Im considering getting a couple of rescue ferrets when I lose my last rat (poor lonely boy!) but am not too sure about them. My father had 2 when I was little but I cant remember them that well. I was thinking of keeping them in an old, large guinea pig cage. Its large enough for litter tray, food, bedding and hammocks and they could have free, unsupervised access to one room all day safely.(its currently the cats bedroom and has the doorway blocked to prevent stinky dog incursions!!).

I figure the best way to find out about ferrets daily needs is to ask-
what is a day in your ferrets life like??

you have to consider the time you can give them there very socail and like company. I would also look up on the net about the females {jills} as they can keep coming into session if not mated and it can be fatal to them as it something to do with there hormones. Some people keep a castrated male to mate with there female to bring them out of session but it is better if you dont plan to breed to have them done. Females tend to smell a little less than males. There musty. Also a ferret along with a guinea pig can catch a human flu/cold so be careful if you are poorly. It can effect respritory system. There very interested in tunnels etc and love to be walked on a harness around the garden. Some people will feed there nateral diet of rabbit chicken eggs etc but have a look on line it will give more info as theres mixes suitable for ferrets. I think there may be some one that can help you more as i only know so much. Have fun but bare in mind when young they can nip till hand trained.

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well i clean my ferrest out everyday as they are litter trained and all poo in a corner tray i walk them at the mo ,feed them 3 times a day fresh raw meat they come in the house and play but they get into onto everythink if they see somethink they like there is no chance of you getting it back untill they have finished with it and by then it normaly f**Ked .lol males bit with force and dont let go!!i dont get bit but my oh has them hanging of him they think is funny as when they let go the run round chuckling to themself.they need space and plenty of excersie.they are beautfull but smelly lol

Hi ferrets are fantastic pets, ggod you are asking questions.

Just have to correct the first reply on a couple of things, yes jills come into season around spring and go out of season around autum although if you keep yours indoors they can come into season around dec time which is to long in season, if they are left for a few years they develop a form of bone cancer called aplastic aneamia which is fatal therefore she needs to be brough out of season.

I dont recommend breeding her as there are to many unawanted ferrets and your inexperienced therefore your remaining options would be an injection from the vet, this brings them out of season within a few weeks but it hurts them and they may need two a year, as the jill is still entire she will still be prone to overian tumours late in life which are common.

You can use a vasectomised hob, NOT castrated, a castrated hob has no sexual desire and will not attempt to mate a jill therfore she will stay in season, there are many drawbacks to this method, firstly you will need to find a hob and wait six months to get him done then wait a further 3 months before he will become infertile so you would need another method to bring them out of season the first year, also not all vets can do a vasectomy, they are generally very expensive, they can pass on sexuallly transmitted diseases, they can and do reverse meaning you may end up with a litter, a V hob can work for years then one year it reverses by itself.

lastly there is spaying, by far the best and ideal solution, no cancer of the womb etc no painful injections and no risk of pregnancy, also jills brought out of season by jill jab or V. hob tend to have phantom pegnancies which can turn them into devils, your once sweet jill may start biting and will generally treat other ferrets as her kits which gives them a miserable life until the hormones settle as she wont let them get out of bed.

Hobs cant be left together entire as they also come into season and will try to rape each other, this causes them to end up with huge scabs on their necks which can become infected so which ever combination you go for two of the same sex will still need to be neutered.

Ferrets do have their own smell but if it bothers you then ferrets arnt for you, entire hobs do smell very strong during a season but they smell no more than jills when neutered.

Ferrets are strict carnivores and need a speacialist ferret food because of the high protein content that isnt in cat and dog food, because of the high meat content ferret food is generally expensive.

They also require fresh raw meat, heart kidney liver (very small amount once a month and not to be fed to kits as its to high in vit K) chicken breast, chicken wings keep the teeth clean, day old chicks, rabbit, pigeons, mice, fish fillets, sprats, tuna, pilchards, sardines, raw egg no more than once a week or they go bald, cat milk, goats milk or lacto free is fine in small amounts but not cows milk.

Ferrets are very active and need lots of interaction and stimulation, they are best kept in groups or pairs as they are very social, a spare room is fine but check for any small gaps etc as you wouldnt believe where ferrets can get and they will make it a mission to find a way out, be especially careful of open windows as ferrets can climb.

They can catch canine distemper and can be vaccinated but it isnt licenced for ferrets so there is split views on if they should be vaccinated, be better talking to your vet, ferrets CANT catch human colds however they can catch human flu.

As a first time owner kits arnt reccomended as they are a handfull and do nip, if not stopped they can become problem adults id seek out a local rescue and ask to visit, they will match up the most suitable ferrets for you and usually offer back up support if needed.

Hope this helps, if you want to know anything else just ask

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Tiggy, 13 yr old Collie x Alsation, Lucy 11 yr old epileptic cross breed, Kara, collie x whippet