I don't get the facination with ferrets.

[Payton Leeroy]

So I've occasionally been tempted to get a couple ferrets, but was never fully convinced one way or another, so when a friend of mine asked if I could watch her pair for a week while she and her husband were out of town I jumped at the chance. Sam actually seems to like the ferrets [he'll walk up, sniff them, wag his tail, then wander off] where as Payton's convinced they're going to try and eat them [though he did finally get close enough to sniff noses with the male!] and Pang seemed too interested for comfort the first day, but now wants as little to do with them as any other animal.

I've pretty much decided I'll never get ferrets. These are both Marshalls, the little girl was one they got before they knew better, and the big male they adopted from the shelter a little over a week ago, so I'm not surprised with the issues they're facing.

The female has health issues and needs daily medication. She's a doll even so, and I have little doubt that a change in diet will help [and will strongly be pushing for it when their owners get back]. However, she's sooooo tiny that I'm worried about letting her loose, because I'll end up losing her under a couch or something! She doesn't have a recall [again, that's because she's not trained and could be changed, but still...] and I have a big enough house that if she wandered out of sight I might never find her again.

As for the huge male, he occasionally has me tempted, though again, I can't trust him out of sight because he hasn't learned that cords are off limits and I haven't ferret proofed my house. He likes to roughhouse with me, though he hasn't nipped even once [though his owners said he still does that]. However, he smells to high heaven [yeah, yeah, diet again] and likes to pee and poo on the shelves of his cage instead of the litter box. And then he pushes his bed into it and sleeps in it. And apparently I can't wash him because he's already had a recent bath and it will just make it worse.

They've only been with me two days now, and I'm going to ferret proof the kitten room [shouldn't be that much different], and let them run loose while I tear apart their cage and give it a good soak/scrub down to see if that helps things any. If I could just convince him to use the stinking litter it would be so much easier...


With all the complaining aside, they really are cute, and with the proper diet and work I bet they'd smell better and be able to run loose about the house for a few hours a day at least. Not going to get any [even though there are two on craigslist right now], but maybe some day... Long down the road... Long, long long down the road. Like, after I get a chance to meet one on a proper diet with actual training so I can see just how great they could be.

[Latrans]

I don't understand these threads; they just seem like recipes for hurt feelings. Like... congrats on not liking them? It's like Shark hating dogs.

[SmoothSavage]

Ferrets are definitely not for everyone. In fact, honestly I'd discourage more people from getting them than anything. They're messy, destructive, thieving, mischievous little escape artist shitheads. And they do smell. Even on raw, they have a ferret musk. You either like it or you don't!

There is no such thing as truly ferret proofing, by the way. rofl

[Payton Leeroy]

Latrans

I don't understand these threads; they just seem like recipes for hurt feelings. Like... congrats on not liking them? It's like Shark hating dogs.

Mostly it's me venting frustration at these two not being giving the level of care I think they should and convincing myself that I don't want to take in the two ferrets on craigslist right now to see if I actually would love them as pets if they were on a proper diet and properly cared for. I think I would enjoy them at that point, but I don't know for sure, since I've never actually met one who has been.

[Payton Leeroy]

Savage Destiny

Ferrets are definitely not for everyone. In fact, honestly I'd discourage more people from getting them than anything. They're messy, destructive, thieving, mischievous little escape artist shitheads. And they do smell. Even on raw, they have a ferret musk. You either like it or you don't!

There is no such thing as truly ferret proofing, by the way. rofl

Haha! That's good to know. And a lot frightening. Can you trust them to be loose with training or is it just always a "you're in your cage unless under direct supervision?" I don't even do that with my cockatiels!

[SmoothSavage]

Payton Leeroy

Savage Destiny

Ferrets are definitely not for everyone. In fact, honestly I'd discourage more people from getting them than anything. They're messy, destructive, thieving, mischievous little escape artist shitheads. And they do smell. Even on raw, they have a ferret musk. You either like it or you don't!

There is no such thing as truly ferret proofing, by the way. rofl

Haha! That's good to know. And a lot frightening. Can you trust them to be loose with training or is it just always a "you're in your cage unless under direct supervision?" I don't even do that with my cockatiels!

I restricted mine to my living room and kitchen. If I was home, they were out, even if I wasn't with them. But I had to duct tape down the floor vents so they wouldn't pull them up and escape. At one point they were allowed in the laundry room, that is until Jenkins figured out he could get out the dryer vent to go outside.

They really require lots of out of cage time, they're not great cage pets. It's like caging a cat all the time. But there's no way to keep them entirely out of trouble. We had to cut the lining out of our sofa because they were hiding stuff in there, the last straw being my shoe insoles. Forget potted plants anywhere a ferret could even conceivably reach. Get ready for child locks on anything you don't want them into. Like the time I opened a drawer in my kitchen to find this:



Or when I heard a weird noise and found Vivi...



It never ends.

[Payton Leeroy]

Savage Destiny

I restricted mine to my living room and kitchen. If I was home, they were out, even if I wasn't with them. But I had to duct tape down the floor vents so they wouldn't pull them up and escape. At one point they were allowed in the laundry room, that is until Jenkins figured out he could get out the dryer vent to go outside.

They really require lots of out of cage time, they're not great cage pets. It's like caging a cat all the time. But there's no way to keep them entirely out of trouble. We had to cut the lining out of our sofa because they were hiding stuff in there, the last straw being my shoe insoles. Forget potted plants anywhere a ferret could even conceivably reach. Get ready for child locks on anything you don't want them into. Like the time I opened a drawer in my kitchen to find this:



Or when I heard a weird noise and found Vivi...



It never ends.

Squee! So cute! But yeah, helping convince me even more that ferrets just aren't for me. Now I feel bad that they're in a cage too. I'll just stick with the occasional babysitting job.

[Skeksis]

Yeah, don't get ferrets due to temptation. They really are all or nothing, and you really do need to have a particular sense of humour (the type where you find that your ferret proofing was sub-par and as a result you have dirt all over your living room because someone managed to reach a potted plant and your reaction is to laugh, roll your eyes and get the vacuum cleaner) to deal with their antics. Otherwise they are just stressful animals to own. If you don't enjoy a bit of chaos then ferrets are not the animals for you.

Regarding training; you can teach them whatever you want but that doesn't mean they are going to listen to you. Chances are everything else in the world is going to be more interesting than whatever you are asking them to do. They are not naturally biddable or eager to please, though they are freakishly intelligent and are excellent problem solvers.

And yes, small females can get everywhere. My tiny 500 gram girl Morrigan is a freak; she can fit into just about any gap, nook or cranny that takes her fancy. Roland can barely fit anywhere because he's a lump, but he makes up for that in sheer strength; he's pretty good at moving stuff around and making gaps bigger to accommodate his fat head.


Odour: if he has urine on his coat you can wash him in warm, plain water. That will remove the urine but won't strip the oils from his coat. Then let him play in either a box of hay or a tub of non-instant (very important that it be non-instant) rice. The dust from either will adhere to and remove any excess oil in his coat which will leave him smelling milder.

[Payton Leeroy]

Skeksis

Odour: if he has urine on his coat you can wash him in warm, plain water. That will remove the urine but won't strip the oils from his coat. Then let him play in either a box of hay or a tub of non-instant (very important that it be non-instant) rice. The dust from either will adhere to and remove any excess oil in his coat which will leave him smelling milder.

Oh yay! I will do that tomorrow at the beginning of play time. Today he played in the dogs' water bowl, which was freaking adorable, plus got him a bit of a bath! I sorta ferret proofed a couple rooms, then let them run around under supervision [especially for the little tiny girl!]. The male was a blast and wanted to rough house a bit once he'd done some exploring, but the girl just wanted to see EVERYTHING!


The laughing and cleaning up is not uncommon for me, but usually it's with foster kittens, who I get to take back to the shelter when I start getting really fed up with them and then come back with new ones who are fresh and adorable and get me started all over again. There was one that I begged the shelter to give me a second to keep him company since he would NOT leave me alone, and started trying to climb my pants... The buddy we got him wasn't much better, but at least they helped tire each other out a little?

Sam is a strong believer that he wants ferrets, and he was constantly following them around with his tail wagging and giving the occasional little whine to try and get them to pay attention to him. Payton is still convinced they will kill him though. Don't worry, I'm not planning to get ferrets after sitting these two, which was one of the main reasons I jumped at the chance. I wanted to be 100% sure before I got something that seemed as challenging as ferrets are. Adorable, wonderful critters, but yeah, most certainly are not the right pet for most people, including me! They've firmly been put on the list of things that I go "Oh, someday it could be fun to have, but no..." with horses and goats and skunks and [sadly] rats and tons of other animals.

[Krissim Klaw]

Savage Destiny

Get ready for child locks on anything you don't want them into. Like the time I opened a drawer in my kitchen to find this:

I had child locks on the lower kitchen cabinets, my ferret Duo could open them faster than us humans. Blade my other ferret would have been an angel to own if someone had him alone. He didn't get climbing, opening things, knocking things over. He was the type that would never think to test things. Lucky for him however Duo showed him the ropes. rofl

It was funny, when I knew I was getting a dog, I went through my room and proofed it like I had done for my ferrets. It was way overkill, Kirby gets into nothing.

[SmoothSavage]

Krissim Klaw

Savage Destiny

Get ready for child locks on anything you don't want them into. Like the time I opened a drawer in my kitchen to find this:

I had child locks on the lower kitchen cabinets, my ferret Duo could open them faster than us humans. Blade my other ferret would have been an angel to own if someone had him alone. He didn't get climbing, opening things, knocking things over. He was the type that would never think to test things. Lucky for him however Duo showed him the ropes. rofl

It was funny, when I knew I was getting a dog, I went through my room and proofed it like I had done for my ferrets. It was way overkill, Kirby gets into nothing.

We had to get ones that require two sets of opposable thumbs and lots of cursing to operate. rofl

[Princess_Jujubeans]

I have two ferrets and I love them. smile
Both of mine use the litterbox (you have to train them, it's not natural for them to just know how to go).
They are both leash-trained. We take them downtown and to our local pet stores to walk them on their leash along with our dog. Our ferrets get along with our cats just fine. We don't let them run around and play with the dog though because our dog is fairly new and she is still in a nibbly stage. However, they are great on a leash together!
We "ferret proofed" our house but only blocking off behind bookshelves, and where chords are. Other than that, my ferrets have never tried to get behind any household appliances.
The odor isn't that bad if you give them a bath once a month. The more interaction they get, the happier they are, and the less they stink.
I did a lot of research before getting my boogers. I had a ferret when I was younger, and I didn't take care of it as well as I could have therefore I had those sorts of problems too. Always Always research before you get any pet! :d
I have had one for almost three years, and the other for a year.
My ferret Chino is on youtube walking on his leash which is in my siggy.
Ferrets are cool pets, you just have to know how to take care of them properly! smile

[Shanna66]

Payton Leeroy

Savage Destiny

Ferrets are definitely not for everyone. In fact, honestly I'd discourage more people from getting them than anything. They're messy, destructive, thieving, mischievous little escape artist shitheads. And they do smell. Even on raw, they have a ferret musk. You either like it or you don't!

There is no such thing as truly ferret proofing, by the way. rofl

Haha! That's good to know. And a lot frightening. Can you trust them to be loose with training or is it just always a "you're in your cage unless under direct supervision?" I don't even do that with my cockatiels!

most of the time i restrict mine to the living room, but if im doing something in another room of the house i will let them run around everywhere. though i have learned to shut all doors that leat do cat litterboxes because ferrets love to dig in them

right now my girl keeps getting into my cabinets and i have no idea how. she doesnt open the door and i cant find a hole anywhere. all she does is go in and sleep in my large mixing bowls

and mine have terrible recall, luckily for me they love squeaky toys

[Krissim Klaw]

Payton Leeroy

Haha! That's good to know. And a lot frightening. Can you trust them to be loose with training or is it just always a "you're in your cage unless under direct supervision?" I don't even do that with my cockatiels!

Ferrets have two modes. Full tilt and crash mode. When they are awake they don't just sit around, they do things. Like play, raid, and test everything. If they don't have someone to play with, they are going to focus most of their energies into getting into stuff. On the plus side though once you meet their energy requirements they crash. Ferrets sleep a lot. It is why I had no qualms about keeping them caged. With ferrets it isn't about quantity so much as making sure they get that quality time with you each day where you are giving them your full attention. It is like how a lot of dogs quickly get bored if they are stuck outside by themselves. Simply sticking them in the yard doesn't count as play time.

[Henrika]

Ferrets definitely aren't for everyone, but a lot of the issues you're facing seem to be caused by lack of proper care.

Rolo, when in his cage is 100% with his litter box, and when out of his cage is 100% with another litter box that we've compromised on an acceptable location for it.

I do let him out whenever I'm home without much supervision. My place is fully ferret proofed however, and most of the antics he gets up to lately are playing with Twiggy until they are both exhausted.

Oh and with smell, they will always have a distinctive musk, just like dogs have their own smell (even when clean). But diet plays a HUGE role. You will not believe how huge of a role until you've experienced the transition personally or met a well kept ferret. (Rolo, for example, you can only smell with your nose in his fur.)

Oh as for training: Rolo is litter trained, n** trained, can do some cute tricks and stuff, is trained to lie on his belly for oil + nail trims.

That's about it though, he doesn't come when he's called (though that CAN be trained with clicker training, and I got halfway there before I got busy with school. I also started teaching him "follow me" to get him to walk in-line on his leash and that when REALLY REALLY well for awhile, until again, other aspects of my life got in the way.)

Oh and when I say n** trained, I mean, absolutely perfect angel. If I feel that Rolo and Twiggy are being too aggressive and need to break them up, I have no worries sticking my hands into both of their mouths and forcing them apart because they know not to bite their mommy.