# Least Weasels as pets?



## lizardminion

Due to their small size, I'd assume they'd be a cool exotic pet. And knowing the people here at AB keep way more than Ts, I'd thought this'll be the right place to ask. Does anyone keep a Least Weasel as a pet or heard of them as pets?


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## AzJohn

why not get a ferret

Reactions: Agree 1


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## lizardminion

AzJohn said:


> why not get a ferret


Well, I was only asking.
Not to mention ferrets are about 5 times bigger.


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## Hayden

They don't live very long at all. Shorter life expectancy than a rat.


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## Arianji

Yeah very true on the life expectancy portion, these guys cap out at just over a year in the wild. I have read they can live up to six in captivity. I have only ever heard of wildlife rehabilitation programs having them though, I have never known of anybody who keeps them privately. But that is the real question, where would you even get one?      
     I kinda do have to agree with AzJohn, a ferret would probably be your better bet. They live longer, there is a lot more information on them, relatively inexpensive, a lot of supplies devoted to their care, and they are domesticated. Wild animals tamed and kept as pets are always a wild card, especially predatory one. Though it may be little and cute you would hate for it to snap one day and kill your other pets. Plus say you even procured a young one, still able to be tamed and it gets sick, who will treat your weasel? Exotic vet bills are a steep price, plus the vet probably has never treated one. If you have a female she will have to be spayed or she will bleed to death when she goes into heat. 
     I don't mean to rain on your parade but animals are domesticated for a reason, we breed out the undesirable traits to make them adapted to captive life. I know you probably want the edge of having a wild animal vs an easy come by pet, but dogs go better in the house than wolves, same with weasels and ferrets.      
     Don't get me wrong, if somebody comes up and says "Do you want a free, neutered/spayed, tame, healthy, juvenile least weasel?" then say "YES!" but otherwise I wouldn't go out of my way to obtain one. 
     Try a ferret if you like the idea of the weasel, they really are fun. But if you are still curious on least weasel information here is a good site (pertaining to their wild existence)

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Mustela_nivalis.html 

     And here is another one dealing with the rehabilitation of the animals, note this is not a sight meant to be used for their long term keep, but it does give you some useful information if by some stroke of luck someone graces you with a weasel.

http://foxwoodrehab.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/05/weasels_the_coo.html

    And here is one on ferrets 

http://www.ferrets.org/Caring_For_Ferrets.htm

Reactions: Like 1


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## lizardminion

Alright, I was just curious if they have any business as an exotic pet. (And they don't) Thanks for the info!

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## catfishrod69

I have thought about catching weasels and breeding them, then turning the parents loose. Would be like having minature ferrets, i love ferrets. But its going to be highly unlikely the young will be able to be handled. They are vicious little critters.

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## pitbulllady

catfishrod69 said:


> I have thought about catching weasels and breeding them, then turning the parents loose. Would be like having minature ferrets, i love ferrets. But its going to be highly unlikely the young will be able to be handled. They are vicious little critters.


I've seen one captive Least Weasel, and if you can imagine the most-hyper ferret EVER...on crystal meth...you might have a slight glimpse as to what a weasel is like!  They not only are very, very high-strung, but they are also extremely nervous animals that can easily stress and die within a few seconds over what you'd think was nothing, and that's what happened to the one I mentioned.  The mere appearance of a dog near its enclosure(the dog paid no attention to it at all)was enough to send it into a frenzy, followed by seizures and death.  They live their brief lives at 200 miles per hour, it seems, and burn out very quickly.

pitbulllady


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## lizardminion

Well, I'm sure problems like these can be bred out by domestication as they were in the Russian silver fox experiment...

Reactions: Like 1


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## pouchedrat

I've seen weasels as pets on an exotic UK forum I used to visit quite frequently (there are some awesome small exotic mammals being kept over in the UK that just aren't available in the USA).  From what I remember, they're still nasty little creatures in captivity and very hyper.  Even moreso than ferrets.  They also deliver quite the painful bite.


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## jayefbe

lizardminion said:


> Well, I'm sure problems like these can be bred out by domestication as they were in the Russian silver fox experiment...


The silver fox experiment covered 50 years of selective breeding of a social animal that is closely related to a species that has shown great response to human domestication. Least weasels are secretive, highly aggressive hunters, and highly territorial. I don't believe anyone would be able to achieve results similar to those of the silver fox experiments.

Reactions: Like 3


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## pitbulllady

jayefbe said:


> The silver fox experiment covered 50 years of selective breeding of a social animal that is closely related to a species that has shown great response to human domestication. Least weasels are secretive, highly aggressive hunters, and highly territorial. I don't believe anyone would be able to achieve results similar to those of the silver fox experiments.


Very true.  Geneticists have even identified the gene that is responsible, that can be "activated" through selective breeding, but if that gene is not present, you're not going to get the same results as with the silver foxes. Not surprisingly, many canine species have this gene. American fur farmers have tried the same thing with ranched mink, to no avail.  As closely related as mink are to ferrets, they remain aggressive biters, even when bottle-fed and captive-bred for generations.

Here's another tidbit of information about Least weasels that would make breeding them highly impracticle:  females are impregnated when only a few DAYS old, when their eyes are still closed.  A male weasel will track down a female that has just given birth to a litter and wait for her to leave for hunting, then he will enter the den and mate with the females in the litter, even though they're no larger than pinkie mice at this point, and he will kill all the male offspring if they aren't sired by him.  The female babies grow up pregnant, storing sperm until they are old enough to give birth, at which time the embryos will implant and begin to grow.

pitbulllady


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## ScarecrowGirl

pitbulllady said:


> females are impregnated when only a few DAYS old, when their eyes are still closed.  A male weasel will track down a female that has just given birth to a litter and wait for her to leave for hunting, then he will enter the den and mate with the females in the litter, even though they're no larger than pinkie mice at this point, and he will kill all the male offspring if they aren't sired by him.  The female babies grow up pregnant, storing sperm until they are old enough to give birth, at which time the embryos will implant and begin to grow.
> 
> pitbulllady


That's down right crazy! I love learning new things<3


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## Tleilaxu

pitbulllady said:


> Very true.  Geneticists have even identified the gene that is responsible, that can be "activated" through selective breeding, but if that gene is not present, you're not going to get the same results as with the silver foxes. Not surprisingly, many canine species have this gene. American fur farmers have tried the same thing with ranched mink, to no avail.  As closely related as mink are to ferrets, they remain aggressive biters, even when bottle-fed and captive-bred for generations.
> 
> *Here's another tidbit of information about Least weasels that would make breeding them highly impracticle:  females are impregnated when only a few DAYS old, when their eyes are still closed.  A male weasel will track down a female that has just given birth to a litter and wait for her to leave for hunting, then he will enter the den and mate with the females in the litter, even though they're no larger than pinkie mice at this point*, and he will kill all the male offspring if they aren't sired by him.  *The female babies grow up pregnant, storing sperm until they are old enough to give birth, at which time the embryos will implant and begin to grow.*
> 
> pitbulllady

Reactions: Like 1


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## ridelikethewind

*Ozzy the Least Weasel*

Ever see the vid's on Ozzy the Weasel? SOOOOOO cute!!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy6oaDzy0-Q and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWvQn_GYwYw Just go to You Tube and type in Ozzy the Weasel! Lots of cute vid's!


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## beanb142002

I found this video last year.

Quite adorable...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jthorntonwillis

*Re:*

Sounds a lot (sadly) like Amy Winehouse and Janis Joplin....:cry:



pitbulllady said:


> I've seen one captive Least Weasel, and if you can imagine the most-hyper ferret EVER...on crystal meth...you might have a slight glimpse as to what a weasel is like!  They not only are very, very high-strung, but they are also extremely nervous animals that can easily stress and die within a few seconds over what you'd think was nothing, and that's what happened to the one I mentioned.  The mere appearance of a dog near its enclosure(the dog paid no attention to it at all)was enough to send it into a frenzy, followed by seizures and death.  They live their brief lives at 200 miles per hour, it seems, and burn out very quickly.
> 
> pitbulllady


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## SamuraiSid

In that case, I feel very sorry for the Mustela nivalis pet videos on youtube. The one where the animal appears to be playing with its owners finger.... Guess he never got the memo that hes supposed to die when he gets attention.... :sarcasm:


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## cantthinkofone

another necro thread revived. an interesting one at that. sounds like my dog has been taking lessons from weasels. little speedy ankle biter...


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## vargulf

pitbulllady said:


> Very true.  Geneticists have even identified the gene that is responsible, that can be "activated" through selective breeding, but if that gene is not present, you're not going to get the same results as with the silver foxes. Not surprisingly, many canine species have this gene. American fur farmers have tried the same thing with ranched mink, to no avail.  As closely related as mink are to ferrets, they remain aggressive biters, even when bottle-fed and captive-bred for generations.
> 
> Here's another tidbit of information about Least weasels that would make breeding them highly impracticle:  females are impregnated when only a few DAYS old, when their eyes are still closed.  A male weasel will track down a female that has just given birth to a litter and wait for her to leave for hunting, then he will enter the den and mate with the females in the litter, even though they're no larger than pinkie mice at this point, and he will kill all the male offspring if they aren't sired by him.  The female babies grow up pregnant, storing sperm until they are old enough to give birth, at which time the embryos will implant and begin to grow.
> 
> pitbulllady


You are so full of shite, it's not even funny. Both of your comments about the least weasel are completely false. They do not die if a large animal gets to close. Nor do they breed at birth. Christ. Some people.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Venom1080

vargulf said:


> You are so full of shite, it's not even funny. Both of your comments about the least weasel are completely false. They do not die if a large animal gets to close. Nor do they breed at birth. Christ. Some people.


lol this threads old and dead, no need to create drama over it. even if you are right.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Tleilaxu

Pitbull lady has quite a bit of personal experience with these animals I would not be snarking at her lightly. That said it's a shame she is not on anymore.

So cool it Little whipper snapper.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Najakeeper

vargulf said:


> You are so full of shite, it's not even funny. Both of your comments about the least weasel are completely false. They do not die if a large animal gets to close. Nor do they breed at birth. Christ. Some people.


She is thinking of stoats, not weasels. Stoat (_Mustela erminea)_ females are sexually mature at the age of 2–3 weeks whilst still blind, deaf and hairless, and are usually mated with adult males before being weaned.


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## sschind

Najakeeper said:


> She is thinking of stoats, not weasels. Stoat (_Mustela erminea)_ females are sexually mature at the age of 2–3 weeks whilst still blind, deaf and hairless, and are usually mated with adult males before being weaned.


That's still a far cry from a few DAYS in my book


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## Najakeeper

sschind said:


> That's still a far cry from a few DAYS in my book


Yeah, of course, but the point is they are sexually mature before being fully mature, which is quite interesting. Pedophilia is the norm in the stoat world.


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## Utkudakid

You know what's funny?
Weasels take on many bigger animals than theirselves,and they are much more brave than nearly anything their size.


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## Tinopark

lizardminion said:


> Well, I'm sure problems like these can be bred out by domestication as they were in the Russian silver fox experiment...


I agree and I want one as a pet as well I saw one in my garden the smorrning


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## The Snark

Total weasel-stoat experience: Observing Nuisance, aka P.I.T.A. for an evening. Something in the weasel family. Job description: emptying cupboards and clearing off every last item on tables/shelves/flat surfaces.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Rhino1

This thread is ancient. I've heard of weasels but not least weasels.
Hmm least weasels and more ferrets.


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