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Northern Arizona Ferret Alliance and Rescue, Inc |
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Ferret Considerations and Care |
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FERRET CARE Adapted from The Humane Society About Ferrets: Ferrets are loyal, playful, intelligent, affectionate, and full of hilarious antics. I have never met a person who didn't laugh after seeing a happy ferret leap and bounce around a room during play (the "dance of joy" or “weasel war dance”)! Ferrets can easily chase the blues away after a hard day. However, ferrets are a big responsibility and can require expensive medical treatments and surgeries. Please do your research (and make sure you have funds available for medical care) before purchasing or adopting a ferret. Ferrets are pretty easy to please, but they can be considered "high maintenance." All they ask is that you let them out of their cage to play for at least three to fours hours a day, give them lots of affection and keep them clean, healthy and safe. The rest of their time is spent napping--ferrets sleep fifteen to eighteen hours a day. Ferrets are easily litter box trained (although accidents do happen) and will adjust to your schedule quite well. The risk of getting bitten by a ferret is actually less than the risk of getting bitten by a cat or dog. Ferrets can nip when they are young, however this is done out of play and they can easily be trained not to do so. Ferrets who are afraid, sick, or have been abused do have the potential to bite (no different from any other domestic pet). If you have a problem with your ferret biting, contact us at 928-532-8795 or email wzl_lvr@azferrets.com. We may be able to help. Ferrets are not wild animals or rodents. They are weasels (mustela putorius furo), who have been domesticated for thousands of years. Ferrets do have a slight musky odor, but neutering or spaying your ferret can keep the musk from being too strong. Ferrets who are not being used for breeding should be spayed or neutered for health reasons. Female ferrets will go into prolonged heat and could eventually die from aplastic anemia if they are kept intact and not bred. Male ferrets will become aggressive towards other male ferrets and release a strong, unpleasant musky odor (although some humans actually enjoy the smell). If a ferret with intact anal scent glands is very frightened, it can release a foul odor. However, unlike a skunk, the odor does not linger as long and it does not smell as bad. Most pet shop ferrets have been descented (anal scent glands removed), however this practice is considered to be mutilation by some people. Ferrets who feel safe and are treated well by their owners will generally not express their anal scent glands unless they are extremely frightened. Ferrets have scent glands located all over their body, however the anal glands are the only ones they can release as a form of protection. Things to Consider Before Bringing a Ferret Home: The decision to adopt or purchase a ferret (or any other pet) should be a careful one. Ferrets do bond with their owners and become stressed when separated from them. So, if you are considering a ferret as an addition to your family, think of it as an eight to ten year commitment. Don't act impulsively. Ferrets do require a big commitment on the part of their owners to ensure optimum health and safety. 1. Cost - Can you afford to own a ferret? Ferrets themselves are fairly expensive, around $150.00 from a pet store, and they require proper food, cages, accessories and medical care. One should always consider adopting a ferret from a ferret shelter as well. Older ferrets are a good choice for first time ferret owners, as they are less hyperactive and may already be trained. Baby ferrets (kits) require a lot of training, patience and time from their owners. Ferrets require high quality ferret food, which can be found at most major pet stores. Be sure you have at least $25.00 dollars or so a month per ferret to spend on ferret food. You may not need quite that much, however it's better to overshoot than come up short. Ferrets require quality cages and accessories. Cages designed for ferrets can run anywhere from $60.00 to $500.00 or more per cage. If your ferret is going to spend a lot of time in the cage, a larger cage with ramps and tunnels should be purchased. Accessories such as litter pans, paper litter, shampoo, water bottles, feeding dishes, hammocks and toys can run you an additional $100.00 or more. Ferrets can also suffer from a variety of health conditions (cancer, ECE, adrenal disease, respiratory infections, injuries, gastrointestinal blockages, etc). Your ferret may require surgery or an extended hospital stay. Be prepared to have at least $1,000.00 set aside for such emergencies. Also, unless you are an experienced breeder, your ferrets have to be spayed or neutered by six months of age. Most pet store and shelter ferrets have already had this procedure performed. Sexually intact female ferrets (jills) will go into prolonged heat if not mated and could eventually become seriously ill and die. Sexually intact males (hobs) will become aggressive towards other male ferrets while in rut and will develop a strong odor and anxiety if not mated. 2. Time - Do you have the time to properly care for a ferret? If you are someone who is out of town a lot or is gone from morning until late at night, a ferret may not be the right pet for you. Ferrets are social animals and need at least three to four hours of "out of cage" play time each day (this means you have to play with them and supervise their activities). If a ferret is left alone for long periods of time, or is never let out of the cage (this is abusive) it will become depressed, stressed or ill. If you do work long hours and you are bent on getting a ferret (not recommended), purchase two ferrets and an extra large cage or set up an enclosed "ferret proofed" room with lots of safe toys. Make sure you let them out to play when you get home or in the morning before you leave for work (or both). Young (and some older) ferrets need to be trained. Litter pan training, teaching them not to nip, and ferret proofing your house all take time. Ferrets can also learn to come when you call them, respond to "squeaky" toys and perform simple tricks (rolling over, standing up for a treat etc.). Owning a ferret is somewhat like owning a dog (stress on "somewhat"). They are social animals who need human interaction and limits set to them by their owners. An unsupervised ferret can get into a lot of trouble around the house. Finally, you need to set aside time for grooming. Although grooming your ferret is not extremely time consuming, it must be done on a consistent basis or health issues may result. 3. Patience- Patience is an important virtue where ferret ownership is concerned. Owning a ferret can be like having a two year old child who never grows up! Ferrets are very persistent, intelligent and curious animals who will try to get into everything--especially things they are not supposed to! For instance, if a ferret takes a liking to scratching a certain spot of the carpet, it will take more than just one "no" to get it to stop the behavior. The ferret may stop for a few seconds or even several minutes and then return to scratching the spot when you are not paying attention. Usually you will need to make adaptations to your house and furnishings to protect them (and the ferrets) from harm. Ferrets like to hide things. If you leave the remote, a wallet, socks, keys etc. where ferrets can reach them, the items will usually end up in their favorite hiding place! Be prepared for litter box accidents, drinks getting knocked over, potted plants being dug into and toys and other objects showing up under the couch or bed (or just missing completely). It takes time and creativity to stop a ferret from exhibiting unwanted behaviors, however some behaviors are just part of a ferret's nature and will persist. In other words, if you are someone with a short fuse and little patience, ferret ownership is probably not for you. 4. Young Children- Do you have children under the age of six at home? Children, especially very young ones, have difficulty understanding how to properly treat animals. Small children have a tendency to pull, grab, squeeze and drop small animals without realizing they can hurt them. This can lead to injuries to the ferret, or the ferret may possibly nip the child out of fear. Children under the age of six or infants should never be left unsupervised with any animal. If your child is under the age of six, we especially advise not purchasing your child a baby ferret (kit). Kits are very active, are hard to hold on to, and can nip before they are trained not to do so. They are also very small and could be easily harmed by a young, inexperienced handler. An adult will be needed to care for grooming, cage cleanings, supervision, and playtime. Ferrets are not like hamsters or mice and cannot be kept in a cage for prolonged periods of time. Parents should be prepared to supervise interaction between young children and ferrets.
5. Other Pets- Do you have other pets in your household? Ferrets can get along with some other domesticated pets, mainly cats and some dogs. Ferrets and cats generally get along the best (especially if they were raised together). Dogs are a little trickier. If you own a hunting dog, a terrier, or a dog that likes to chase small animals, it may spell trouble for your ferret. Always use EXTREME caution and intense supervision when introducing a ferret to a dog or cat. Ferrets have been killed by dogs and seriously scratched by cats. Ferrets are so domesticated that they have lost most of their natural fear of other animals. They may just boldly walk up to a dog or cat out of curiosity and get harmed. Never leave your ferret alone with birds, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, mice, rats, rabbits, chinchillas or reptiles. Ferrets will usually consider them food, or kill them by accident during rough play. If you allow your birds, rodents, or reptiles time outside of their cage, be sure to lock your ferrets in their cage to avoid a tragedy. There have been a few isolated cases of ferrets not bothering these animals, however you should proceed with extreme caution. The Ferret Diet: Feeding your ferret a proper diet is extremely important. Ferrets are strict carnivores and should be fed a high protein (at least 34%), high fat (at least 20%) high quality meat based dry ferret diet or whole prey diet. Totally Ferret, Evo, Natural Gold and Wysong are just a few good choices. Meat should be listed in some form as the first three to five ingredients in the list of ingredients on the back of the bag. You should also look for food that is naturally preserved with vitamin E and has no artificial colors. Ferrets have very short digestive tracts, so they need a food that contains easily digestible meat protein. Foods that list grain or corn as the first ingredient should never be used. The advice that you should feed ferrets kitten or cat food is outdated, considering that high quality ferret-specific foods are now widely available in pet stores and the Web. It is especially unadvisable to feed your ferret grocery store cat foods, which contain too much fiber and not enough quality animal protein. This food can also contribute to stones in the kidneys and bladder, malnutrition, dull coats and other health problems for your ferret. It's never too late to make the switch (especially if your ferret has been diagnosed with insulinoma). We will not address raw or whole prey diets here as they require a great deal of education to be nutritious and safe. There are many web sites and forums available that do address these particular diets.
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Copyright © 2010 Northern Arizona Ferret Alliance and Rescue, Inc. |
