Working on getting a ferret . . .

[FuzzButt Lover]

I've been wanting a ferret for about a year now. I've been researching a little bit, but not enough. One of the main problems is my parents, they think they stink. I know they at least have a musk smell to them which I actually like, but as long as their box is cleaned about once a day they should be fine right? I was even going to get 3 (had them picked out and was planning on getting all the supplies, parents even agreed) until our aunt and cousins came over for the first time (they all live far away) and one of my cousins had one before and my aunt said it smelled. So I'm trying to convince my parents that a ferret will fit into our family . . any suggestions. I know that no one can tell my parents to get one and it isn't really your problem, but I'm just looking for suggestions to persuade them that ferrets aren't all that bad. I am aware of the pricing and I'll be the one paying for everything even the huge vet bills.  I guess I'm just looking for a pros vs. cons list. As well as any usefull information for a first time ferret parent besides the fact that they are a ball of trouble.  Thank-you for your time. 

I actually have a possible pair, they've been at the rescue for some time now. I've seen lots of cute ferrets roll through this rescue, but these guys have been here for awhile and are the only ones who have. Once I convince my parents I am hoping to go meet them to see if they are right for me, or I'd rather see if I can foster some but that is going to be really hard as there aren't much ferret rescues close to me that would allow fostering. No matter I guess I'll post a picture of the cuties I am looking at. I think they are both girls but no matter they are both altered as well. They are current on distemperment shots, ADV negative, and are both around a year in a half.

[nakedrats]

I think you know the pros, here are some cons...

Ferrets are really expensive pets.  They very much are "balls of trouble" and their troublemaking can lead to really expensive vet bills.  Their natural curiosity convinces them to search out items that are prone to being stuck in their digestive tract and eat them, to climb to great heights and then fall, take rides in the dishwasher and front loading washing machines, to find their way into the walls and behind the stove so that you have to pull out appliances and rip open walls.  They are a huge pain in the neck.  On top of explorational casualties, you have adrenal disease where you need to get $100 shots or $1000 surgery, and insulinoma where you need to give them daily doses of steroid so they don't have seizures and die.  This isn't cheap either.  Adrenal hits about 50% of ferrets and can show up as early as 2 years old.

The mess.  Ferrets do have their musk odor as you know, and to keep this in check, you need to religiously dump their litterboxes and change their bedding as the musk is in their skin oils and builds up on their hammocks.  Most ferrets don't potty train to litter boxes the way cats do.  They poop where they want to and it's up to you to put down a litter box there.  This goes for out-time too.  Ferrets clear kibble from bowl to litter box in 3-4 hours, so you can expect at least one deposit from each ferret to occur during run around time i.e. in a convenient corner throughout the house.  If you have carpeting in the house, you will probably be scrubbing ferret poo out of the carpet pretty frequently and it is very gooshy and soaks right in.  Even if you put out litterboxes, you aren't going to catch all of them.

Destructive behavior.  Ferrets get into lots of stuff and tend to knock things off of shelves.  They climb rather well and find their way onto most pieces of furniture.  They are very determined and have nothing better to do than go places they aren't supposed to be.  Any place the ferret is going to be let out in has to be cleared of anything dangerous, poisonous or breakable doorknobs down.  You also have to block off access to behind appliances and under furniture where they could get stuck.  The other house members may object to foam spray-ing the stove and refrigerator to the floor or chicken wiring the bottoms of furniture in the living room.  Ferrets dig up under mattresses and love digging holes in the couch to get under to where the springs are.  That becomes a prime hiding place for toys and a great napping location.  Restricting a ferret's out time to a single room is dependent on your ability to keep the ferret in.  They are sly devils and try to sneak out at any opportunity.  Once they realize the door goes somewhere, they may take to obsessively digging right at the bottom of the door.  This will soon shred any carpet and can even damage a wood floor over time. Many ferrets are also toe biters and will nip at bare feet.  If you are planning on satisfying their exercise need by letting them roam your bedroom at night, you might be in for frequent rude awakenings. 

Don't get me wrong, ferrets are a great pet.  Just make sure you and your family are ready for the bad parts along with the good.  I'm just out of college and I have a permanent foster rather than an adopted weasel.  I have a full time job, but I can't always summon hundreds of dollars at a drop of a hat to fix my weasel, so I have an older ferret that is a biter.  Nobody would adopt her so she was pretty much fated to live out her days at the shelter.  As a foster, I can go to the shelter for help with her bills if I need to.  So many ferrets get abandoned when they get too expensive.  If you're going to adopt, please make sure you can afford to finish what you start.
P.S. If you are anywhere near Maryland, I know a great shelter that needs permanent foster homes.
www.rockysferrets.com

[Poppyseed]

Great reply nakedrats! I second what you have said about ferrets! Also even their everyday costs are expensive (compared to other animals anyway)! A good quality ferret food is $20 and many recommend you a mix of at least three kinds, and ferretone is $11. If food sits out for a day you have to throw it away as it is stale and can attract insects. A quality cage can be expensive, they don't always use their litter box. Many people claim my ferret don't stink like others and I think it's because I don't feed them Marshalls or cat food like many people do (both which are bad for them). They have very picky digestive systems so you really have to know your stuff about what they can or cannot eat and diet changed can't be abrupt at all they have to span months! Good ferret vets are hard to come by, and all of ferrets later medical cost are quite expensive. You don't want to give up an old ferret that has become attached to you just because they have become an inconvenienced.

If I had it all to do over again, I would of fostered a couple of ferrets instead of owning them. I wouldn't give them up for the world now but I know that ferret are more than likely best for someone who has a life already set out and established. Someone who has a job, house, and routine they think won't change much for nearly a decade or more. Many college age and teenagers WANT ferrets but in reality I think ferrets are an older person's pet. It's incredibly hard to fine a ferret friendly apartment and often when I move out I don't get my deposit back.

And I HAVE had to knock a hole in a wall before when Gidgett was a wee kit. It was horrible, I was so afraid we would accidentally get her. I had to grab her attention while the ex got a hole in the wall on the opposite side away from her. She had dug a hole in the wall in the bathroom where water had started to decay the dry wall and squeezed through a TINY opening in a steel frame and wouldn't squeeze back through probably because it hurt. That was a 1.5-2 inch square at MOST! We got her out though but it was nerve wracking!