housing

Question
Hi,

I'm thinking about getting a ferret or two and i was just wondering weather if they are timid animals or if they are comfortable around people. I was also wondering if they will come to you voluntarily or not. Can you please also tell me what the housing sizes and requirements are for housing two ferrets.

Thanks...  

Answer
Hi Steven:

Thanks so much for writing BEFORE you get ferrets!  So many people wait until after they have them, then start asking questions and sometimes don't like the answers!

Ferrets are VERY social animals and need to be near wherever you and/or family spend their leisure hours. They are quiet, but need to be out of the cage with supervised playtimes at least 2-3 hours a day - more for kits (babies), less for older ferrets. Often people will choose to adopt an older ferret who needs a home from a shelter as their first ferret, as babies aren't easy to handle for your first ferret.  Oldsters are SO incredibly grateful to have a home of their own, they will reward you with hours of love, with even sit still on your lap, curl up to sleep on your lap, etc, as kits are just like little energy  machines, destructive, get into everything if not watched every second.

You will need to learn how to ferretproof your home, or whatever rooms you are going to allow your ferrets to play. Often people block off other rooms and keep them to one room because they get into SO many things. Things like rubberbands, foam rubber, soft plastic - all these things ferrets will eat and will cause intestinal blockages and death (if you don't recognize the symptoms in time) or a very expensive surgery (if you do recognize the symptoms in time), so it's very very important to know all the dangerous things and be sure your ferret can't get to them. Most people restrict their ferrets to ONE ROOM ONLY during playtime for this reason.

Cage requirements are the same for one or two ferrets - two is always better....get either a bonded pair from a shelter (my recommendation), or two kits you know already get along from a pet store (if you are very brave and willing to do lots of reading before you bring them home).  You really need to get the largest size cage you can accommodate (see http://martinscages.com for some really nice ones - I always recommend the LARGE ones, with FULL LENGTH FLOORS rather than 'shelves', as ferrets love to roll around and play even in the cage. The smallest you should consider is about 3'x3'x3' - ferrets must be able to stretch to their fullest length AND still have room for all their (cage safe) toys, bedding, food and water bowls, litterbox, etc, etc....AND they need to be able to stand upright on every level of the cage.  SO, even tho a ferret is about 16" or so when grown, he needs extra space galore.  The nice big cages that are 5 or 6 ft high need to have enough hammocks and hanging tubes in them so that they cannot fall the entire distance, as that's high enough to kill or severely injure a ferret.  There are SO many things to consider.

I highly recommend the book FERRETS FOR DUMMIES by Kim Schilling that you can get at http://www.half.com or your local bookstore or pet store (cheaper on half.com!).  You can also get info galore online at http://www.ferretcentral.org and http://www.miamiferret.org .    

I hope you'll do a LOT of reading before bringing one or two home. I hope you will bring two if you are not home all day - ferrets are unlike dogs and cats - they require human interaction and playing every single day or they can get depressed.  There are so many other things a ferret owner needs to know BEFORE bringing them home, I truly hope you will read, read, read before getting them.

You will find that ferrets require very special, high protein food (they are "obligate carnivores" and eat ONLY meat protein, although some very irresponsible food makers will try to sell you food with dried fruits in it - they are deadly to your ferret!)  These are the kinds of things you will need to know and they are ALL included in one book, FERRETS FOR DUMMIES.  Between that book and a good ferret group online or two, you should be in excellent hands!   

There are some great ferret groups online that are a wonderful source of learning and sharing ferret information, pictures and the love (you will love them more than any pet you've ever had) with other ferret 'nuts'. :-)  Some of them are MSN "Ferrets" and "My Norwegian Ferret Family" - easy to join; also "Ferret Village" and "Commando Ferrets" for members only....but worth filling out just a few questions and joining.

Best of luck.  Thanks again for being one of the "few" who have the common sense to look into the actual needs of a ferret before getting them!  I hope you won't hesitate to write to me if you have other questions after reading a bit - I'll be happy to help you in any way possible...but truly, most information (if it's not an emergency question) can be found either online or the book.  Just know that you are always welcome to come here for clarification or additional questions.

Best of luck to those lucky ferrets I hope you will be bringing home soon. If you want a list of ferret shelters in your area (where you can go and do some "hands on" ferret interracting, write to me again and include your city and state and I will send a list of shelters near you. They welcome 'lookers' and maybe you'll even find your 'true loves' there!  I hope so.  

sincerely,
Jacquie Rodgers
Ferret "Guru"
All Experts.com