Ferrety Frequently Asked Questions!

Why Ferrets?

Wont I be allergic to them?

What about pregnant women and ferrets?

Don't they Smell and what about neutering/spaying?

But they do Bite, don't they?

Do they Live in the Wild?

Do Ferrets have a Homing instinct?

What do ferrets eat?

How long do they live for?

I would like to get a ferret, how do I go about it?

How long do they sleep for?

Do they get on with other animals?

How do I keep one?

Ferrets are rodents... Right?

Ferret Proofed? What is this?

Do ferrets prefer hot or cold temperatures?

General Ferret Information.

Why Ferrets?

They are amazing animals, with a tremendous zest for life. Ours are kept in the house, but live in their cage during the day. The cage has the litter changed daily and the bedding changed weekly. They sleep for around 20 hours a day, and therefore when we get in from work, they are ready to bounce about for a few hours before collapsing in their hammocks again.

Wont I be allergic to them?

A very big bonus for us is they are also classed by some people as “hypo-allergenic”. We are both allergic to the hair of most other animals. Ferrets are "fur-bearing" pets meaning they do not produce significant amounts of dander that "hair bearing" animals such as cats, most dog breeds and people do. Ferret can therefore be a fine alternative to the more common pets for people with allergies, and asthma.

Also, ferrets should not be kept in Straw/Hay or saw dust as it irritates their sinuses, and can cause all sorts of medical issues. By using fleece or cotton as their bedding, and washing it regularly, this again reduces the chance of being allergic to them.

What about pregnant women and ferrets?

A health concern for pregnant women is toxoplasmosis which may be passed to her through animal faeces (feces or fæces), especially cats. For the majority of people it is nothing to worry about, unless you are either, pregnant, have a very young child, or have a weakened immune system. Therefore toxoplasmosis is very dangerous to a human foetus (fetus or fœtus) in the first stages of development, it may also be dangerous to infants and toddlers, and it's a concern for those who are HIV+.

In the last couple of years, because of a couple of laboratory tests, the information regarding ferrets and Toxoplasmosis has changed from “nothing to worry about” to “proceed with caution”.

Dr. Bruce Williams, DVM, says:

Toxoplasmosis has been reported twice in ferrets. Ferrets will not shed the toxoplasma organism to the extent that cats do, but if they are exposed to cat faeces, they may contract the disease and shed very low amounts of oocysts.

Here's the bottom line. Because of the devastating effects that Toxoplasma can have on a developing human foetus in the first trimester - you don't want to take ANY chance at all on exposing [a pregnant woman] to Toxo. So [someone in the household who isn't pregnant] inherits all litterbox duties for the next nine months.

Actually, [a pregnant woman] probably stands a higher chance of getting Toxo from poorly cooked beef. The doctor goes on to say - if she's a carnivore - better get used to well-done steaks....

So although Ferrets may under specific circumstances carry this, and you will need to pass the job of cleaning the cage to someone else, you can at least carry on playing with your ferrets.

Do ferrets smell and what about neutering/spaying?

The only normal reasons for a ferret to have an over whelming smell is either, it has not been neutered, or it’s cage and bedding are not being cleaned. See also “what do ferrets eat” Normally both of these are also visible by a yellow/brownish colour to the fur, e.g. albino’s would be more a yellow colour, rather than white. Having the ferret neutered not only removes the smell, but in our experience, also has a calming effect on the ferret. Obviously, keeping your ferrets bedding clean, will reduce the smell even if the ferret has not been neutered.

Ferrets also have a scent gland near their tail, and when scared, or occasionally when very over excited, they can release a scent a bit like a skunk. Unlike the skunk, this smell dissipates very quickly.

Female ferrets really should be neutered, for their own health, as un-like most animals, when a female ferret comes into season, she does not come out of it, until she actually mates. If they have not found a mate with in a couple of years, they suffer from oestrogen induced anaemia, which leads to a lingering, unpleasant death.

It is also possible as a temporary solution, to get a jill that is in heat, injected with what has become known as the "Jill Jab". This will bring them out of season, but as it is possible for ferrets to have 2 litters of kit a year, you will usually need to have them jabbed a second time in the year unless you get them neutered.

But they do Bite, don't they?

Ferrets, like any other animal that is looked after, and handled, very quickly learn that it is not good to "bite the hand that feeds them".

Both dogs & cats bite if not loved and handled each day, ferrets are exactly the same. Ferrets are very intelligent, and learn very quickly, both good and bad habits. They use their mouths as we would use our hands, so if they want to move something, they will use their mouths. If when they turn to move your hand, with their mouth, you quickly pull your hand away, they learn that if they do not want to be touched, they can stop you by using their mouths. Being ultra intelligent, once a lesson has been learned, it can be a very hard to un-teach.

Do they Live in the Wild?

Ferrets are not a wild animal, they a domestic pet, and have been domesticated for about 2500 years. They can not survive in the wild in this country, and have no natural homing instinct, therefore they need to always be kept in a controlled environment, e.g. a run, a spacious cage, and when out, on a lead. They react very badly to both Fleas and Ticks, usually getting severe anaemia. Assuming that they do manage to feed themselves, most will only live for about 5 or 6 weeks before dying of infection.

Do Ferrets have a homing instinct?

As you can see from “Do they live in the wild”, the answer is no. Ferrets are descended from the European Polecat, and because of the way this animal would continually move from one borrow to the next as and when the food ran out, they have no need for a permanent “Home”.

What do ferrets eat?

Ferrets are obligate carnivores, meaning they are designed to eat whole prey items, which includes all parts of the killed animal including the fur/feathers and bones. Feeding a raw meat diet has a whole load of issues associated with it, and we do not have enough knowledge to comment on this. You are best to look into this based on your own personal circumstances elsewhere on the web. Suffice to say, you can not just feed it a breast of chicken every day, and expect to have a healthy loving ferret. The natural diet of a Ferret would include smaller mammals and reptiles like Rats, Rabbits, Voles, Mice, Slugs, snails, frogs and lizards. They would also eat birds if they could get them.

Ferrets imprint very early in their lives on the foods they will and will not eat, so changing the diet of a ferret can be a long slow process. Most are fed on dried food for convenience, but even these foods vary immensely between the manufactures, so always check what yours was fed on before you pick it up. Ours eat a dried ferret food that is a mixture of Chudleys ferret food and James Wellbeloved. Both are a "complete Food", meaning that they should provide all the nutrients and protein a ferret will need.

Generally Ferrets fed on Dried Food will smell a lot less than those fed on raw meat.

There are various ferret treats, and supplements available, which while not really necessary, as the food should already contains everything they need, are very useful for Ferret encouragement. A lot of treats sold for ferrets are actually very bad for them, so it is very important that they are given in moderation. Always bear in mind that they are little thief's so if you are eating food, they will happily try to share it, regardless of whether it is good for them or not.

Always make sure ferrets have a continual supply of food and water, they have a very high metabolism and they need to eat little and often. As a very rough guide, ferrets will eat between 5% and 10% of their body weight of dried food per day.

How long do they live for?

Again this varies, anywhere between 8 to 12 years and sometimes longer.

I would like to get a ferret, how do I go about it?

We would always recommend you go along to a rescue and ask lots of questions, handle the ferrets and learn all you can before taking any home. Although you might fancy a “cute cuddly baby kit”, listen to the advice of the Rescue. Most ferrets that end up in the rescues are there because someone wanted a “Cute Cuddly Bundle of Fluff”, only to find looks are very deceptive, and it actually turned out to be a “Fluffy bundle of teeth, and claws, which then went on to developed a nasty smell”. Ferrets over 6 months old can be neutered, and have usually learnt some social niceties by this time. Remember, unlike a lot of pets, ferrets are the “Peter Pan’s” of the animal world, they never grow up.

Look out for people walking Ferrets, or on a stand at an outdoor show, (It might be us). You will find most people with ferrets will be only too pleased to show off their monsters to someone who is genuinely interested in them.

For your first ferret, there are a few things to bear in mind;

Firstly, you normally need at least two. They need company, and they can play together, ruffling and tumbling for hours of entertainment in ways humans can't.

Secondly, although a baby ferret may be as cute as they go, we do not recommend this as a first ever ferret. Kitts, just like puppies, and kittens, have very sharp teeth, and like to test them out on everything. They are not being naughty, just learning. For this reason, we would always recommend a ferret to be about six months to a year old, so it has had a chance to learn some manners.

Lastly, more than anything else, ferrets will give you their lifetime of love, trust, and affection. Once it lets you into its life and learns it can trust you, you will be amazed how much part of you life they will become. For this reason, remember that they can live for up to 12 or so years, and will need you to love them as much in 12 years time, as you will when you first get them.

How long do they sleep for?

That's why they are the perfect animal for us, they can sleep for up to 20 hours of the day, when we get in from work we let them out of the cage to run around the ferret proofed area of our house, then they tend to curl up and we are left to collect them and put them back into their safe beds at the end of the evening.

Do they get on with other animals?

This is very much down to common sense and supervision therefore we will not say yes or no. We have 2 Bengal cats which live in harmony with all of the ferrets. The cats however are able to take off, and have their own space away from ferret mayhem when it all gets too much. A lot of dogs were bread to chase and kill rats, they do not know that there is a difference between a rat and a ferret, so be very careful with any dogs. Ferrets seem to know no fear, so do not expect the ferret to use it’s own judgment. You will even find videos of Ferrets playing with Lions on Youtube.

How do I keep one?

They are very friendly interactive animals and need company, you definitely get out what you put in with interest. Ours are “indoor ferrets” meaning they live indoors in a cage during the day, and come out to play in the house in the evening, they also have access to an outside run when they are out. Their cage has bedding, toys and litter trays in, the litter is wood based cat litter that is changed twice a day. For more information and pictures of the cage please see the "Our Ferret Photo's" pages.

Outdoor ferrets are exactly the same as above, only, well, err... sleep in an outside cage/run, there is no right or wrong. It down to personal preferences, and your dedication to having to go out in the cold, dark and wet every night to bring them in for a play, and then take them back to their beds, having cleaned out the cage at the end of their play time.

Ferrets are rodents... Right?

No... There is not relation between Ferrets and Rats, Rabbits, Mice, hamsters, Gerbils, or Chinchillas.

They are members of the order Carnivora and the family Mustalidae, which also includes minks, weasels, otters, stoats, pine martins, skunks, badgers and Wolverines.

The ferret which has been domesticated since approximately 400 BC is descended from the European polecat and was originally used for pest control, hunting rabbits and rodents, and has also been raised for fur.

Ferret Proofed? What is this?

Ferrets are mini Houdini’s, but prefer not to let you see them actually perform the escape, in case you get clues and stop them. If there is a way out, or a place they should not be able to get to… they will find it. In order to “ferret proof” a room/house you need to lie on the floor, and look at every hole you can see. If it is big enough to get more than 2 fingers into, it is big enough for a ferret to squeeze through and needs to be blocked. Remember to look up under the edge of the kitchen cabinets, and at any holes that allow cables or pipes to pass through. We purchased 3x2 foot square sheets of wire mesh from the DIY store, then bent and stapled them between the wall and the cabinets in the kitchen so they can not get behind them. We also have them along the exposed bottom part of the fridge, as they could get into the electrics, and also dug at the foam insulation. We have blocks of wood cut to length, and fixed to the bottom of the gas stove. We also have a gate across the stairs to stop them going up there. We do not leave the chairs under the dining room table, as they use these to get onto the table, and then seem to fly to the window ledge and up the nets to where ever.

Once you have “ferret proofed” everywhere and a bit more, let your smallest ferret out, and do not take your eye off it for even a second as it explores the room. Block up any places it finds you have missed. Now let the biggest out, and remove everything breakable, that it can reach. Don’t forget to remove all the CD’s, Tapes, DVD’s and books from the bottom 3 shelves of the book case, as these now belong to the ferrets.

Be prepared to go through this every time you let them out, for the rest of their lives, as they will just be waiting for you to look away, in order to shoot through many of the places you will have missed.

Do ferrets prefer hot or cold temperatures?

Ferrets do not have a very efficient body cooling system and react badly and quickly to too much heat. Death from heat stroke is a very real possibility. Ferrets ideally like to be below about 20C (70F). Heat exhaustion can occur when sun shines into a room through a glass window, or directly onto the roof of a hutch. In the summer it is very important to makes sure that they can cool down, and since they can not sweat, simply blowing a fan over them is not enough, the air blowing over them must physically be cooler than 20C to actually cool them. Things like placing a freezer block in a towel in the cage, and changing it regularly, fresh cool water to paddle in, and spraying a mist of water onto their coats are all ways to help keep them cool, but require regular human intervention. Ours have a portable Air Conditioning unit in the summer.

Cold is less of an issue, as long as they have somewhere snug, dry and sheltered to curl up in, ferret seem to have no trouble keeping warm.

General Ferret Information.