Could I hear from ferret owners about pros and cons, please?

Dogs go nuts over the ferret smell, ferrets are normally clean and non smelly animals . They require lots of care and time , it makes no difference on the animal if you make it sterile . The love to dig and jump about so lots of room ie a run attached to hutch , but with proper wire netting underneath so they do not dig out . Liver is feed when they are ill , they love blood filled cows hearts and toilet roll cardboard tubes to play in . Make the area they go into just like a rabbit warn if you can , lots of places for them to hide and do normal ferret things . And it makes feeding time more fun for them , try feeding live food ( if you can ) just as a once every so often thing keeps them alert .
Well this is what i did anyway , when my brain kicks back into gear i will post more
Oh and do not use a harness and leash they are silly , have a hoodie jumper the type with a one big pocket at the front just for the ferret .

cons: you can step on their tails by accident, especially as they like to weave around your feet
—their shed fur will stick to their fur
—I never figured out to house train them
—relatively few vets know about them

pros: very cute, endearing and entertaining
—will not hold a grudge if do end up stepping on their tails

mixed: constantly hyper, whatever your mood. (I never minded.)
—will hide in your clothes and in my case had a fascination for shoes

a warning: Marshall Farms ferrets tend to have adrenal gland problems and die early. you can tell that they come from there because they have blue dots tattooed on one ear. (also, Marshall Farms breeds ferrets to get used in laboratory experiments.)

What do they eat? Mice?

Mice , rats , hamsters, got to get them onto the taste of rabbit real early . If not done withing the 1st i think 6 – 12 weeks they will not eat it , i made that mistake with one of mine before . The eat cat food dog food this is wet and dry mind you , there is ferret dry food i stay away from this and stick to one brand of cat food . Dog and cat treats are also good , them dog sausages go down a treat and taste a while . The can also get your meat scraps and some fruit , for bedding use picked not cut grass hay straw and wood shavings ( careful some are allergic to woodshavings and certain types of straw / hay .)

con: They’re not cats

They’re really social animals and love spending time with their owners. If your girlfriend doesn’t have a lot of time to spend with them, I don’t suggest them as pets.

They love chewing on rubber and things like that, which is why almost all ferrets will destroy shoes. It’s important to baby proof whatever room they’ll be spending the most time in. They are highly curious and will get into trouble if things aren’t safe enough. (I never keep the ferrets in their cage, unless it’s to put them in for a while when they won’t stop scratching on the door.)

They’re very physical and constantly engage in games of tag. If that’s not something your girlfriend would enjoy, ferrets aren’t for her. They also jump at people a lot, but again, they’re only playing.

Humans and ferrets can transfer colds to each other, so no kisses should be given to or by whichever is sick.’

They are hard to potty train, but it can definitely be done. Yelling at them or scolding them when they do something wrong, such as go to the bathroom on the floor, will not teach them. They don’t respond to negative discipline like dogs do – they learn by repeated behavior. Potty on the floor= cage time. Potty in the pan= a treat and freedom to roam. They’ll eventually pick up on the patterns.

I do suggest looking into vets in the area before you buy one for your girlfriend. Not many vets know about ferrets, but some do, so trying to find one beforehand will be pretty important.

The biggest benefit of owning ferrets is the constant fun from watching them, the way they talk to you and each other, and the unconditional love and adoration every ferret owner is gifted.

A great accessory to accompany the little fuzzy is called, “Ferrets for Dummies”.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470139439/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0764552597&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0FPHC68QJ1Q9BF4H3E8J

They are very VERY smelly!

@mramsey Not true. If they’re properly taken care of, their odor is not strong.

Mine were only VERY smelly during breeding , when the female came into heat and the male sensed it . Even then its not an over powering smell , and each ferret has its own smell its how they tell each other apart that and the noises they make .

@DrasticDreamer Oh. Good to know. My neighbor had one and their house always smelled so bad. And that was my mom’s excuse for not letting me get a ferret. Excuses, excuses. lol

@mramsey Yeah, your neighbors probably got lazy. ;) They do require a lot of attention and care though, so they aren’t always the best pet for a lot of people.

@DrasticDreamer Thanks very much.

OK, I am not a ferret owner. I am a person who did not rent a house because of the stench from the ferrets when we walked in the front door.

I suspect people who say they don’t smell are like smokers who do not smell the stench on their own clothes or cars or whatever.

Well people who don’t care for their cats or dogs properly also have very smelly houses. It’s hard to know whether that should be attributed to the animals or the people.

If you leave an apple its gonna rot , if you do not care for the ferrets properly and clean everything its gonna stink . Remember they are meat eaters and raw meat at that , use your loaf ( brains) clean up after em

@Marina Yeah… No. Lazy owners is the problem. Not the ferrets themselves.

If your gf has a keen sense of smell as I do, the smell may be pretty overpowering no matter how well cared for they are.

The closest I can liken it to is the same type of strong musky smell as an opposum. Even if you have them descented this is not completely eliminated, just lessened.

This is the animals natural scent and some folks find it more objectionable than others. I once lived in a house share with a ferret owner who was a responsible pet owner and took good care of her ferrets. She even had them litter box trained. They were kept in her own room 90% of the time so were not really problematic to the household.

However, after she moved the house owner had to rip out the carpeting and have the floor in her room re-sanded. This was a last resort after trying every other cleaning method to get rid of the smell.

It was not an issue of the animals not being cared for. This is their natural smell. The reason I know that it’s like an oppossum is because I was present at a zoo demo with an oppossum who had been born and raised in captivity so was tame enough to pet. THE EXACT SAME SMELL. And obviously the zoo takes good care of it’s animals especially those used for petting demos.

As I said, some people are ok with the smell and others are not. It’s a musky smell typical of many wild animals and there is no way to eliminate it completely.

They are really cute and adorable but that smell is the primary reason why I have cats. You are really the one who knows you gf best, but it’s always a little tricky getting any kind of pet as a surprise gift for someone and most animal organizations caution against it (particularly as a complete surprise) for many reasons.

How important is it that this be a surprise? Is there any way you could determine how much of a problem the smell may or may not be for her? It’s sort of like the taste of Cilantro. Some people can’t stand it while others are ok with it and there is no in between.

Thanks for the GA, @Buttonstc. These kinds of gifts should never be surprises. She and I have been discussing all the posts on here, and doing our own research.

We have decided not to do it, because it would be too hard to protect the ferret from all the dangers in her old, tiny, NYC apartment, crisscrossed with electrical cables.

Thanks to everyone else, too.

This is just a little aside that I think is interesting. When my husband was a kid growing up in Australia he used his pet ferrets to hunt rabbits. He would turn the ferret loose down a rabbit hole and the ferret would chase the rabbit out the other end where someone would be waiting to catch it. Course rabbits usually have more than one entrance and exit so the kids and ferrets would have a good old time chasing the poor bunny all over the place. I think I would have enjoyed growing up here, except of course, girls had to stay home and mind the littleies, they didn’t get to go along and do the fun stuff. I probably would have rebelled!

I like ferrets, they do have a particular odor, sort of musty/musky. I never found it objectionable but some folks do. Always seemed stronger in non-desexed ones. And they are devilish, into everything, so your decision is probably a wise one, too bad though, they are more fun than television most nights.

I guess I should read more carefully :)

I realized belatedly that you only said gift and not anything about surprise duh for me.

Well, since you’ve decided against it here’s something you may want to consider. How about a young cat who is past the nosy kitten stage. Little kittens are as much trouble as ferrets in terms of getting into trouble all over an apt.

But shelters are full of delightful young adult cats whose chances for adoption are near zero for no other reason than everybody wants only kittens.

Every cat I’ve had except my first was adopted by me when they were young adults which is what every kitten will be in about 6months anyway.

Just a thought.

We have a cat. We love our cat. Thanks.

Pros: -When I got my ferrets, they were litter box trained
-They are cute when they cuddle
-They are playful and fun
-Some of them are cuddly
-If you bathe them once every few months, they don’t smell

Cons: -They need a vet-check up once a year, with rabies shots
-They need their cage cleaned weekly, and litter boxes emptied daily
-You need to ferret proof your house or they will get into things
-They need a very large cage (mine was $200)
-They need at least 4 hours out of cage time DAILY. I deffinitely wouldn’t recommend them to someone who works long hours or is away from home alot.
-For vacation, it is hard to find a pet sitter

Bottom line: Ferrets aren’t for everybody, but they make great pets for a responsible owner who understands their needs. Also, they eat dry kibble like dogs or cats, you can find this at petco. They need a water bottle and cat toys, and I recommend blankets and old towels as bedding. (NEVER use shavings as litter, this can cause breathing problems, use recycled pelleted newspaper, or shredded paper. Also never use cat litter because this can get caught in their nose and suffocate them. )