Info about the Ferret as a Pet

For someone who is thinking of getting a ferret as a pet, there are many things which need to be considered because although a ferret is a cute little animal, it can also give the new ferret owner a lot of headaches!

I've been besotted with ferrets since 1994 and think they are the most wonderful creatures on earth.

Surely in God’s animal kingdom they must be the court jesters.

We’ve been involved in all aspects of ferret ownership over the years, including breeding and rescue operations.

Our bank balance has dipped dramatically over the years, what with various ultrasounds and operations, and we have suffered the heartbreak of having all of our original babies crossing over to the Rainbow Bridge.

Ferrets are enormously gregarious little animals. They need human contact on a regular basis, they thrive on attention and seem to blossom when their owner responds in kind.

However, if you are looking at this website because you want to know all about the ferret as a pet, you obviously aren’t familiar with them.

Why don’t you grab yourself a cup of coffee, get comfortable and get ready to learn some eye-opening things about ferrets.

Would I ever be without a ferret? No, never. But I want you to be fully aware of what the ferret as a pet is like – warts and all!

Trouble? Who me?

Forget the part about them being no trouble because they sleep a lot.

They can be a huge headache for the first-time ferret owner who has no idea what to expect.

You could compare them to wilful toddlers with no respect for their parents and they certainly don’t subscribe to the term “Order out of chaos”.

With ferrets, chaos is chaos, and the more chaos, the merrier!

Like with any pet, a ferret should be considered part of your family and with you for life. Naturally there are occasions when, due to transfers or unforeseeable problems, you have to relocate your ferret. But please don’t think about getting one unless you are prepared to do everything you need to ensure your ferret’s happy life.

God’s little comedians, yes, but also harbingers of major headaches too.

They can literally turn your hair grey overnight with their antics. Should the outcome turn out okay, that’s great – something to talk and laugh about in a day or two. However if something goes wrong, then you’ll have to reach for the tranquillizers!

Have you ever heard an old song sung by Bing Crosby called “Accentuate the Positive”?

I listened to it the other day and the lyrics of one verse jumped out and made me think, “Hey, he must be singing all about my ferrets!”

Listen to this ….

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum

Bring gloom down to the minimum

Have faith or pandemonium

Liable to walk upon the scene

Yes they spread joy up to the maximum and bring gloom down to the minimum but I can tell you this all about ferrets – pandemonium doesn’t begin to describe the mess if your ferret decides to visit your bookcase to check it out.

A pet for Junior?

You might even be thinking about getting a ferret as a pet for your kid. You know what it’s like, Junior has been talking to a friend who might have one, or has seen one on the TV or even in a pet store, and he comes to you to ask if he can have one too.

I mean, it’s a small animal. It can be caged. Doesn’t take much space in the house. Junior promises to look after it and it’ll never bother you with its presence! “I promise, mommy, I really will look after the ferret!”

Yeah right!

Out of the mouths of babes ...

I would say it’s not a good idea to get a ferret as a pet if you have very young children, especially babies.

Ferrets tend to react to loud noises (like a squeaky toy) and if your baby were to cry loud and long, it might just get the ferret worked up and they could climb into the cot and nip your child.

I'd suggest that you don’t think about getting a ferret until your kids are around 8-9 years old and are ready to be responsible.

However, if you already have a ferret as a pet and are expecting a baby then don't think you have to give the ferret away.

Make sure that you don't leave your ferret alone with your baby and if you have to keep it caged up more than usual, make sure that when you do let it out for its daily romp, you give it all your attention so that it doesn't feel neglected or ignored.

Use your common sense and you'll surely find a good balance in your household where your ferret still feels loved and appreciated, and your baby grows up with a special pet!

Older kids

And if you do get a ferret as a pet for your kid, will they be alert enough to ensure the ferret doesn’t slip out the door when they’re going in and out with their friends?

Our kids have now moved out from home and they told me they still jump a mile if they happen to stand on something like a pair of socks on the floor, thinking they squashed a ferret. All three have accused me of scarring them psychologically for life!

Hah hah - payback for all the pain they gave me during their teenage years

Closed doors are usually a no-no!

A door which has always been shut doesn't seem to cause any interest but if a ferret knows that a door, say to someone's bedroom, is opened during the day and then closed at night ... disaster!

"Let me in! Let me in! How DARE you shut this door!!"

Scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch

That ferret will want to go through the closed door and will happily dig up the carpet down to the concrete in their single-minded attempt to get to the other side!

If you you're in the habit of closing certain doors in your house, the way to save your carpet is to put down plastic sheeting either side of the door so the ferret can’t dig, and tape it down with strong duct tape. Can you live with that? And even that won’t be foolproof!

Our Snoopy regularly picked at the duct tape and wriggled under the plastic by the door and guess what, she dug at the carpet from her spot under the plastic! Oh joy, oh rapture!

We solved that by pulling up the carpets and putting down wooden flooring, but what if you're renting?

There’s nothing quite like waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of destruction as a ferret is frenetically scratching to get under the door!

TIP: Bill from Texas wrote and said he had a similarly hard-headed ferret who'd try to get under doors and what he did was sprinkle black pepper along the door line. He reckons it works like a treat.

I've tried white pepper in the past and all I got was a very sneezy ferret scratching at the door! It was also suggested that eucalyptus oil might keep ferrets away from a certain area - I tried that but, again, to no avail.

I reckon Aussie ferrets are way more stubborn and pig-headed than American ones!!

Having said all that .. are you, the new ferret owner, going to like having to sprinkle herbs and spices around your house to deter a determined ferret?

Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?

You certainly won’t be able to stick your head out of the windows to look for Romeo, as they can’t be left opened if you have a ferret roaming around the house.

Even if you have flywire, they can dig a hole which would be big enough for them to squeeze through in no time.

We make sure our ferrets can’t get onto the window sill but if there’s a chance they can, I put a board in the window to make sure they can’t get out. Even that doesn’t work all the time.

What about your curtains … could your ferret climb up them and get out that way?

And that brings me to ferret proofing ... you will DEFINITELY need to ferret proof your house to make it safe for your ferret.

To find out what you need to do, check out the section on Ferret Proofing.

Having read that, are you prepared to do whatever is necessary to make sure your ferret can't get into trouble in your house?

Flowers? Forget it!

(Hysterical laughter from ferret owners heard in the distance!)

If you have a ferret as a pet, are you prepared to put all your house plants outside and to forego having flowers in the house? Ferrets and house plants/flowers equal big mess in the house!

Oh, and I’ve seen Snoopy make a concerted effort to climb onto my camphorwood chest and pull flowers out of a vase I had sitting there.

Fortunately I was around so could rescue the vase before it tipped over. Imagine the mess otherwise … oy!

The demise of your furniture!

Are you happy about throwing out your La-Z-Boy recliner? If you have a ferret as a pet, you simply cannot have a recliner chair in the house. It would be too easy for the ferret to get amongst the levers and when you push the chair back, you could kill your pet in an instant.

And whilst on the subject of furniture, are you prepared for your ferret to dig a hole in the bottom of your chair ... or sofa ... or bed, then climb in and sleep inside, or use the area as a place to stash away their goodies?

You might even have a ferret like our Chucky, who loved stealing potatoes from the pantry and stashing them inside the hole in the sofa.

We never knew the rotten, sweaty potatoes were there until it got to the stage where they smelt like fish. Truly embarrassing when visitors popped around and we were in the sitting room, making polite conversation, while nostrils were twitching at the smell wafting around the sofa!

Those Super Poopers!

How about it if your ferret gets under a narrow space, like between a bookcase and the floor, and decides it’s a good place to poop?

If you have your ferrets roaming around the house at all times, are you prepared to pick up ferret poop? Usually ferrets are pretty good about backing into corners to relieve themselves, but as they get older they poop and piddle in the middle of the room.

Would you be prepared to walk through your house like you’re walking through a mine field? Eyes down, and ever alert in case you tread on a little present?

And whilst on the subject of poop, think about loo paper. Ferrets love to dig at the rolls so are you prepared to see shredded loo paper on your dispenser? You could tell your friends it’s the latest in designer fashion, I suppose.

Actually, as a friend said to me after using our bathroom, "You can always tell you're in a ferret owner's bathroom because everything is put up out of the way!"

Yes, we've got a spindle sort of thing with loo rolls stacked on it, and that's balanced off the ground on the cistern tap. The loo brush is way up high on the window sill, as is the rubbish bin!

What's new, pussycat .. or pooch dawg!

Do you have other animals?

You might want to reconsider getting a ferret as a pet if you already have a bird, or rodent, or reptile in the house.

Our cats were quite okay with the ferrets - they just jumped up out of the way if they didn't want to be bothered.

Dogs? Just be very careful how you introduce your new ferret to your old dog, or vice versa.

All dogs are individuals, just like all ferrets (or cats or any other animals for that matter) are.

Some dogs just might not get on with your ferret. Others will love your ferret to pieces, even if it’s a terrier or another breed that has a reputation of not mixing with ferrets.

I have heard of greyhounds, malamutes and certain terrier breeds killing ferrets. But I often wonder if it was because of human stupidity rather than the dog’s fault.

Until you are absolutely certain that your dog and ferret are getting on, please always supervise their time together and make sure neither one nor the other is getting picked on unfairly by the other one.

When we got Mash, she made herself at home almost immediately. We had a 70kg Rottweiler called Boris, plus 4 cats. No one felt their place was usurped by this 600g pile of fluff.

However when we got Fidget the whole ball game changed. Fidget was 3 months old and trouble with a capital "T".

Of course she was just our second ferret and we were pretty much out of our depth knowing how to handle a kit.

Fidget’s favourite pastime was nipping Boris’ fetlocks or paws, and then she would dance away like Muhammed Ali, grinning at her audacity.

One day Boris decided he’d had enough of her cheek. I don’t know what she did to him but I heard him bark – just once – and as he sounded pretty annoyed, I went to investigate.

I found Fidget rigid, lying on the floor. Talk about heart attack .. for ME!

She recovered within the hour – I took her to the vet and he said she was fine, just had a bad shock. I don’t know whose shock was greater, hers or mine!

The moral of the story – take care with your introductions, and don’t assume, like I did, that because one ferret settled into the household without a hitch, the second one would too!

By the way, Fidget never bothered Boris again after that little episode.

But be assured that you can have a houseful of animals all living in domestic bliss.

Check out this page if you'd like to see all our animals bonding

"Hi Mr Bank Manager, yes it’s me again!"

If you have a ferret as a pet, not only should you have a very friendly relationship with your Bank Manager, but you also should have a very understanding vet!

A ferret is a very stoic animal but boy, when he gets sick, he’ll go downhill FAST! Find out where the ferret knowledgeable vet is in your area and be prepared to take your ferret there immediately when you notice he’s not himself.

Ferrets seem to be prone to certain cancers like Adrenal Gland Disease, Insulinoma, Lymphosarcoma.

They can suffer from Cardiomyopathy. They can get Heartworm.

They can get Canine Distemper if they’re not inoculated against it.

We don’t have a Rabies problem here in Australia, but ferrets in other countries need yearly Rabies injections.

As ferrets are such curious creatures, blockages can be a big issue.

If you have an unsterilized female there’s a danger of aplastic anemia if she stays in heat.

If you get an unsterilized male, be aware that he’ll start smelling "like a polecat" once he’s around 6 months old. His fur will feel greasy and he’ll get pretty aggressive towards other males, as well as dragging females around.

So you'd also have to factor in the cost of sterilization, unless you're from the States where they sterilize the kits at a very early age.

For those of you who want to have some idea of how empty your pockets could be with a 'fesnyng' of ferrets, see my page on our sick ferrets.

Another thing I would like to point out is that losing a ferret is a very painful thing to experience.

They somehow really get all tangled up with your heart strings and when they die, it hurts a great deal.

This quote just about says it all ... "Pets are like vacations - they cost at least twice as much as you think they will."

If I haven’t completely put you off about getting a ferret, why don’t you grab a pencil and see how many boxes you are willing to tick in the following checklist.

Are you prepared to …

Ensure your house is ferret-proofed properly?

See some damage occurring around your house?

Have your ferret sterilized?

Take your ferret to the vet the minute it seems ill?

Give them all their required yearly vaccinations?

Feed your ferret the very best food available?

Spend the money for all those vet visits, plus operations if required?

Commit to interacting with your ferret for several hours when it’s awake and ready to rock ‘n roll? You must NOT just leave it in the cage and forget about it!

If you've ticked all the boxes, then you have to start thinking what kind of ferret is best for you!

HOWEVER ... sorry to pour cold water on your enthusiasm at this point ... if you decide a ferret is the pet for you, please make sure you're allowed to have them as pets in your particular neck of the woods.

For instance, if you're in Australia, be aware that ferrets are banned in Queensland and the Northern Territory. It's okay for crocs and cane toads to inhabit those states but not ferrets. Go figure! If you're living in the ACT, you'll need a permit to own one.

If you're in the States, ferrets are illegal in California, Hawaii and New York City, as well as other places.

New Zealand has banned people from owning ferrets because of the problems stoats and weasels have caused to the kiwi.

You should be able to find out if your area is ferret friendly from this list but, be warned, I have no idea how up-to-date it is.

And if you're scooting around Europe with your ferret, you'll get a lot of information about where your ferret can go within the EU here, while this site give you all the information you need about going to non-EU countries with your pet.

There is so much that you - the first time ferret owner - can tell someone who is thinking about getting a ferret, so I would really love it if you would tell me your experiences and share the photos you've taken of your beautiful little friends :-)

Are you a first time ferret owner?

Tell us how you are enjoying having a ferret (or two) as a pet. Are they the kind of pet you thought they'd be or do you feel that perhaps you make a mistake? Has ferret math struck and are you going to get more ferrets?

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

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