gender

Question
QUESTION: Hi...i have owned several male ferrets but never a female...I was wondering what makes a better pet and which ones get larger...?  Other than the gender, what are the differences between the males and females...

thanks
ANSWER: Hello, thank you for your question! Well I own two males and one female, so I can tell you from personal experience both genders make terrific ferrets. I can't tell you which makes a "better" pet that's up to you and what you're looking for. Behaviorally, they are pretty much the same, but I "heard" that males tend to be better lap ferrets as they age, but for me this hasn't been the case. My little girl loves to cuddle and even falls asleep on my lap, whereas both my guys squirm and try to get away, just like little boys. As for size, traditionally males are bigger, but I have noticed recently that Marshall Farms (one of the main breeders of pet ferrets) *seems* to be breeding bigger ferrets for some reason. When I was looking for a third ferret I saw a very pretty white one in the holding cage. I asked an employee if I could take a look at him (he was quite big) and as they fished "him" out they informed it was a female! She was HUGE. So nowadays who knows what's going on, but again, traditionally the males have been much larger than the little females. My girl is literally half the size of one of my guys, the effect is quite comical.

So there really is no difference in personality between males/females, unless they are unaltered. Unaltered males *may* be more aggressive, particularly around other guys and mating season. Unaltered females just go into heat and never come out until they're bred, bad idea. But I'm assuming you mean a regular, good old fixed ferret as a pet :)

Hope I've helped, please don't hesitate if you have any more questions, and don't forget to rate me! :) Thank you, have a great day and I hope you decide to go co-ed with your ferret group soon.

~sheila

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

QUESTION: thank you again for the quick response...I think i am going to go with a male as i have owned alot more male pets than females and they do tend to me more affectionate...My question is how to shoulder train...I have seen several shows sporting ferrets and they are always on the shoulder...I have a little male that loves to go to the beach with me and i take him in a backpac...I would love to teach him to stay on my shoulder...I am also getting a new addition and i would like to start training him/her while still a kit..can you offer any advise?

Answer
Hello again! Well, shoulder training is definitely a plus, especially when you take your ferrets out in public with you! Definitely helps their image of being tame, loveable creatures. Shoulder training is probably a lot easier with a baby than an adult, but both should be able to learn with enough time and patience, although (for me) it has been kind of tricky to get them to do this.

Ferrets, as you may know, have terrible eyesight. Even worse depth perception. You may have seen them trying to gauge a distance before they jump down from something by bobbing their head up and down. Unfortunately even from a height of 5 feet or more they still think they can make it, so if they are not properly shoulder trained when they take a leap they can injure themselves.

As with all training, be sure to gives lots of praise and TREATS. Start with a ferret on your shoulder, and stand on or over a bed or very soft landing material. Make sure that if the ferret falls they will land on that and not the ground. I suggest for every minute to start out that the ferret stays give them a small treat. Give them lots of praise and speak softly to them. If the ferret takes the leap of faith despite this, yell "NO!" or make some other loud disruptive sound. This way when they jump off they associate the unpleasantness of falling with hearing you yell. This combined with praise and rewards should enforce the right behavior. As they get better at staying on you, gradually increase the time between treats. Some people would say once they've learned what to do you can stop treats all together, I don't recommend that. Ferrets are very intelligent, and once they know what they're doing has no rewards they will probably stop. After years of mine knowing to come to "Hear boy!" I still give them a treat EVERY time because it enforces that command. So once you're confident they can go out and about with you, take them to isolated places to start because you never know how an animal might react to a new environment. And when you do go out in public, always bring a carrying cage, leash, and plenty of treats.

Well hope I've helped, good luck, let me know how it goes! And as always, don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions :)

~sheila