[golgiaparatus]

Megan and I went to a pet store just to look at the birds and whatnot. They had an entire little plastic swimming pool full of ferrets. Megan went to pick one up and they all swarmed her. She pulled her hand out of the swarm with 4 of the little basturds locked onto her hand. We grabbed a full grown one to check him out and he bit the living bejeezus out of both of us.

Anyone had any good experiences with ferrrets?

 

[=[Stinky]=]

Ahaha.... Ever seen 'The Big Lebowski'? "Nice marmot", then the Nihlists throw the ferret in the tub The Dude is in.

 

[DamienC]

I lived with three ferrets for about 6 months or so until they moved out with the ex (but that's a different story). Two of them were biters when we first got them but it's not hard to train them away from that and it didn't take long for them to shed the habit. They really are a lot of fun. Most have dispositions like puppies that they keep all of their lives - really energetic, gregarious, and playful. That is when they're awake. They sleep about 18 hours a day. Ours really liked playing tug-o-war, they loved to be chased and rough-housed. One of them really liked it when you grabbed him and slid him down the length of a wood-floored hallway - like ferret bowling. You can teach them tricks too. They all knew their names and could sit and roll over on command (most of the time, especially when treats were involved).

They do have a slight scent though, so that's something to consider if you mind animal smells. Plus their strong sense of curiosity can get them into a lot of trouble so some effort is usually involved in ferret proofing your home, like making sure air ducts and appliance doors aren't easily pried open. They are litter trained much like cats. Did you know they've been domesticated longer than cats?

This is Panda, just before falling asleep after playing...

 

[Smelly]

those things freakin' STINK!! I used to know a guy who had a couple, and even after he cleaned the cage, they could stink up a room. stunk like piss.

 

[jacksonpt]

The can be great pets, they can be awful pets. They probably require more training and care than does the average dog.

If purchased when they are young and raised properly, they can easily be taught not to bite. It's instictive when they are young (much like puppies) - you just have to break them of the habit early.

They smell. They all smell, even the "uncented" ones. Nothing you can do about it. Getting one who's had its glads removed helps a lot, as do frequent baths, but regardless, they do have a smell to them (kind of like hound dogs do).

They are pretty smart, unbelievably curious, and amazingly flexible. If you are not careful, they will get into everything they are supposed to stay out of and get out of everything that is supposed to keep them in. They have lots of personality.

They also sleep quite a bit... probably 3/4 of the day.

I think they are very cool animals, but they definitely aren't for everyone.

 

[Silver]

We have a ferret, and I can attest that ferret bowling is fun for both animal and owner...

 

[butthead]

I have 4 ferrets. Young ferrets do nip alot. All they know until someone takes them home is playing with each other, which is basically no holds barred. Their playmates can take alot of abuse, so they need to be taught that we don't have the same pain tolerance that they do. Also, the frustration of being cooped up in a small cage in the pet store adds to that. They are very energetic and curious animals that need to be allowed to roam and explore a bit. If they don't, they are basically a ball of energy waiting to explode. As already mentioned, they are easily trained not to bite.

A tip on handling ferrets: if you pick them up by the scruff of their neck, that is basically the "off" button. It does not hurt them and they instinctively relax and go limp. It's a good way to get them under control if they latch on to you at the pet store.

 

[Bullitrider]

Take it from Smelly. Those things stink bad. I had to have a jacket dry cleaned after holding one for maybe five minutes. Yuck.

 

[llkoolkeg]

I thought you were supposed to skin hook 'em for use as trophy bass bait? Shows what I know...

 

[urbaindk]

Ferrets provide hours and hours of laughs. They love to hide stuff and will make stashes all over your house in the weirdest places. Like imagine putting on your shoe one day only to find it filled with cat food and hair scrunchies. Mine would make dozens trips back and forth between the food bowl and where ever it was hiding its stuff that day with one piece of food at a time. He also figured out how to work the kick drum pedal of my now ex-girlfriends drums. He would push the pedal down and get the mallet to bounce off the drum head and then grab the mallet and go for a ride. And you haven't lived until you have seen a ferret with a whole ping-pong ball shoved in its mouth. I don't know how he did it.

His name was Perry Ferret (named after Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction). He was hypoglycemic and had a blood sugar crash and went into a little ferret coma and died. Very sad. My now wife won't let me get another one because boy do they stink no matter what you do...

 

[JRB]

I have no experience with ferrets. I don't want one for a pet, though.

 

[dh girlie]

I have no experience with ferrets. I don't want one for a pet, though.

Thanks for sharing that useless bit of information...

 

[dh girlie]

This is Panda, just before falling asleep after playing...

That picture is SO cute!

 

[Barbaton]

we have had several cases at home of pet ferrets disfiguring babies so not recommended if you have small kids. and they smell

i once had one named after me. he was called fu-cheng. he smelled.

 

[towelie]

In college, my landlord wouldn't let us have a dog. I still really missed having a pet though, and ferrets looked interesting. Amazingly, he let us get some. Ours were full grown. Ferrets are hilarious, but they are mischevious little devils. They were always getting into everything...under the fridge (he removed the grille first)...deep inside the back of my couch...in my box spring...inside cupboards if the child locks weren't tight enough...EVERYWHERE where they were difficult to reach, and they'd take some major coaxing to get out. If you shut the door to a room where you didn't want them, they'd want nothing more than to explore that room, so they'd attempt to dig a tunnel under the door into the next room. NOT good on the carpet- it drove us crazy. They were basically on a never ending quest for ferret treasure- basically any interesting object small enough for them to hold. Ours particularly liked film canisters. In the cage, they'd always use their litter box, but when they were out they figured any corner would do. I think that was due to their white-trash prior owners not caring, but we could never totally house break them.

I think the people who say the things REALLY stink must've been dealing with ones that hadn't been unscented. Even the unscented ones do have a very mild skunky kind of odor to them (ferrets are in the same family as skunks- "muskalid" or something like that). We'd make sure ours had a healthy diet, bathed them at least once a week, and sprayed their coat with this conditioning/deodorizing spray daily.

They have their good points though. When they'd get excited they'd exhibit the goofiest behaviour you could imagine. They're very clumsy animals. They'll start running, but sometimes the back legs begin to run faster than the front legs and they get all twisted up. When they play (which can be pretty rough) they make funny chicken-clucking sorts of sounds. They thought the coolest thing was tossing a towel in the air and having it land on them- they'd be jumping up and down in anticipation! They are also very smart, which can be a good and a bad thing. For instance, if you don't latch their cage securely enough, they WILL find out. They must've tested the door daily while we were gone, even though they just slept most of the time.

I can attest to the "off switch" thing. One of our ferrets knew how to do that to the other ferret too. He'd grab his buddy by the scruff of the neck and drag him under the nearest piece of furniture and then stay their until somebody found them.

When we moved we wound up getting rid of them (we found them a new home). This is because...1) They just weren't that affectionate. They seemed totally indifferent to us. They only liked to go exploring, get into trouble, and play with each other. When you picked one up to try to pet it it would just try to get away. They never bit or did anything mean to anybody- they just didn't particularly like anybody either and just wanted to be left alone. 2) Because of the house breaking thing, and the constant hiding and mischief they required constant supervision when you let them run around. This got pretty old. 3) they'd be a major pain to move across the country with.

I imagine they'd make a better pet if you carefully raised them from the time they were young. But for us, never again.

 

[butthead]

we have had several cases at home of pet ferrets disfiguring babies so not recommended if you have small kids.

I agree about the small kids. My experience has been that young kids tend to be fascinated with the cute pets they have never seen before and will chase after them. While the kids definetly don't mean any harm, the ferret interprets a creature 30 times its size chasing after it differently and will defend itself if it thinks it is being threatened or attacked.

1) They just weren't that affectionate. They seemed totally indifferent to us. They only liked to go exploring, get into trouble, and play with each other. When you picked one up to try to pet it it would just try to get away. .

I think they just show affection differently. They love to play and aren't big on cuddling unless they are very sleepy. It sounds like the ferrets you had were left to their own devices when they were young and didn't have much human interaction until you got them. Mine definetly enjoy wrestling with their humans or each other, which is generally about as affectionate as they get. They slow down a little after a few years and will become a bit more cuddly. Just don't expect them to take naps in your lap like a cat or dog will.

 

[mack]

Dont they sleep like a drunken college student. Some where in the neighborhood of 20 hours?

 

[T-Pirate]

I had one for a couple years. She was an awesome pet. Tons of personality, they come when called and such. I never found the ferret itself to smell too bad, but I swear they crap their body weight in a week. I was too lazy to clean up after her, so my room smelled like ass for 4 years. Mine got a tumor and had to be put to sleep, it was pretty rough. I would have another if not for the smell and the fact that my mom won't let me get another. Mine was very affectionate, she would run all over you, and would sleep in my bed sometimes. They are very curious and fun to play with. She quit biting after about a week, scruffing is key.

 

[Jeremy R]

I had one to live to be almost nine years old. She died of old age.
They are awesome animals, and are a ton of fun. I do not think their natural odor was too bad at all, but just one can construct a massive turd pile in a day. Its downright amazing the sheer quantity of daily poo.
As far as the biting, they will quit that fairly quickly. All ferrets in a pet store will bite the crap out of you. That alone probaly keeps people from buying them. They are easy to take care of, and they normally will only eat one kind of food. They are actually cheap animals to take care of as well,
just food and water, and they rarely need to go to the vet.
Oh yeah, one more poo comment. They are corner sh1tters. It does not matter how much you train them, they will back up in corner and drop deuce,
anytime, anywhere.
One time mine found and ate a power bar and ran around for a few hours.
It was great.