Overall first expenses for Ferrets

Question
QUESTION: Could you tell me the general overall expenses when you first get a ferret? (the like getting the cage, vet services, food etc.)

Thank you.

ANSWER: Dear Belinda,

Good question and I'm thrilled to see you are doing your research before getting one.

Since this is going to be your first ferret I'll give you an idea of how much money but I'm also going to throw in some good information about them along the way, hope that's ok.

Cage-
For anyone with ferrets the Ferret Nation cage is by far the best cage to buy (homemade can be better) in my opinion.

Not only is it iron wrought it also has two full levels and two half levels, doors that open up as a cabinet might allowing you to get everywhere and making cleaning so easy. It also has trays that slid in and out to wash, no wire grids for the floor, and is a wonderful size for ferrets.

You can get it in a one level, two level, or three level.

I'm going to say at this time and to my knowledge any other cage you might buy is either harder to clean, not appropriate for a ferret, dangerous, or not big enough and all seem to be inferior.

From this site you can get the FN cheapest including shipping which is only $6.99

http://www.ferret.com/ItemDetail.aspx?ItemNo=630503

So for that cage if you bought the two level it would come out to $160.99 with shipping.

If you bought the one level it would come out to $118.99 with shipping.

Bedding-
A common misconception is that ferrets need a bedding such as carefresh, pine, cedar etc. They don't, and not only is bedding made out of wood not necessary it's harmful and potentially fatal.

Use old sheets, clothing, fleece, baby blankets, blankets etc. It makes litter training them easier, it's cheaper for you and the ferrets are much more happier curling up in the blankets. And just too cute for words.

So assuming you have sheets and bedding that you can use for your ferret cage bedding will cost you nothing.

For Hammocks and things like that you can either go to Ferret.com and they will have some wonderful deals, or your local petstore where they hammocks will run more than likely between 9-20 dollars. Or you can order your own from other ferret owners who make customized bedding.

Here's a link to someone that does that, but there are many more people out there like that.

http://www.ferretboutique.com/Home.html

You can also make your own hammocks and that can save you a lot of money.

Litter and Litter boxes-
Don't bother buying ferret litter boxes, not only are they more money but many ferrets won't use triangle boxes or most others designed for ferrets. Just use the plain old cat litter boxes. Those will probably be around 6-14 dollars and I would plan on buying two, three, four or more depending on your cage and how big of area your ferret will be let out in.

For litter I would highly recommend using Yesterday's news for cats. No need to use Ferret Yesterday's News as it is the same thing only more expensive. I think the large bag of it I just bought (and you will want the large bag) was about 15 dollars.

You do not want to use any clumping or dusty cat litter because it is harmful to ferrets.

Pine shaving can also be used as litter, and only for litter.

Toys-
I'll be honest, I spent a whole lot more on toys in the beginning than I needed to.

Those cheap little cat balls with the bells in them are great for ferrets, they just love them. And lots of boxes for them.

The best thing you can make your ferret is a dig box. You take a container, or a covered cat box and fill that with non instant rice, newspaper, ping pong balls etc. As long as it can't harm your ferret if it is swallowed or big enough not to be swallowed it fun for your ferret. I use a rice box and they all love it so much.

Food-
I am a nutrition Nazi with ferrets and strongly believe that a great diet will make you ferret live a longer much healthier life and cut down on vet costs. Here is an over view of what ferrets should eat.

They are obligate carnivores and their ideal diet consists of raw whole prey such as f/t (frozen and thawed) mice, rats, quails, chicks, rabbits etc, incests and eggs. This is the healthiest diet to feed your ferret but requires a lot of research, time and space. Here are some good sites on raw diets for ferrets and over all food requirements

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=479
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalFerrets/
http://www.weaselwords.com/page/ferret_art032.php
http://www.exotichobbyist.com/NaturalFerret.html
http://www.ferretlove.co.uk/barf.htm
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.p...p;C=0&A=467
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/
http://www.pet-plus.co.uk/Info%20Feeding%20raw%20food.htm
http://www.katberard.com/hol_bonesandfood.htm

When feeding a dry diet for a ferret you want to feed a mixture of high quality meat based foods or try and switch the food around, such as feed one on this day and a different one on another day.. Ferrets will imprint on foods at a young age and can be tricky to switch to a new food. Having a mixture makes it easier to change them over to different foods and gives them a variety.

You want a food with a high protein content but it is necessary to make sure that that protein comes from meat sources not plants. The first two or three ingredients (more is better) should be a meat source and not a by-product.

By-products are supposed to be organs of the animals but unfortunately they can be anything from the organs they are supposed to be, to melted down feathers, hooves, horns, etc. They are the left-overs of the left-overs and have little to no nutritional value and can even be harmful.

Grains are another ingredient that shouldn't be in ferret foods. Corn is a grain that is put in many ferret foods as a cheap filler (as are all grains) and not only is it hard for a ferret to digest, many ferrets have allergies caused from it. Grains serve no nutritional value to a ferret and are detrimental to their health.

The best foods out there for ferrets as it stands right now (and in my opinion) and foods that I highly reccomend feeding are...

Innova Evo Feline
http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1500

Innova Evo Ferret
http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1502

Wellness Core Feline
http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/cat_wellness_dry_core.html

Wysong Archetype Two
http://www.wysong.net/Merchant2/merchant.m...Product_Count=1

Nature's Variety Raw/Freeze Dried Madallions (this is only for supplementing, not for a complete diet)
http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lass...38BA5jqM286D780

Two decent foods that aren't as high a quality as the ones mentioned above are

Natural Gold Ferret Food
http://www.fuzies.com/natural_gold_ferret_food1.htm

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul....kitten_formula/

The bad thing (or good thing depending on the opinion) is most, if not all of these foods can not be purchased at chain pet stores such as Petsmart and Petco. They can be bought at smaller independent feed, boutiques and supply stores. Just go to each website and go to the "where to buy" then place in your address, that will get you many stores near you that sell these foods. And who knows, this was how I got one of my jobs after I walked into an independent holistic store for animals looking for ferret food.

Stay far far away from foods such as Marshalls, Kaytee, 8in-i, Hills Science Diet, Iams, Purinia etc.

The food can add up but luckily that when fed a proper diet they will eat much less and require less medical care.

Good treats for them is raw chicken necks, raw wings, raw eggs, and raw or cooked meat.

Vet Care-
Most ferrets in their life will have to have at least one major surgery, treatment or vet bill. Adrenal disease  Insulinoma and blockages are just one of the few things that can happen to a ferret.

Before getting a ferret you should have 500 dollars minimum saved up per ferret, just for medical treatment. That does not mean for check ups. A ferret can end up costing thousands of dollars in vet bills so an owner has to be prepared for that.


Some states require ferrets getting vaccinated so you will have to find out if that is the case in your state.

Personally I don't give any of mine rabies shots. There is no chance of them coming in contact and being bitten by a rabid animal.

The only other reason to give them a rabies shot is if by chance your ferret bites someone and they take it to the police and you don't have proof of a rabies shot your ferret will be immediately destroyed. That's because like skunks and unlike dogs and cats, rabies can lay dormant in a ferret for months to years. It doesn't manifest in a week like other animals.

But I don't let anyone near my ferrets that I don't trust, so that is not an issue.


I do give them distemper shots though. I only do this because it can be transferred through contact unlike rabies. So say you come in contact with an animal that carries distemper you can then pass it do your ferrets just by touching them.

Personally I think getting these shots are a personal choice and you should decide the risks and benefits of them. Vets will a lot of times push for shots to be done when it isn't necessary. Especially because studies are being done into how long these shots really last in an animal. It's showing that getting them done every year is not necessary and can be detrimental to the health of the animal.

I believe that the distemper shot I had my ferrets get recently was 35ish dollars. Ferrets should have a check up at least once a year and two when they get older. How much that costs will depend on your vet. When I had my six ferrets in recently for a check up (no vaccinations) it came to 200ish dollars.


I think I covered everything, but I could have missed a few things. It's been a long time since I have had just one ferret and it's hard to remember what one would cost.

Here are some sites I highly recommend you going to and learning from.

http://www.petshub.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=15
http://pets-galore.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=673
http://www.everythingfert.proboards36.com/index.cgi
http://www.ferretvillage.org/index.php?sid=c833a8c4485d71cfb75023729231c871


Good luck with your ferret, I hoped I helped a bit and please please keep me updated! I would love to know how everything is going. And remember don't hesitate to ask any questions

Lindsey

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Most of the foods you listed I have never heard of. I have heard of Marshalls. I work at a Petsmart and I'm always down the ferret section and I have only seen Marshalls and some other brand thats dirt cheap. I'm in Canada, so is it possible that the foods you listed may not be here? Would I have to look for them at smaller stores?

Thank you for answering my question. :)

Belinda

P.S. How would you suggest introducing a new ferret to a kitten (as I have one)?

Answer

Hello agian!

I can not stress enough not buying Marshalls or really (please don't be offended) any brands that you will find in Petco or Petsmart. They are not appropriate for a ferret and can do a lot of harm to them, causing tons of medical bills and a decreased life span.

Innova Evo and Wellness Core (my favorite dry foods out of those I listed)are available in Canada and will not be in any chain petstore. They refuse to sell to them and thats why you haven't heard of them.

Go to both these links and type in your address, it will find a place near you that sells it.

http://www.geoserve.com/scripts/esrimap.dll?Name=L&Com=fo&Db=DLROMHWell&Ds=&Cn=C

http://www.naturapet.com/where-to-buy/default.asp

Proper nutrition is one of the best and more important things you can do for your ferret.  

Now onto your kitten question.

All my cats have been introduced to the ferrets at older ages, the youngest being at 1 year old and the oldest being 12. Two out of the three of my cats like/love the ferrets and will play with them. But only under my supervision.

First let your kitten and ferret smell each other through the cage. Stick with that for a little bit. Then let them interact in a neutral place while you watch.

Remember that ferrets have really tough skin and at that age the kitten and ferret are pretty much equals and could both do some damage to one another. Don't pull them apart at the first sign of a disagreement, they need to work things out. But if you see blood, scared poop or anything else that you feel is a red flag or dangerous separate them. Use your judgment.

It might take a little while for them to warm up to one another but stick with it. Just make sure you keep a close eye on them.

Let me also add that Wellness Core and Innova Evo Cat and/or Ferret would be one of the best foods to feed your kitten also.

Almost all of my nutrition talk before can be overlapped to incorporate cats also. That would make feeding your cat and ferret easier as you could buy the same food for them, That being said, if you are going to feed your cat a brand of cat/kitten food from Petsmart do not feed that to a ferret because I have never seen a good brand of food being sold there for cats (once again don't take offence) and none of them should be fed to ferrets.

Did this help? Keep me updated!

Lindsey