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In this site you will find pictures of my two ferrets, and other animals as well as be educated a little with general information about ferrets and their care... I'll also be dispelling a few ferret myths. Why am I doing this? Because I'm tired of uneducated people bad-mouthing ferrets for no reason other than they are ignorant and believe all the bad things they hear.
Lets start with Ferret Myths, shall we?
MYTHS
Speaking of myths, the ferret is the subject of a few. Here are the more common ones you are likely to hear. Some are amusing. Some will make your blood boil. "The ferret is a vicious animal." - Actually the ferret is one of the least likely of the companion animals to cause a serious injury. Bite statistics show that any given ferret is about 200 times less likely to bite than any given pet dog.
"The ferret is a rabies carrier." - The ferret is one of the least likely companion animals to catch or transmit the rabies virus. The IMRAB-3 rabies vaccine was only approved for the domestic ferret in 1990, yet since 1958 less than 25 cases of rabies in the ferret have been reported. Compare this number to the thousands of dogs, and thousands of cats that have been found carrying the rabies virus. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta has said that there has never been a reported case of a ferret transferring rabies to a human or another animal.
"The ferret doesn’t have any backbone." - No, the ferret does have a backbone. He is just
remarkably flexible, allowing him to turn around in a very small space. Even though flexible, he can be injured through rough handling or a fall.
"The ferret is a rat [or rodent]." - No, the ferret is a carnivore (meat eater). One look at the structure of their teeth will show you that. They do not have the chisel-shaped front teeth characteristic of rodents. Their teeth resemble those of the cats. Ferrets are related to the weasel, and mink. Some ferret owners affectionately refer to their pets as "weasels." One person told me, "Ferret owners are the only people I know, who, if you call them a weasel, take it as a compliment."
Excerpt from "The Ferret Owner’s Manual" By Dick Bossart
I myself have had encounters with very uneducated people (at least on the ferret subject). My son's kindergarten teacher and I worked out a day that Mickey would be allowed to come to class for all the kids to see, because they're a type of animal that most of the kids would not have seen, and the day before Spirit joined the family, so both of them were invited. The teacher did have concerns, and asked me questions like "How nice is Mr. Ferret?" and "Are you sure that he will be able to handle all the excitement that will be buzzing around him?" But atleast she ASKED, she didn't just say no assuming that the children would be bitten and attacked. The day came and Mickey and Spirit were packed up in their carriers and taken to class. A mother was standing nearby watching as her child sat down near the ferrets and she commented to another mother, obviously thinking she was out of my earshot, "God they stink, I think it's just disgusting that she be allowed to keep them in her home, let alone bring them to a school to infect the kids, I'll never get the smell off him (her son) when he gets home." Of course immediately turned and asked her if she would like to sit with the 5 year olds and get an education. She left. Apprently I had offended her in some way.
Do ferrets smell? Yes, just like any other animal they have their own scent, I've never encountered an "unaltered" (meaning descented and neutered ferret), but I've spoken with many people who own them and they've said that their ferrets don't smell any more than a dog. Besides, with regular litter box cleaning, and a monthly bath the smell is not overpowering. If you neglect the litter box of course it's going to smell, just as a cat's litter box would smell if you didn't change it regularly.
Socializing
Vet reccomended socializing techniques didn't work for me, I had to go extreme. To start with Mickey and Spirit were isolated from eachother for about 3 days while we watched Spirit closely for signs of ECE (green slimy poops). On the fourth day Mickey and Spirit were introduced to each other and it didn't go so well, they bickered back and forth and Mickey was dragging Spirit around by anything he could get a hold of, this included scruff, ears, tail, feet, anything. So for the first couple of days the meetings were short, 5-10 minutes in all, and then both were allowed seperate play times outside their respective cages.
After a couple of weeks Spirit and Mickey were set up with a "playpen" where I could see them at all times and have quick access if I had to break up annything that got too serious. And I did have to break up the fights for the first week. It's hard to tell when they're fighting, and when they're playing because ferrets tend to play roughly together. However a few signs are "brush tail" which is where all of the hairs stand up on the tail resembling a brush like those used for cleaning baby bottles. When this occurred Mickey meant business. Now, keep in mind that all Mickey was trying to do was show Spirit that he was in charge, he's the alpha male.
Over days I kept increasing the time that they spent together, and built Spirit a temporary cage (you can get some inexpensive ideas from here) and the cages were set next to eachother where they could see, smell, and touch one another without any of us worrying about bodily harm coming to either ferret until they could get along.
In the middle of the second week I got extreme. The time together gradually increased until the boys were spending 7-9 hours together. After 3 days of this extreme socialization, the boys spent their first night together without a problem. They now live together in the same cage, share food, water, hammocks, blankets, and toys. There are still some small arguments, but nothing serious.
The Furry Family
Awards I Won
Awards My Fur-Boys Won
Click here to move on to the next page which will include not only pictures of Mickey, but general care of ferrets as well.
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