an odor the same as any animal but neturing helps this as just general cleanliness like cleaning out, but don't bath them often as it will make it worse.
They can be fantastic pets but do require a lot of time as they love company, they should be kept in pairs as a minimum but a trio is a better option.
My ferrets come indoors every night for around 3 hours and are a joy to watch and play with, my older 2 are 6 and they just curl up on my lap like a cat for cuddles.
For a first time owner I would recommend an older pair of ferrets that have already been nip trained and I wouldn't ever leave them unsupervised with children or have them for pets for children under the age of 8.
They have a lifespan of around 8-10 years but have been known to live upto 15 so they aren't a short-term commitment like a hamster, Mine are fed on dry ferret food and can be fed raw meat, especially rabbit, mince and chicken.

They are lovely pets, social creatures and eternally kittenish. Yes they smell, they are hard to housetrain and they are buggers with the soil in a pot plant!

BUT... you can indeed walk them onlead and train them to walk offlead if you put enough into it and you have the right ferret and a well chosen one from a reputable rescue will be matched to your novice, child-including family so you won't end up with a biter. :)

We have one - he's a fantastic pet.

An alternative would be a pair of rats. Don't laugh (or scream!), they're intelligent, smart pets, very clean and trainable and easy to handle.

Just please... go to a rescue who will match the right pet to you and don't ever go to a pet shop.

A decent rescue will neuter, vaccinate and assess the pet, insist that he comes back to them if you can't keep him, even if that's years down the line, and homecheck the owner, for the sake of owner and family as much as for the sake of the pet.

If you're near Cambs I know a fantastic rescuer and I also know a great ferret rescue in the North East. Shout if I can help. :)

Raw meat? mmmmm...

can they really be trained not to nip? how would you do that? can they be toilet trained?

There you go... nonamesavailable has said it all. :)

how about chickens? Our kids love them and you get eggs for free which the kids find really exciting! easy to keep aswell.

Oh... and Knitted, cheers pal... I have been trying to convince myself that I don't want another ferret. They're rather like chocolates... you can't help but want another.. and another... and another...

And beggar me, if nonamesavailable is who I think she might be I'm in trouble as the person I'm thinking of is local to me and so I may just have no excuse for having a friend for our fella!

For nip training I use a timeout method using a cat carrier, when they nip you should tell them "NO" in a firm voice and put them in the cat carrier for 5 minutes and keep repeating, they will associate nipping with the time out and realize that if they do it they don't get to play anymore.
They can be toilet trained by placing a corner litter tray or even a kitten litter tray in their cage away from their food and bedding, if they have an accident scoop in up and place it in the litter tray and place them on the tray, ferrets always go to the toilet as soon as they wake up so it would be a good idea to place them in the tray at that point too, they usually use a corner so if you find out which corner they use you can put the tray there.

Vallhala you know it I have a neutured hob here looking for a friend as he lost his brother just before christmas.

Oh bugggggger.... I'll tell DD2 tonight when she comes home from school, nonamesavailable. :o

I used to have a female ferret. She was lovely!!! Completely house trained, came with me to the pub on lead (my student days), affectionate, fun, REALLY interactive and great for kids. YES they do smell, but it is not an offensive smell. They smell like a cross between babies (that warm milky smell) & parma ham . If you keep just 1, the smell is not overwhelming. Chickens smell worse, rabbits aren't very interesting and quite frankly most dogs smell too. They make wonderful pets for kids.

sorry val :) do u have any pics of your ferrets?

what i worry about, with any pet is how can u be sure they are genuinly happy? that they really have enough space? i dont know what distance their areas would be in the wild. i just dont want them to be bored and sad....

nonames- it sounds like potty training children!

We are looking at chickens too, though still not decided what to do.

Snakes make good pets - don;t smell, feed once a week, no daily walks and lovely to hold.

knittedbreast, I agree that a pair of rats (ALWAYS a pair) are the pets you need. I would read up on them. Loving, intelligent, not bitey, not hard to care for, don't live that long (sadly). Better with children than any of the other small animals. Rats are wonderful little things. From a rescue of course!

Ferrets aren't wild animals and wouldn't survive in the wild, however you can get polecats which are wild and can be very fierce, proper polecats that is not polecat coloured ferrets.
A pair of ferrets would need a minimum of 2x2x3 (iirc) or a large double tier hutch and run, Mine have a 6x4 shed with a 2 tier hutch attached with a 6x6x3 run and also another 2 tier hutch with a 3x3x3 run for my two older boys.
As long as they get plenty of human interaction as well as of their own kind they live happily.

We've only owned working ferrets,but they're lovely animals. Not half as prone to nipping as people think if they're well handled and well treated from a young age.

I'd love another pair actually.