Ferrets As Pets
Ferrets have gained great popularity as pets, especially for people who don’t have room for larger or more vocal animals but want something that’s both cuddly and vivacious as well as endlessly entertaining. Ferrets take their tomfoolery quite seriously, every bit as seriously as they take their down time, when you will find your lap is likely to be a choice spot for your ferret - or ferrets to snuggle down and recharge.
There are special responsibilities and unique care taking demands for ferrets, but that is true of any companion animal and part of the reason we love our animals; the need to care for something other than ourselves is one of the finer traits of humankind, almost as well developed as it is in other species, like dogs.
One of the most important peculiarities about ferrets is that the females, if they are not to be bred, need to be spayed. Sexed females that are not bred almost invariably develop a painful and fatal condition called aplastic anemia, so one of the first rules of order for your ferret - at least your female - should be a spay. Most people have them de-scented at the same time, but this practice is coming into question. The musk glands that give the ferret their distinctive smell aren’t part of the scent glands that are surgically removed, and since ferrets don’t spray from those scent glands like their cousins, the polecats, but merely let them discharge in a puddle that’s easily wiped up with no lingering odor, the standard operating procedure of automatically removing those organs is being looked at as an unnecessarily invasive procedure.
For your ferret to inhabit a Ferretopia, you should make sure it has (or they have - ferrets are notoriously social creatures) a safe place to live and play when you aren’t there to supervise. Since they are possessed of insatiable curiosity and have precious little sense when it comes to their own safety, leaving a ferret (or worse, ferrets) to roam your living space at large, unsupervised, is just not a good idea. Think in terms of a two year old with the physical capability to go anywhere it wishes and get into anything it sees. A friend of mine lost one of his ferrets to an unauthorized ride in the clothes dryer.
Cages designed especially for ferrets are plentiful, diverse and available in almost any price range. Some are expandable; you can add onto them as your bank account and living space allow. Don’t, though, beat yourself up if you can’t set them up with a super deluxe four story condo right off the bat. They’re going to sleep a majority of the time, so you can schedule their out of the cage playtime during the hours when they’re normally awake; that way you can thoroughly enjoy their antics.
One addition to the ferret cage that will provide them - and you - endless amusement is a hammock. There’s nothing quite as adorable as ferrets snoozing in a hammock, except ferrets getting ready to snooze in a hammock, falling out of it, flipping, and indulging in characteristic ferret mania.
It’s not a utopian world without good grub, and more reputable manufacturers are putting higher quality ferret kibble on the shelves. Quite a few ferret owners are doing their homework and switching to raw feeding for their little buddies, too.
Ferrets aren’t much given to wearing clothes. While our dogs - and even some cats - tolerate our foibles with great humor and do a good job of accommodating us, it’s pretty difficult to dress up a fur covered Slinky. One item that is worn by fashionable ferrets, though, is a harness and lead. Hey, ferrets like to get out and see the world, too, just don’t expect your ferret to heel. Walking a ferret is more like performance art - macrame style, or having your own mobile agility course, but they are great conversation starters!
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