Ferrets (56k Warn)

[talliven]

I had a ferret for a couple years till he died of cancer.  He never bit anyone and used the litterbox about 95% of the time.  As long as you bath them once a week the smell aint too bad either.  Id gladly get another except with 2 cats and a 2 week old son, we have a full house.  Once the older cat dies (16yrs old now), might just get another ferret.

[Hawklore]

Originally posted by Roscoroo
Wooden Furnature .... hmmmm .. i got lots of wood and my Ferret (Woogie) has never touched it .. (He is going on his 7th year now)
Very well behaved , uses the litter box , and loves to play ...

Its really in how they are trained when young ... to many people get them and abuse them .. mine is perfectly behaved and a well mannered little thief .

the word NO!!! and very rarely a thump on the nose seam to work best along with quality time spent with them . dont get over ruff in play with them or let the other amimals get to ruff with them for very long or they will become biters ,Also if youve never owned one befor watch them with your cat , they can become to agressive and can kill a cat .

in my cage i cut the wire bottem out of half of it and put in a good metal 1 1/2in high pan that i fill with 1/2 inch litter ... then paper the rest of the gage ( he always goes in one spot in the litter pan and its really easy to dump every couple of days .)
Also Bath them once a week (i just toss mine in the tub they swim very well)...this keeps there scent down even the descented ones still smell . Baby shampoo works good.

now some people may dissagree with this but mine has been on a diet of meow mix , ferret tone (vitamins)every 3rd feeding, a weekly can of tuna fish , and Pizza for his whole life .
 I am afraid that this is his last year though, He is not putting on his winter weight and is getting tired alot sooner .

Yep, they are gonna get a can of tuna a week..

But, I've heard you gotta keep sugars away from them, and pizza has some sugars in it..

[Roscoroo]

suger isnt really good for them .. but the small amount thats in pizza or cheese type crackers doesnt hurt them at all .. chocolate is a no no.

Im not talking a huge slice but a about the last inch befor ya get to the crust type of slice once and a while .. its a treat for them. you can also give them a piece of what ever meat your eating also  . they are mainly carnivores and protiens are very important in there diet . a small amount of milk is ok too, but only once and awhile ,,, but make it a very small amount . raw egg also . they do need some fiber though .and they get that from the dry cat food.

Ive owned 5 ferrets over the years and ive found that a catfood type diet seams to be alot better then a just ferret food type diet .  i've tried offering bolth foods at the same time and they will ignore the ferret food most of the time .they know what they need and will only eat so much at a time. They can also survive for a week without food .. but ive never let mine go for more then a day without fulling his dish.

most of my Ferrets lived long lives 6-8 yrs (one escaped thru a dryer vent though and was lost )7 yrs is around avg for a domestic .

If you find that it uses a corner for a bathroom in the house, its a good idea to put a litter pan there for it. Ive had to do this for a few of mine ..  but once there well litter trained they will ussually jump back in the cage to go .

also be shure they have toys to play with ,Balls with bells and squeaky things and always favorites ..