Looking to maybe adopt....

Question
I want a ferret!!! I live in a small apartment with an allergic boyfriend, so dogs and cats are pretty much out of the question.  I've been raised around a few ferrets and they always struck me as the perfect pet, but how are they with allergies, with regards to my man?  And before I run out like ferret Rookie of the Year and make a huge mistake, any advice or cautions?

Answer
Hello, and thank you for your question! WELL, first thing you should do is make sure your boyfriend is NOT allergic specifically to ferrets. Because he's allergic to cats and dogs does not automatically mean he's also allergic to ferrets, but he still *could* be allergic to them as well. Either have him ask his doctor or try an experiment on him (with his permission)...just go to your local petstore (Petco usually has ferrets on hand) and have him hold one of their ferrets and see if he has any reactions. (Depending on the severity of his allergies to cats/dogs, this may or may not be a good idea...ie if he goes into a coma around a cat, maybe you should skip on the hands on approach in case he has a similar reaction to fuzzies :)

Luckily he will check out ok in that department, then you can proceed to step two, which is learning more about these critters. If you know very little about ferrets, I would highly recommend reading up on them a little. Most libraries have a book or two on the subject, and they should cover everything. (Our favorite here at AllExperts is "Ferrets For Dummies"). Really right now the only advice I can give is to do your research and know what you're getting into :) Ferrets unfortunately are one of the most returned pet because people just go out and buy them because they're cute and they have no idea what it really means to own a ferret. In my experience they are not high maintenance like a dog, but having one in your house does change a few things.

I think one of the biggest mistakes new owners make is under-ferret-proofing their house. That's probably one of the biggest Uh-Ohs and ways to hurt your fuzzie. Just be extremely thorough and realize that it's an ongoing process. It also means changing some of your decor maybe a bit. I don't have any plants or pots on the ground because a ferret will tip them over. My coffee table is within leaping distance from the couch so I only have a few books on it. My ferrets have learned how to get into low cupboards and I'm too lazy to put kid-locks on them, so I have absolutely nothing below my sinks...these are just a few examples of how curious ferrets are and what they can get into.

However, I am so used to shaping my life and my living space around ferrets that I'm used to it. If you have a lot of fancy decorations and furniture that a ferret can crawl into it might be more of a major adjustment for you, and you may not be willing to make it.

But please try to read up on them, either in a book or simply Google "ferrets" and learn more about them. And please don't hesitate to come back if you have specific questions about ferrets that you couldn't find an answer to!

Here are a couple of decent places to start:
http://www.ferretcentral.org/index.html
http://www.everythingferret.com/index.htm

Best of luck, hope I've helped :)

~sheila