are ferrets happier if they have another ferret for companionship?

Question
I dont have a ferret but i REALLY whant one, and i think my mom and dad are warming up to the idea. We have gone and seen my moms freinds ferrets, and she liked them and my best friend has 2, so... everytime my mom comes to pick me up from her house we are playing with them and they always whant to snuggel with her and get in her warm coat! Mom says there realy growing on her! And her latest qwestion is, do they need a buddy to play with? Cause my mom realy doesnt whant a smelly house and i have a brother who kinda whants one too, so it might be nice to have 2, but my mom thinks it might to stink to much, and i would play with my ferret or ferrets a whole lot! Right when i get home from school!  Can you answer that qwestion for me? and i kinda need a yes or no aswer if you dont mind. What do you recomend?

Answer
Hi Sarah,

I'm so happy that you are so enthused about having a ferret! There are a lot of things you need to think about before you make this commitment, however.

The first thing I would like you to think about is that the average ferret lifespan is about six to nine years. That is quite a big time commitment. A lot can change in that amount of time.

The next thing I urge you to consider is that ferrets are a very expensive pet to keep. They aren't like hamsters where you can just put them in a cage and forget about them. Ferrets need at least three hours of exercise outside of their cage a day. Also, ferrets require quite a large cage. They need at least a 2 feet by 3 feet by 2 feet sized cage. If you want to keep more than one ferret in the cage, it needs to be larger. This can get quite expensive.

Ferrets need high-quality food. This is also quite expensive. Since they are considered exotic pets, their vet visits are more expensive than a cat or dog. They need a litter box which means that requires daily cleaning. Also, their bedding needs to be washed at least once a week.

The room they play in needs to be ferret proofed. All holes need to be closed up. All small objects that they could eat need to be put out of reach. The room needs to be thoroughly ferret proofed. They can get through very small openings so if there is any doubt, that space or opening needs to be closed. There are many other things involved in ferret proofing a room as well.

Ferrets are finicky eaters. In addition to the high quality food, they can only eat meat. Nothing else. No vegetables, fruits or grains. Only meat. Anything else could make a ferret very sick.

A ferret needs at least three hours of "out time" a day in a ferret proof room. They need more if they are going to be an only ferret without a cage mate.

Like I said, there is a lot to know about ferrets and they are a lot of responsibility. All of the information I have just given you barely scratches the surface of what goes into caring for ferrets.

To answer your question, a ferret does do better with at least one other friend. They will bond with another ferret and be best friends for life.

I really think you should consider this matter heavily. Read all the information you can get on ferrets (from reputable sources). Ask questions. You made a very good first step by asking questions here. Please feel free to continue to do that! We are here to help so don't hesitate if you need to know anything else!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews