Thinking about getting a ferret

[Deleted]

I have looked at ferrets for years, but for a variety of reasons never got one. One of which is I have had prairie dogs, and it just didn't seem like a good idea. I have dogs and a cat and a bird and they all get along, but somehow it felt different.

I still have one prairie dog, and recently a kitten I have had for 2 months disappeared, and in the process of doing foot patrols, flyers, newspaper ads, internet ads, trapping and checking the pound every other day, I came upon a ferret that was up for adoption. It had been turned it because the kids terrorized it while it was out of the cage. I took it out of the cage and it seemed so sweet. I started thinking about ferrets again. I got a book and a pet store that is going out of business is liquidating so I bought some ferret things and half off, just in case. When I went back to the shelter the next day the ferret had been adopted. At the pet shop they have two white ferrets that they were selling for $173 each, but as of Friday will sell for $50 each. I used to have two praire dogs in individual cages before I bought a large one, so I have cages.

I am concerned about something though. My PD is a very social critter, and I don't let him run around free very much because he gets underneath and behind my huge heavy waterbed where I can't reach him and chews the wires. Now I let him run around on the bed, and out to dig in his play sand, but not out on his own. He was caught in the wild and I always have to remember that is his nature. He isn't a pet that I can take out of the house or share with anyone else. I am concerned about the social needs of a ferret or two of them. My house is small (about 900 sq ft), with large peices of furniture, and no real good way to ferret proof it. I would like to think that once they became accustomed to me and my house that I could trust them, as long as I watched them. I am afraid that I might be overly optomistic about that though. I couldn't handle the guilt if they got outside by finding a small hole somewhere, or climbed inside the refrigerator motor . I can deal with destruction. My Pd's have chewed half of my drawers completely off underneath my bed and the corner of my bedroom door. My husband had to nail a heavy peice of wood to the bottom of the door.

I am interested in hearing from others who have done their research from books and real life. I know that not everyone should have a PD and feel like folks that see the little fuzzies when they come out in April/May, should have to take a PD care class before they take them home. I don't want to be guilty of having good intentions, but screwing up because I really don't know what I am doing. When I had a PD 20 yrs ago, it was before the internet and the only thing that I did right was to love him. Thankfully, nothing awful happened, but he would have lived a much happier and probably longer life if I had known what to feed him and understood his needs.
Please feel free to tell me what you think I need to know. I am looking for honest information that will help me determine if a ferret would be a good fit in my home. Everyone , that I have talked to that either has a ferret or had one tell me how great they are, I just want to make sure that they would be happy and safe here.

Blessings,

Maureen

[huronna]

You have to remember that ferrets are carnivorous animals and in the wild the prairie dog is their main meal, so even though we have domestic ferrets, one never knows what would happen if they met.

A friend of mine did have a PD when she had her ferret shelter, but it was always kept in a cage, except for a few minutes a day when all the ferrets were put up.

I really would suggest you go to the main page ferretfamily.proboards.com/index.cgi and read the areas on New to Ferrets and Ferret proofing, I think they will answer a lot of your questions. Ferret Proofing is a must.....one of my dearest friends who thought her house was ferret proofed, found out it wasn't. Her ferret went on an adventure for over 48 hours in the rain with who knows what other animals, while she cried and searched and screamed and cried. And thank the heavens above the next morning he was at her back door.

There is so much information on this site, written by people who have been owned by ferrets.

I cannot imaging my life without a ferret, I have been "in love" since 1984 and still I learn something new every day.

[Dar24]

Ferrets are the best pets when paired with the right temperment owners.. I just love mine..Can't get enough of them..

My tip to you is this,, My daughter and I did tonnes of research on ferrets..Online, in books..Even went over to a friend's to handle her ferrets and learn how to give them a bath...But something that is down played and not mentioned enough...Is the expense your ferret will cost you as it gets older...They can and do get various serious diseases...Such as Adrenal Disease, and Insulinoma..That can be managed,, but be quite costly... You need to figure on saving money for their vet bills as they get older..So consider that when considering more then one that are around the same age...

Ferrets do love company though..I love seeing mine play wrestle together and curled up together in a bed sleeping..

I don't know a thing about Praire dogs..How interesting...I have never seen them here as a pet..Just in zoos...I would imagine they are quite fast..lol

[Deleted]

Thanks for your replies. I will go to that area and read. It sounds like with ferrets it might be a good idea to get pet insurance. I had it for one of my beloved cats once. It sounds like they are a bit like PD's in that they hide their illness, I guess as a method of protection in the wild, until they are very sick and it is too late. When I found Dancer Dawg dead curled up in her bed, a year ago, there had been no signs of illness, and she wasn't elderly. I am thinking of going ot the pet shop today to see if the ferrets are still there, and handling them. I used to buy a mix that the owner specially prepared to go along with the Prairie Delight that I feed my PD at that shop and visit it about once or twice a week. I always look at all of the pets even if I have no intention of getting any. I have never seen these ferrets awake and playing. In fact I have never seen fettets doing anything interesting in a pet shop. They seem laid back, but from the book I got this weekend and some other things that I read, I have just not seen them in the optimum environment.

[Dar24]

Definately ask to handle the babies...I love going in to pet shops and just playing with them...All it usually takes is some petting and they will wake right up...If that doesn't work, picking a baby up usually stirs them to wake...Then you will see what they are really like..

Just for your info...Most ferrets will wake up for a couple hours in the early morning play their hearts out...Then sleep all day till 7 or 8 in the evening and want to play for another couple of hours..Then sleep the whole night..That is why you probably never see them awake...lol

They are clowns,,,they will make you laugh at their antics and the things they get into..Why I am so addicted to them..Is their funny personalities..They can get you to smile no matter what kind of a day you are having..

I don't think they are as destructive as your PD...Ferrets don't typically chew stuff.. I have one that likes cords..But he just wants to drag them into his hidey hole.. I make sure the cords are picked up or blocked,,just because if he accidently bit through one,,,it could be the end of him.. In my experience they have only been distructive in digging carpets...Especially berber style carpeting..They love to dig and carpets are too hard to resist for them..Also they love to climb into a couch and dig out a bed in there...If you don't have recliners it is very easy to staple a bedding sheet or piece of ply wood to the bottom of your couches and chairs.. Unfortunately I have reclining couches so I can't do that..Beware of recliners since the little guys like to climb up in there recliners have killed many fuzzies when being used when the fuzzie is out...Rule in my house is No recliners out when the ferrets are out playing..

Have fun at the pet store,, I love to go in and just handle the babies too..Unfortunately alot of pet stores anymore don't let you handle the pets unless you are looking to buy one..

[greta]

I am with Huronna in my thinking on this. Prairie dogs are the main source of food for the Black Footed Ferret in the wild. A bird would also make a tasty ferret meal if it were to get out of the bird cage. Also, any dog that is bred for hunting including terriers, is a danger to ferrets. It is also possible for a larger dog to accidentally step on a ferret and badly injure it or even kill it just from the sheer weight of the dog. It is true that ferrets are entertaiing and fascinating pets, but there welfare has to be considered when taking one into your home. You are obviously a wise and dedicated pet owner to research the ferret as a pet before attempting to buy or adopt one. I have had five ferrets and am now owned by two of these spunky little Munchkins. Two of my fur babies died of old age, but one became sick with insulinoma and I was only able to manage his illness for 7 months. I opted to have surgery for TT to have the cancerous tumor removed that was causing his illness. My boy didn't live for a week after the surgery and it broke my heart into pieces. TT suffered terriblly even though he was receiving the best of care. I am still paying off the $4,000 plus that resulted from TT's surgery. It would have been worth it all if my little one had lived and got well again. A ferret would not be a good choice for you since you have a PD and also dogs and your home cannot be ferret proofed. It's true that ferrets sleep 18-20 hours each day, but they need to be released from their cage for a minimum of 2 hours a day to play, since they are so full of energy. Please think hard before you make the decision to add a ferret to your home. They must be fed a special diet in order to maintain their good health. I'm happy to hear that you're doing our research so well. I hope this helps you. Hugs, Greta

[huronna]

It is true that some ferrets are destructive, but I've seen that happen more often when a ferret is cages for a long period and then when released they just try to get into everything.
My ferrets have always been free roamers. At one point I had a Sheltie and cat and a parrot. There was never any problem between them though when I wasn't home the parrot was in his cage, but the cat and dog free roamed along with the ferrets....of course there was an introductory period and I knew the temperment of both the cat and dog. They actually loved the ferrets. I've never had a cord chewer, but Mac is a tube puller and drags the tubes all over the house. And Bonita tried to chew the wood on the bottom of the couch every once in a while, but a little spray of bitter apple on the wood, keeps her away.

Keep reading and keep asking questions, its the best way to learn

[wildbunch]

I am wildbunch A.K.A bandit on other boards,
My experience with fuzzies began years ago when my son came home and said mom can I get a ferret? I said what is a ferret. Well I am animal by nature and have raised all of pets, so I said sure. We went to a pet store and bought not 1 but 2 babies (as I call them) and we were off. That was quite a few years ago and they have since pasted as you can see in my siggy. I went to another pet store in the meantime and got baby # 3. He has since pasted. The ones in my siggy are frm 1st pic to last Missy Gizzy (the 1st 2) they pasted awy 5 weeks apart , Critter he was baby # 3 he pasted away 1/4/08 , I never had a real chance to get a pic of my 2 Tone. With each I have learned something new about them. Now for 2 Tone well he was a character all his own. He would come out and play with the toys and plop on the floor, little did we know something was wrong. He had got something stuck from the toy and we did know it until we took him to the vet and had surgery, yea that cost was horrible. I never even got to say goodbye to him he never came out of recovery. There is a silver lining. There was a girl in my town who had 3 babies and she didn't want them so I rescued them from her cold garage and they fit nicely into our little family. To this day I say 2 Tone sent them to me. He pasted away Sept 1, 2008. We have 7 now and their names are form oldest to youngest: bandit, Cinnamon, Snowball, Pepper (who was cage mate to 2 Tone at the store), now for the newbies Patch, Ash, and Ginger. Now yea we separated them from the rest but they all play very well for the most part, Ash sometimes gets attacked by either Pepper or Snowball, but they all get along. As far as ferret proofing well you can only do so much and then possible miss something until they find it and then go behind them to close it off. I hope this helps.

[dee517]

There is no such thing as ferret proofed. A smart ferret can and will get into anything it wants to. Ferrets usually get some type of Cancer as they get older. You will need a medical fund. Our last "free" ferret ended up costing us over $2000 in just two weeks. He was with us for almost four years. He was on a special soup and Meds every 8 hours round the clock for the last sixteen months of his life. We loved him dearly and would do in again in a heartbeat. Be prepared they can and will steal your heart and leave you broke.