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Pets

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Ferrets or rats as pets - can you recommend them?

32 replies

rowingboat · 28/08/2008 22:27

Hi there,
we are considering a indoor kind of pet, mainly looked after by me, assisted by an, almost, four year old.
I'm not keen on hamsters, like gerbils, but would like a pet that actually engages with us slightly more. Apparently, ferrets and rats are lovely pets, I'm a bit worried about the smell though.
Also DP has a bit of asthma in that he does use an inhaler, but never has attacks.
Please tell me about these pets so that I can rule them in or out. Thank you!

OP posts:
3andnomore · 29/08/2008 23:44

oh rabbits, especially imho dwarf lop eard kind, are superb pets...they can get almost like dogs and can be trained well...but cables still might be a prob...
my friends lop-eared dwarf (hir first ever one), was completely housetrained and superfriendly but didn't like any male intruders, because he knew he was hers, if that makes sesne...played hide and seek and stuff too!
I had 2 gorgeous lop eare dwarfs and they were fab too, so cuddl and lovely...not as nervous as ordinary rabbits...

Flibbertyjibbet · 29/08/2008 23:45

My next door neighbour had a pet ferret. (Yes we are up north!!)

IT STANK.

He kept popping it on the backyard wall and telling us how nice it was and to stroke it etc but it stank. Rabbits iirc don't have that stink about them.

Rats? Well a friend of mine years ago had 2 pet rats, the tails, urgh the tails made me cringe.

lecohen · 30/08/2008 01:09

Yep...ferrets absolutely REEK to high heaven!

Nicky93 · 02/03/2020 23:12

Rats all the way! They’re less smelly generally and make wonderful pets 🙂 you can also get them cute hammocks to sleep in like these!
www.spoiledrathammocks.co.uk

AlCalavicci · 13/03/2020 22:05

I have never kept rats so can not comet on them but I have kept ferrets off and on since I was about 12.
They are intelligent but not very trainable , a bit like cats they let you think you have trained them but its really them training you Hmm

Mine lived outside they had a large hutch but I never locked them in it unless I was jet washing or something similar.
yes they do smell but not as bad as a lot of people think they will , however if they get a fright my god they will put a skunk to shame
They are exceptional escape artist so can only be keep in somewhere they can not dig / climb out of .
I took mine for walks about once a week but you have to be prepared to be stopped by everyone that passes you .
They live on average for about 7 years ,

the males are called Hobs the females are called Jills .
You can buy ferret food , dry biscuits
www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/merch-groups/great-deals/jwb-sa?cm_re=JWB--LandingPage--CryFoodMenuItem
but i firmly believe they need raw meat too , fed mine day old chicks

www.natural-selections.co.uk/showplarge.aspx?maincatid=2&prodid=13&catid=12&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3qzzBRDnARIsAECmryrobr55uUmuck7-tFr1a4JS0etOXizcrl-iN9aojM59ZvPs-uajG9saAh9jEALw_wcB
please do not feed them on cat or dog food it is not good for them

AlCalavicci · 13/03/2020 22:11

how to grow your own ferret Grin
walkies
chewing on a pork chop bone

Katrien89 · 29/12/2021 19:30

Ok so I know this is an old topic but I HAD to reply.

I have a ferret, and I invite anyone into my house to come and smell... absolutely nothing.

Yes, ferrets CAN smell, if you keep them intact.
Once they're neutered or spayed all of that musky smell disappears, and I really mean gone.
It's such a shame that people keep telling they smell, when the solution is so simple.

We get visitors in our house all the time, and they all say the same thing: I don't smell anything 🤷🏼‍♀️ You have to keep the cage clean of course, dirty cages always smell.. I clean the cage daily, which doesn't take much time since ferrets are easily litter trained.

Ferrets are absolutely amazing pets to have, and if you get a kit from a decent breeder, they won't bite. My daughter is 1,5 year and she drags our Dobby around the house like a doll, and he loves it 🙈😂 he's a very affectionate, active, funny pet.
BUT: they are also like 10 times as intense as a toddler, meaning that you have to keep your eyes on them when they free roam in your house. Else they will dig all the dirt out of your plant pots, throw glasses of the table, hide everything under the sofa (including the remote control and car keys if you misplace them)
They're high maintenance animals, but very rewarding.

I always say they are like a fun combination between a dog, cat and a toddler 😄😄

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