Is a ferret the right pet for me?

[ferret ponderer]

I have been thinking about getting a pet. I grew up with dogs and
miss them, but know I wouldn't have enough time/mobility to walk&care
for a dog at the moment. I'm also allergic to a lot of animals but
read that ferrets are less likely to cause allergies, but would still
be interactive, playful and strokeable. However I don't know anyone
who owns a ferret and so would really appreciate your opinions/advice.

How much interaction time to ferrets need each day?
How much out of cage time (free in room/walking) do they need per day?
How much do ferrets interact?
How much does it cost to keep a ferret per year? (food, bedding,
vaccinations, vet bills etc.)
Are there any other things to be aware of about ferrets as pets -
potentials problems and joys?

Thank you very much for your advice!

Rhea

[Natalia]

Hello Rhea!

Out of my experience, ferrets are just great :) 

Daily attention: they need about 3 hours / day out of the cage (this is the official data, we keep ours to roam free in the house with the doors of the 'dangerous rooms' closed). Get her/him a couple of toys and play as much as you want to. They sleep 18, sometimes even 20 hours a day, rest of the time: they play. But they are ok if you leave them for the daytime.

When you play with them they are very interactive, they come out if you call them, you'd beter have a stuffed toy rather than your hands to play with directly as they like pulling things and if they do that to your hand, it hurts. Other than that, once they are tamed (and it doesn't take much time and effort), you can pick them up, caress them, they even eat out of your hand.

Mine have never walked outside yet as she is a bit scared of the 'great outdoors'. I am trying to take her out to the sunshine in the patio every now and again but she speeds back in as much as she can.

Attention-wise they need food twice a day (mostly meat/animal parts/fish/chicken cooked to make sure there's no spoilage in it, if you add a spoonful of baby food -the meaty ones- or ferret vitamin paste they should be healthy, and dry ferret kibble also exists, I can recommend that, but keep the food varied), they need fresh water all the time (they drink quite a lot) and they need a litter tray (no wood shavings but either odorless cat litter or toilet paper strips, anything that doesn't smell and does not get powdery to protect the ferret's nose). The litter tray needs daily cleaning (it's for your own good, not the ferret's). Also, be aware that they hide bits of food here and there, so if they roam free in the room, keep an eye on hiding places and throw out meat pieces you find. 

If you keep them in a cage, look on gumtree or ebay: a smaller rabbit hutch does the business already but if you want to be nice with the ferret, buy a bigger one with 2 levels, they will be happier. 

If you can have 2 ferrets, that's the best, they entertain each other :) So your duty of entertainment is less already. Ok, duty of cleaning goes up a bit.

Prices and costs: 

I take her to Ormeau road vet, I can tell about their prices. Girl ferrets always cost a bit more initially, I will tell you about that in a bit.

So, you need a flea/ear mite treatment, such as Stronghold / Frontline, it is about £20 for 3 bottles which is enough for 9 months. 

Canine distemper jabs are essential yearly, they cost about £25 at the vet.

If it's a girl (mine is): they are a bit more problematic, as they need to be bred every year or injected with the 'jill jab' or neutered (if you don't want to breed your ferret, meybe this is the best solulion). This needs to be done as their hormonal cycle is messed up: they come in season in April, their little bodies start producing estrogen like crazy and if they are not bred, it doesn't stop which can cause them serious health problems, even kill them, so you need to do something about it: breeding is a bit too early if you never had a ferret, jill jab is a good solution but it needs to be done every year, or spaying, which costs £64 at Ormeau, they did a good job, no complications and that solves this problem forever, but no ferret babies from this little one anymore (I got mine spayed).

Bedding: use cold clothes / cloths for their sleeping place, soft stuff, once they have it, it can stay there. Toilet material is not expensive, as I said I use loo paper, so 1 roll/week is more than enough. They will love soft toys, mine took my plush doggy from me and fell in love with it. Food: baby food is about 50p for a jar that lasts for a week (I use it as an addition), they can eat any kind of meat as long as it's cooked (strictly no salt/spices/sugar), ferret vitamins cost about £7, lasts for ages, dry ferret food is about £10 for a huge pack (enough for a month at least), and if you ask your local butcher for pieces that are fresh but he cannot sell such as pig ears and stuff like that, cheap pieces, you can sort fresh food out of little money too.

I have no insurance on my ferret yet, but thinking about it for medical emergencies, it costs £7-8 a month, only one company does it that I know of, exoticdirect.co.uk 

Joys: they are a great playmate, they are up for a game every time and when they are awake, they never stop. And when you are near, they will wake up for you to play with them. The sounds they make are just adorable :) 

Some things to know of: They love scratching the carpet. They do a bit of damage but it it's not a Persian stupidly expensive one, nothing really bad. They need to be trained not to bite and you need to be trained not to be scared of them. If you get an adulot who wasn't handled well, they might bite but good education can stop it in a week / 2 weeks (education: say 'no' sharply and hold the ferret down by the nack for 30 secs or just a little slap, not on the nose, but the face does it too). It does worth it to have someone around you who has confident hand moves, I learned a lot from my vet and from a friend who had a very stable hand and no fear of biting. My ferret was not gently handled before I got her, but after 2 bites I never got any more and now she can be picked up no problem. Bites don't do much damage to your hands, so don't worry about them, more than likely you'll get 1 or 2 and no more.

If you want to see one live, you can see mine, I live in Belfast, tel me know and we can arrange a ferret meeting :) 

All the best,

Natalia

[Natalia]

I re-read my post and it's horrendously filled with spelling mistakes Well, typing mistakes, that is, sorry, I was typing quite fast and didn't pay attention.
Other: I wrote pig ears for food, I'd like to change my point: better be safe than sorry, no pork for them (it was a more experienced ferret keeper's advice to me - thanks Ivana!).

[muirne]

Ferrets LOVE Routine.
Ferrets adjust to your daily routine. You choose when to have then out
and about. For most of the day and night they are asleep and you can
carry on with your job or housework without worry.
I take my ferrets out from their cage at least twice a day; once in
the morning and again in the evening. Depending on the day I'll have
them out from between 1/2 hour to an hour at a time.

Ferrets will use a litter tray and it is really easy to train them.
Ferrets will do anything for a treat!

Just like dogs they each have their own personality. They interact
with you and want to play with you.
They will also play with each other, chasing, hiding, fighting.

Ferrets need to be supervised. This is so that they don't get
themselves into a dangerous situation (eg. in an air vent) and hurt
themselves.

Ferrets eat small amounts often. All you have to do is keep a full
container of dry food secured to their cage.

[Natalia]

Oh, since I have Jitsu (that's the name we came up with), Mocha and her perfectly entertain each other. They are never bored. All they do is eat, sleep, play and poop. They are very loveable when they play and sleep...and eat.... I'm not too keen on the pooping bit, but as long as they do it in the 'covered corners' that's not much extra work for me.

So get 2 of them and they will always be happy :)