Ferrets

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

Anyone else have them? Im laying on my couch with one curled up sleeping under my shirt. Gotta love em!

 

[zoebisch01]

They do seem very cool. My best friend had two growing up (deglanded or whatever) and they were so much fun. SWMBO would probably freak though...

 

[Jester369]

Had one a long time ago - she was awesome! Hairy little thief, but awesome

 

[zoebisch01]

Hmm tell me more about these ferrets you speak

 

[Mutilated1]

We used to have a ferret, he was a very good pet. Only thing I didn't really like about a ferret was cleaning his cage and I think he **** his own body weight daily. Fortunately he wouldn't go in the floor or make a mess anywhere.

 

[wihophead]

We used to have three ferrets, they are great if you can get past there musky smell.

Edit: you can litter train them pretty easily since they usually will use a corner. I built a large cage and put a litter box in each corner.

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

We have two of them and watching them try to kill each other is hilarious. Earlier one did a suicide dive off the couch leaping for a bag of fruit loops. Plop right on the ground. They go crazy over fruit loops. The "evil one", not tried by me i might add, will dive in the bag, grab one the book into the other room. The other one will sniff for the color she likes.

 

[david_42]

I've never had one, but a couple friends have a pile. One of which was a nut about popping balloons. He'd whack it around for a while, then deliberately bite it, so it exploded in his face.

 

[Orfy]

I don't but plenty I know do.
London.....

 

[Joker]

My wife and I borrowed a couple from a friend once to see if we wanted to get some. Unfortunately his were not trained very well and soon had taken over the house by attacking our feet and hands. Even though they were only playing their teeth are like puppy teeth always sharp, but they move like lightning.

 

[NitrouStang96]

I've had ferrets for many years and loved them, it was kind of a relief to get rid of the smell, though. They're just soooooo stinky, I'd have to have a big house with a dedicated ventilated ferret room

 

[zoebisch01]

I've had ferrets for many years and loved them, it was kind of a relief to get rid of the smell, though. They're just soooooo stinky, I'd have to have a big house with a dedicated ventilated ferret room

Is this even after having been 'descented'?

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

Ours dont really smell. If I dont clean the cage in awhile...thats terrible.

 

[NitrouStang96]

Yes, they're quite smelly things. You give them baths and all, and they smell just fine for a little while, but the more you bathe them, the more dry their skin gets. So their glands will start producing more oils, and they'll be stinkier. For this reason, you're not supposed to bathe ferrets more than once a month.

Additionally, their smell is all over their bedding and anything else they rub up against - your clothes, your bed, your couch. And they crap a lot

They're worth it, to me, though I don't have any right now and don't plan on getting any for a long time. They are very loving at times, and are definitely the funniest possible pet you can get. They need tons of attention, though, and I feel like they should only be sold in pairs.

 

[Klainmeister]

I used to babysit my neighbors two ferrets quite often and loved the damn things. I just can't believe how thieving they can be though, one minute i'm about to put on the other sock and...wait...where did that sock go!?

Now i don't know if this is common practice, but i know theirs had the scent gland removed and they barely smelt at all.

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

Now i don't know if this is common practice, but i know theirs had the scent gland removed and they barely smelt at all.

Exactly the more you wash them the more their skin glands work and the worse it gets.

 

[Dude]

Amphibious rodents?

 

[capcrnch]

I had a ferret that I miss alot.
She was partially deaf (like a lot of ferrets), but was awesome as a pet.
She was incredibly loving and incredibly mischievous. She was always into something, but usually not in a bad way.

I 2nd the fruit loop comment. Mine was a cereal nut. Fruit Loops, Cheerios, Alpha Bits... She loved them.

I miss her alot, but don't miss the constant cage cleaning... Even though she was litter box trained (tray in the corner of the cage), it was easy to clean, but it was something you really had to keep up with and couldn't get lazy with...

 

[DraconianHand]

Actually, they are not rodents.

I too had a pair of them a number of years ago. They are great fun and very mischievious.

As BSB said, they can be aromatic, even with their scent gland removed.

 

[wild]

I've had several from the seventies on and none were descented except the females. They can be descented and fixed at the same time. The females will die if not fixed or laid. I just washed them with baby shampoo once a week. They're terrific pets and are fun to take everywhere (especially the snake races). Unfortunately I lost mine in the settlement.
I agree with getting two at a time unless there are other animals to play with. My first was a Siamese that was raised with a pit-bull. The dog would lie in her beanbag and the ferret would jump off the top of the staircase onto the dog's face. My second (pick of the litter from studding the first) was raised with a Siamese cat. They would spend their time ambushing each other. I believe the cat thought it was a ferret during its whole life.
Again, they're fantastic pets but they normally only live 7-8 years. Oh, and don't feed them beer or anything carbonated. They can't pass gas and will explode.

 

[Fish]

Is it true that ferrets are illegal to own in California?

 

[zoebisch01]

Is it true that ferrets are illegal to own in California?

Quite possibly, iirc there are a few states in which owning a Ferret (or owning a Ferret without a License) is illegal.

 

[NitrouStang96]

Yes, ferrets are illegal in California - but California also has the highest ferret population.

You will see many stores with aisles dedicated to ferret stuff, you will find vets that specialize in exotic animals and will gladly see your ferret, and you will see someone with their ferrets out and about now and then.

I'm not sure how enforced it is, but I think at most they just give you a deadline to get it to another state if they find out - I think it's probably not enforced at all. It's an extremely stupid law.

 

[capcrnch]

Yes, ferrets are illegal in California - but California also has the highest ferret population.

You will see many stores with aisles dedicated to ferret stuff, you will find vets that specialize in exotic animals and will gladly see your ferret, and you will see someone with their ferrets out and about now and then.

I'm not sure how enforced it is, but I think at most they just give you a deadline to get it to another state if they find out - I think it's probably not enforced at all. It's an extremely stupid law.

I don't know this for a fact, but I thought I heard they were illegal to sell, but not to own?