Ferret Question...

[WhyTeDraGon]

Im thinking of getting a ferret soon, ive been reading up alot on them, and im looking for one with a cage. Anyway....im just stuck at one thing, that ive gotten many different views on....what to feed them??

So anyone out there with ferrets, can you give me any info on this? I go to one site and it will tell me QUALITY cat foods or kitten foods are supreme. And then another site will say NO NO...stick with an all ferret food and a bit of protein from rodents or cooked meats. I know I dont want to feed an all rodent diet (have also read this is a good choice), so im looking for a way around this. I have owned exotics before (Sugar Gliders), so im aware about a balanced diet, though im also aware it can never be perfect. But id like to try anyway

If you buy ferret foods, can you tell me where you get them, cost, etc?
Also, one more question....I was thinking of getting a fixed male, but if I decide to get a female who is fixed...do I not need to worry about the heat cycle?

Thanks bunches!!

~Crystal

 

[LPacker79]

With ferret diets, it's all about the ingredients. They're allergic to corn, and it can cause many health problems with them. Their systems are also not capable of digesting fruits and vegetables. A vast majority of the ferret food out there is pure crap, plain and simple. The good ferret foods are very similar to the good cat foods out there, so pay attention to the ingredients. Also, you should feed a mixture of 3 different foods so that your ferret doesn't get stuck on one food just in case the company changes the ingredients or stops making it.

Here is a link to a list of GOOD ferret foods.

Good ferret foods

Choose 3 foods with a rating of a 9 or a 10. Also, a lot of the ferret treats out there are really really awful. If you want to give your ferret a treat, just give him/her some cooked unseasoned meats. They also love Ferretone/Linatone, which is a skin/coat supplement. However, it's very high in Vitamin A, so should be mixed half and half with some olive oil. Don't give too much, no more than a dime sized drop a day. In addition, find a good recipe for "duck soup." It is VERY important that your ferret likes duck soup, especially in case of illnesses. Don't use the store made version, it's junk. It's very easy to make yourself, and is essential!

Ferrets are great pets, but are a lot of work. They need at least 4 hours of out of cage time, but more is better of course. My boy is out romping around anytime I'm home and awake.
If you get a kit, be prepared to do some nip training. Those little teeth can bite HARD! When I first got my Rally I had battle wounds all over my hands and legs. He learned quickly though (Don't EVER hit your ferret or flick his nose, you can severely harm them by doing that). Also, don't be alarmed if your ferret thinks chasing you is fun. Most ferrets seem to have a foot fetish.

They'll turn your life upside down, and on some days they'll frustrate you to no end, but a look from that cute face, or a dooking sound that lets you know they're happy is enough to make it all worth it.

Good luck!

 

[Fini]

When I had my two ferrets they only got Totally Ferret! It's just about the only commerical diet with all of the goods.

Good luck!

 

[WhyTeDraGon]

Well I have a male in mind for $100 without cage. His name is Fatso Ratso, hehe.
He's about 2 years old, and I think he'd go great with my family because he LOVES people and he loves dogs

Thank you so much for the food info, ill definitely be checking that list out!
Reminds me of the list I had for my Sugar Gliders

Next month is my birthday, so im hoping my fiance agrees to let me get one as an early present. He was going to buy me a miniature poodle, but I feel I would like a ferret instead. I have 2 miniature poodles already. I guess I dont feel my life is complete unless ive got a zoo! lol. Ive never had a ferret, and have always wanted one. My fiance says he's not too fond of them, but he loves playing with them when we go to pet shops.

Im aware that he will be getting into EVERYTHING, so ill be ferret proofing my house before he comes home, for sure! I need to hide all of my socks, ahhh!!
Ill be sure to buy him plenty of his own toys, tunnels, PVC pipes, etc to play with. And im sure my dogs will just LOVE another companion. They loved my rats

And of course I wont hit or flick his nose....you sound like me when I was giving out Sugar Glider info, hehe

Anyway, thanks so much for the replies and the useful information. Ill be sure to post pics once I get my little guy

 

[Fini]

Make sure you get plenty of stuff for the corners. Yep. The corners of any room that he's allowed into. They have this rather nasty habit of backing up into just about any found corner to do their business. I used to put little ornamental things or plants in the corners to prevent them from doing it on my carpet. I don't care so much about the hardwood; it's easy enough to clean up.

Good luck! I loved my ferrets and often think of them. They are great animals that are so naturally bubbling over with happiness. They make most Labradors look depressed.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

I know nothing about ferrets. But I know some about plexi glass . You could put 3 square ft of plexi glass on the floor in every corner. That would make cleaning easier if it becomes nessessary.

 

[Fini]

Thats not a bad idea. If you can keep their pee from running around or underneath the plexi it would be an outstanding solution.

I'm not sure what their obsession was with corners, but they had it! Now if you could control them from stealing socks...

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Thats not a bad idea. If you can keep their pee from running around or underneath the plexi it would be an outstanding solution.

I'm not sure what their obsession was with corners, but they had it! Now if you could control them from stealing socks...

I know nothing about socks, but you could put them under plexi glass Alternatively you could give the ferret a few pairs of old socks and lock up the rest in an bomb shelter or something

And for the pee running... The walls in the corner could also be covered with plexi up to an appropriate height and merged with the rest of the sheet. You could then glue tiny distancers (or whatever they would be called) on the underside of the sheet and only arround the edges facing away from the corner. That way the sheet would bend down towards the corner of the room, gathering all the pee there. But you would have to be smart about merging the wall parts and the floor-sheet... the wall parts should be touching the ground and then the floor-sheet should be pushed towards them before glueing. That in order to keep the bend intact.

As glue you could use 30% hot glue and 70% silicone just to fill up the rest. Using hot glue all the way would be a waste of building material I guess. But it could take a lot more of a beating. Plexi and silicone arn't nessessarily best friends. That's why I'd recommend the "mix".

 

[WhyTeDraGon]

My fiance is saying that ferrets stink, and he doesnt want me to get one. lol.
Ive never really listened to him before though anyway
I honestly dont think they smell bad, unless of course it's an unaltered male. My Sugar Gliders didnt stink until I have had 6 of them, lol. And it's only bad if you dont clean their cages on a regular basis.

 

[Mandi]

i bathed mine once a week and he only got smelly when my roomates cat was in heat =)

I had an albino.. he got into my hair dye one night because the cat knocked it over, so for a while I had a pink ferret lol

 

[LPacker79]

Overbathing ferrets is a good way to raise their odor. They don't need baths, and when you bathe them it strips their natural oils and the body works harder to replace them, which ups the musky odor. Really the only time they need to be bathed if if they get into something they shouldn't be into. Absolutely no more than once every 4 months, at the very most frequent. If the bedding is washed once a week and the litter cleaned daily, there's very little odor. Most ferrets do like to play in water though, and putting a few inches of water (without soap) in the bathtub and some toys will make them very happy.

Also, if you give them enough litterboxes (i.e. one in just about every corner), accidents will be few and far between. Because they have short legs and very short digestive tracts, they just can't make it a long ways to a litter box and will find the closest corner.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Reading this thread I'm starting to learn about as much about ferrets as I already know about plexi glass!

Hm... why do I get the sudden urge that I want one too? There is something odd in the air in this thread . Only sad that I don't have the right kind of flat for a ferret....unless you look at it from a sanitary standpoint because it would never be far to the litter box.