Ferret's

[Ghost]

Another thought (or two):

My daughter has a hamster. Is "fuzzy" gonna be smart enough to open the cage and have a tasty little treat one day when no one's looking?

Also, what level of dander are we talking here (in general)? My wife is allergic to most dogs (due to the typical high level of dander and shedding)...I'm allergic to cats. What's the best way of finding out potential allergic reactions? Going to the pet store is NOT a good way of finding out....

Ask Grim if you can come over & play with his weasel.

Just don't fall for the "I have cookies for you" bullshit as there are no cookies.

[Darth Do'Urden]

Ask Grim if you can come over & play with his weasel.

Just don't fall for the "I have cookies for you" bullshit as there are no cookies.

I just heard you say "The cookie is a lie."

[WolFeYeZ]

Also, what level of dander are we talking here (in general)? My wife is allergic to most dogs (due to the typical high level of dander and shedding)...I'm allergic to cats. What's the best way of finding out potential allergic reactions? Going to the pet store is NOT a good way of finding out....

You could probably get an allergy test, but when I tested myself I just went to a pet store and held one of these guys. I just let him scratch me to see if I would swell up. They are cute enough to be worth 1 allergy attack :P

[Ghost]

I just heard you say "The cookie is a lie."

It is.




(but Grim missed that Meme).

[Ghosty]

Ask Grim if you can come over & play with his weasel.

[salsashark]

[grim]

Don't listen to that cookie whore ghost he's just pissed because he can't get his lazy ass up in time to get some cookies. I'll respond to your questions in a bit here.

[Erratic]

I had 2, a silver mitt and a sable. I loved those little bastards. It was great watching them terrorize the cat!

I think bathing them 2-3 times a week is overkill. The more you wash the more oil they produce. I bathed mine once a month and it kept their smell down pretty good.

The cage is another story. I washed that thing out like twice a week.

Reading this thread almost makes me want to go get one again! I miss those little spazs.

[Ghost]

Don't listen to that cookie whore ghost he's just pissed because he can't get his lazy ass up in time to get some cookies. I'll respond to your questions in a bit here.

I was there, you were there, there were no cookies...

[grim]

I was there, you were there, there were no cookies...

You were late, your argument is invalid.

[grim]

Thanks for the great info, Grim and Salsashark.

What about their typical day-to-day living, ie. letting them out to roam about at will and only cage when you leave or go to bed (like we do with the dogs), or is it more akin to a hamster where you definitely only let it out when you can directly interact with it and then put him back in his cage when you can't directly play with him?

This is up to the owner some people will tell you don't let them roam free and some will argue that they need it and they should be free. I personally do not let them run around without me knowing exactly where they are, when they have had there fun and i dont feel like chasing them or watching them i put them back in there cage and they usually just go to sleep. Its your own personal preference but heed the warning most owner do not know about ferrets: There body is usually bigger than there head however that does not mean they cannot squeeze through that tiny hole in the cabinets, "if there head can fit there body will fit". A ferret will find the one hole or spot you did not know about and get into it when you are not looking, IE dryer vent, cabinet, hole underneath the couch (my albino loved getting inside the damn couch) you name it they will find it.

How social are they in regards to cage placement? Do they prefer to be "where the action is" even if they're caged, or does it not matter? The reason I ask is that it would determine where we put the cage. We have plenty of room in the basement (finished...where we all pretty much live throughout the day and evening), but we have more room in the laundry room that is physically separated from the living room. I would only put him in there if it meant that he would be out and about freely most of the time and caged at night (or when gone from the house), but if the separation would be detrimental to his state of mind then we'd have to look at the more social area of the living room proper (maybe next to the dog crate)....

Cant really answer this question as this is the first house ive had while having a ferret, i have always been in apartments and condo's where the cage was in the largest room in the place and we were always around it. They only get depressed if you leave them all alone for more than 2 days and don't play with them. The also will get depressed through lack of sunlight they need serotonin just like humans.

Also, you mentioned they sleep a lot (17 hours a day or so?)...are their wakeful hours typically during a specific part of the day, or do they adapt their wakeful hours to when the family is most active/social? Are they considered nocturnal?

When they sleep its not like its a full 17 hours in one shot its broken up throughout the day, Ferrets are not nocturnal at all, they are awake and asleep during the day and they are awake and asleep at night. Kits (baby ferret) poop every 2-3 hours so they wake up every 2-3 hours, sometimes they go then go back to sleep, sometimes they go and then goof around with there toys. In regards to what your schedule is, it does not matter, if you wake a ferret up they will start playing with you immediately.

Are they considered carnivorous, yet perfectly content with fruit/vegetable/"ferret food"?

They eat ferret food plain and simple, they are domesticated, they are bred to eat ferret food and that is all they should be given, you can give them a rasin as a treat once or twice a week and no more. Marshall ferrets which is what Petco is authorized to sell have a gurantee that if you keep them on Marshall ferret foo they will never get sick or have issues for the first year of there life, I have never given my ferrets anything other than Marshall ferret food. Some people have told me they give there ferrets hardboiled eggs i have not tried this and do not intend to, Marshall has a line of products for treats and such.

Another thought (or two):

My daughter has a hamster. Is "fuzzy" gonna be smart enough to open the cage and have a tasty little treat one day when no one's looking?

No this will never happen.

Also, what level of dander are we talking here (in general)? My wife is allergic to most dogs (due to the typical high level of dander and shedding)...I'm allergic to cats. What's the best way of finding out potential allergic reactions? Going to the pet store is NOT a good way of finding out....

Ferrets don't have dander, they secrete Oil from there skin which is were the musky smell comes from, they shed twice a year, once for winter once for summer. but because they are so small and because they are in the cage most of the time that's where the hair is, its easy to clean. If you would like to come over and see ours you are more than welcome to.

[grim]

I had 2, a silver mitt and a sable. I loved those little bastards. It was great watching them terrorize the cat!

I think bathing them 2-3 times a week is overkill. The more you wash the more oil they produce. I bathed mine once a month and it kept their smell down pretty good.

The cage is another story. I washed that thing out like twice a week.

Reading this thread almost makes me want to go get one again! I miss those little spazs.

Yup, that's why i said i would wash mine once every 2-3 weeks MAX.

And you are correct the more you wash the more oil they produce and the more musky it will smell.

[UHATEIT]

What's a cost on one of these things? And do you think they would get along with chihuahuas?

[grim]

What's a cost on one of these things? And do you think they would get along with chihuahuas?

Right now Petco has them from $114 to $140 it depends on which location you go to, like i said above if you get a kit its not the ferret you need to worry about getting along with other animals, its the other animal getting along with the ferret, If you get one that's a little older just have them meet, shouldn't be an issue though.

[bulldog]

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to get two and name them podo and codo (after the famous ferrets that appeared in one of my favorite 80's movie).

Anyone know what movie I am talking about?

[bulldog]

Came across this chart and thought I would share:

[grim]

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to get two and name them podo and codo (after the famous ferrets that appeared in one of my favorite 80's movie).

Anyone know what movie I am talking about?

The only ferret i can recall in an older movie is the one from Kinder Garden cop.

[UHATEIT]

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to get two and name them podo and codo (after the famous ferrets that appeared in one of my favorite 80's movie).

Anyone know what movie I am talking about?

Beastmaster?

[UHATEIT]

The only ferret i can recall in an older movie is the one from Kinder Garden cop.

fuck thats the one I was thinking about!!! Damn I was trying to remember when a guy was holding a kid hostage and had a gun and the ferret came up and bit his neck. Kindergarten cop was a badass movie!

[UHATEIT]

Right now Petco has them from $114 to $140 it depends on which location you go to, like i said above if you get a kit its not the ferret you need to worry about getting along with other animals, its the other animal getting along with the ferret, If you get one that's a little older just have them meet, shouldn't be an issue though.

These guys are fuckin cute as hell. I might have to bring my chihuahuas by the pet store and let them see how they react face to face before buying one

[bulldog]

Beastmaster?

Yup! Loved that movie as a kid. He used the ferrets as his thieves!

[UHATEIT]

80's movies were great! Off topic but my favorites as a kid was Monster Squad and Masters of the Universe (the He-Man movie) oh yeah and Howard the Duck

[Ghosty]

Came across this chart and thought I would share:

Chocolate one is cool! So is the Panda. Pink eyes freak me out, so no Albinos.

LOL @ Beastmaster, CLASSIC! Tanya Roberts in a loincloth, *rawr*.

UHATEIT, you should take video of your dogs' "Ferret encounter".

[grim]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_W9ah1BrR0