Guide to Pet Ferret Care

Ferrets are one of the most playful and entertaining pets that you could possibly have.  On top of that, they are also very curious, as well as very smart. Because of this, they require lots of training and interactions with their owners in order to better bond with them.

Female ferrets are more commonly referred to as jills, while the male ferrets are called hobs.  And if there is a baby ferret, it is called a kits. Throughout North America, female ferrets who are neutered are referred to as sprites, while their counterparts, the neutered males are referred to as gibs.  And if you have a group of ferrets that are all together, that is known as a ‘business of ferrets’.

Most of the ferrets that are available as pets in North America will already be neutered or spayed, as well as de-scented.  This is normally going to be done when they are younger and well before they are sold.

Being an adorable pet that is very high-energy, they tend to do best in smaller groups. This is why it is somewhat common to see owners of ferrets have more than one. They are a social animal and enjoy interaction with not just you, but with other ferrets as well.

But does a ferret make such a good pet?  Before you can answer this question, you must first understand exactly what a ferret really is.

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What Exactly is a Ferret?

Ferrets belong to the weasel family and have been used as domesticated pets for over the past 2,000 years.  While they don’t grow to be very large, they make up for their lack of size with their amazing energy, which makes them a large responsibility if you do decide to keep one as a pet.  In fact, they often times do require more attention and care than a pet dog or cat would.

With that being said, the rewards that you and your family will reap are going to far outweigh any negatives if you do decide to get one as a pet.  

Here are some basic facts that you should know prior to getting a ferret as a pet:

  • Scientific name – the ferret’s scientific name is Mustela putorius furo.
  • Typical lifespan – a ferret’s typical lifespan while in captivity (as a pet or at the zoo), is generally between 8 and 11 years.
  • Size and weight – ferrets usually end up being between 13 and 16 inches in length, and can get as heavy as 3 ½ pounds.
  • Care difficulty – ferrets require an intermediate amount of care.

While not necessarily completely nocturnal, ferrets are their most active at both dawn and dusk, spending a large part of the day sleeping or taking naps.  However, ferrets will adjust their sleeping schedule and the time of day that they are active to adapt to their owner’s schedule. This is a huge bonus if you do have, or are planning on getting a pet ferret.

There are often times some misconceptions about ferrets and whether or not they can be domesticated or not.  But to answer this question in a word, yes. Ferrets can be domesticated and have been for the past 2,000 years, first seeing American soil as far back as 300 years.

However, just because they have been around for hundreds of years, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are legal to own as pets in all places.  

Originally derived from the Latin furonem, the name ferret means to be a ‘thief’.  If you have a pet ferret, you will more than likely be able to attest to the meaning of their name, as they are constantly stealing just about anything that comes their way.  But don’t worry; whatever they steal they normally hide in their cage or house.

Coming from the same family as otters, badgers, weasels, wolverines, minks, polecats, and black-footed ferrets, ferrets and all of their cousins come from the ‘Mustelidae’ family.

While there is a mystery surrounding the ancestry of the domesticated ferret, as far as anybody knows, their closest relative would be the European polecat.  

Now that you know more about the ferret, what can you expect when you have one as a pet?

Ferret Temperament

Being highly intelligent, ferrets are also extremely social pets that thrive in a small group setting.  In fact, it is usually recommended that you don’t just adopt one ferret at a time, but rather adopt them in pairs so that there will always be a companion that they are able to socialize and play with.  

Ferrets do love to play, and some of the things that they enjoy include nipping, which means that they are going to require some kind of training to help them realize that nipping at people is not a behavior that is acceptable.  

Ferrets also tend to be extremely inquisitive.  This means that any and everything that you have in your house is going to be considered interesting to them.  So you would be wise to go out of your way and ‘ferret proof’ your home, helping to prevent them from getting stuck behind, between, or underneath different things around the house.  

You may want to think of them as being a baby that has just learned how to walk.  They are going to be interested in everything, which can potentially get them into trouble, or even hurt.

While they are generally going to be a bit more on the robust side when they play with other ferrets and smaller sized pets, they are absolutely not the kind of pet you are going to want in your house if you have small children.  It is better to wait until your children have grown to around the 12-13 year old range before introducing a ferret as the new family pet.

This is due to several different reasons, one of which is that ferrets are very easily injured, as they are not very big.  Since younger children lack the dexterity at that age, potentially leading to your ferret being injured.

Secondly, younger children can easily be scared or even injured by any potential nips or barred teeth.  This may not only lead to your child being injured, but can also lead to your ferret being injured as well.  Your child may drop or even hit the ferret in retaliation if this does happen.

Building the Perfect Ferret Home

When it comes to housing your ferret, you can leave them in a cage for most of the day as they sleep for such long stretches.  However, they are going to require a minimum of four hours outside of their cage as well. This means that you will need to go through and ferret proof your house as best you can, but then go through and ferret proof your house again after they have been out of their cage for the first time.

Just remember that when you are ferret proofing your home that you keep in mind how curious and smart ferrets really are, as well as the fact that they are smaller animals and can easily fit through most small spaces that you may not have thought of.

As for your ferret’s cage, they should typically contain at minimum of two different levels, as well as a nice, cozy hammock for them to lie in.  There should also be some sort of dark enclosure in their cage, like a wooden hut for example, that allows the ferret to build a nest to sleep in.

Towels and other similar types of fabrics are perfect for them to make their beds out of.  Just be sure to remember that this bedding is going to need to be washed very frequently, and the actual cage itself is also going to need to be scrubbed down on a regular basis.

Your ferret is also going to require several different litter boxes, one being inside its cage, and the rest being placed outside the cage for when the ferret is playing.  The absolute best litter that you can use for your ferret is going to be a combination of different shredded papers combined with newspaper-based kitty litters.

Like any pet, you are going to need to take your ferret into the vet’s office for periodic checkups.  For times like this when you are going to be transporting your little buddy, you will require a pet carrier, but one that has small enough gaps to prevent them from worming their way out of it.  Optional but highly recommended, you might also want to invest in a H-harness and leash too.

As for feeding dishes, try your best to use either a lock-on or heavy ceramic bowl.  These tend to work the best with ferrets and prevent them from spilling all of their food and water.  Which speaking of water bowls, expect them to eventually figure out how to tip it over, so using a water sipper bottle instead may be a good idea.

Feeding Your Ferret

Ferrets are carnivores, meaning that they must eat meat, and very constantly.  When a ferret eats a meal, it passes through their system very quickly, limiting the amount of nutrients that they are able to absorb.  And since they aren’t able to absorb any nutrients at all from plants, they must have a steady supply of protein and fats from animal meats in their diets.

Some excellent sources of foods for ferrets include meats and eggs.  You are going to want to avoid anything that is packed with lots of fibers or sugars, as well as try to stay away from any foods that contain any grains.  This is because these types of foods are not as easy for ferrets to digest as some of the others, and can even cause a specific kind of cancer that is known as insulinoma.

If you don’t want to make an extra meal for your ferret at dinnertime, there are also many different high quality ferret foods available.  With these, just be sure that you make sure and read the ingredients list. You are going to want to make sure that the food is not a fish-based one.  

Also, there are many ferrets’ foods that are just modified versions of mink food.  This is bad for ferrets because minks eat fish, ferrets don’t. In some cases, ferrets will even starve themselves so that they don’t have to eat the fish-based foods.

Exercising Your Ferret

There is no hiding the fact that ferrets simply love to play.  When they want to play with you, they will start to bounce around from side to side and front to back with all of their teeth showing, which can look quite ferocious.  When you do see them doing this, all they are doing is inviting you to come and play with them. If you bounce around with them, they will be very happy.

Besides bouncing, ferrets may also make giggling sounds and puff up their tail.  This only means that they are having a good time playing with you. On top of that, ferrets love to speed bump.  A speed bump is when a ferret stops moving and just lays on the floor being extremely still. If you see this and decide to touch them, it can make them really sad, because a ferret that is speed bumping is supposed to be invisible.

Ferrets also enjoy play fighting and wrestling.  While they will typically play pretty rough with each other, they will eventually learn to play less rough with humans if the human makes a little yelp when nipped.  Letting out a commanding ‘no’ will get the job done as well.

Grooming Your Ferret

Being a naturally clean animal, Ferrets spend lots of time tending to their fur very carefully.  While they do require a bowl of water so that they are able to wash their face, they clean the rest of themselves just as a cat would do.  

If you are going to give your pet ferret a bath, be sure that you do so sparingly.  Regular bathing can strip away all of the natural oils from their fur, causing them to make more.  The only problem is that when they make more, they over compensate big time! This means that they will get very smelly and their skin will start to dry out.

If you are playing with your ferret and they accidently let one go, or accidently roll through some muck, it is best to simply wipe them down with some type of soap free baby wipe or something similar.  Even a warm damp towel should do the trick. And if you’re not feeling like wiping them down, a swim in some water is also acceptable.

When you do give your pet ferret a bath (which should only happen about once every three months or so), you are going to want to use a soft all natural shampoo and conditioner that is designed for animals.  These are very gentle and will not strip away all the oils that they need on their fur and skin.

Like any animal, when you are giving them a bath, be sure to avoid any shampoo or conditioner from getting on their faces and ears.  However, you will need to clean your ferret’s ears on the regular as they can become very waxy. This can be done with a pet friendly ear cleaning solution and some cotton balls.

Finally, you are going to need to make sure and clip their nails on a regular basis.  This can be accomplished by using a small pair of regular human nail clippers. If you are uncomfortable doing this on your own, taking them to a professional nail clipper is an easy solution.

While ferrets may seem like a lot of work for a pet, they are actually very similar to the likes of a cat or dog.  But if you are able to look past all of the work that will need to be done for your pet ferret, you will find one of the most loving and playful animals ever.

Between their high energy, playful nature, and fun demeanor, your family will love their new pet.  Just be sure that you adhere to all of the above guidelines so your new pet stays healthy, clean and well fed.

While taking on a new pet of any kind is potentially a stressful situation, you can alleviate most of this by doing things in steps.  If you know that you want to get a pet ferret, take it one step at a time.

So before you go out and get the little guy, make sure that you have gotten everything that you will need in order to put together their cage.  Once you have successfully gotten their cage ready, move on to ferret-proofing your home. After this, go and get whatever type of food you are planning on feeding them.

By breaking everything down into smaller steps, it will be much easier to get setup without forgetting anything, meaning a much more pleasant time for you and pet ferret.  Just remember to take action one-step at a time and you will have your new ferret before you know it!

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