I'm just curious, I've been reading about ferrets online and wanted to know what your opinion was. What do you like about them? What are some of the "cons" of ferrets? Special requirements?

Then some specific questions. What are the differences between males and females? I understand that they're somewhat like rats, in that that males are larger in size, lazier, etc but anything else? Do they smell more too?

What about caging? What kind of cage do you use and what should be the minimum size for a single ferret? It would depend on the amount of time they're outside the cage too right? How many hours a day do your ferrets come out of their cage? Do they free range?

Then of course the most important, how do you manage to keep ferrets and rats together? Obviously they could never meet right? So is it a big deal keeping them separated, would using common sense and being careful do?

How do they get along with other animals? I have a small dog (pomeranian) who can be both active and lazy depending on his mood. I think he might actually enjoy the company of an inquisitive ferrets but I don't know.

I'm not sure what I want to do yet, I just wanted to get an idea. I want to get a ferret but my sister wants to get a kitten. I would personally rather get an older cat than a kitten but we'll see. Anyways, anything you can tell me would be great! Thanks

EDIT: Hmmm, now why would I say "cage" instead of a "cat"?

Ferrets almost always develop Adrenal (sp? Is that even the right word? Something like that) disease somewhere around the age of 5-6. This is 100% curable, with surgery and what not, but around this time could end up costing you up to 3k, pending.

One way to prevent it is not to spay/neuter so bloody young the way Marshall Farms does. That's the big thing that's prevented me from getting a ferret, cuz I've wanted one for years, but I can't afford a surgery/treatment that expensive all in one pop feesably.

And that's about all I have to add...

Sorry!  I am trying to work at the same time and did not pay enough attention to all the wonderful advice above!!!!  

The biggest reason they have Adrenal issues is that Marshall Farms and the rest of the bad boys do a chemical neuter!  Not ever good in any animal!!!  I also agree that to many baths = BAD SMELL!!  and deoderants for Ferrets are BAD!!!  

As far as other animals?? My Dog loved all of them, my cat loved the male and hated the 2 females???  I think so much depends on how patient and watchful you are!  How is your Pommy with other animals??  

As far as ratties I would say no!!!  Rats are food to ferrets in the wild!!  

Size of cage I agree with NutKitty!  The bigger the better, Mine had a large room!  But at least 6'X3'X4'

Let us know what you decide!  And if it is a go....Please adopt, more patience but well worth it!

Thanks for the advice! I'm giving a serious thoughts wether or not this will work for me, and while other websites on ferret info is great it's hard to get unbiased opinion you know? I also need to find out what my situation will be once I graduate, and it's good to know how much work they'll take. I'll be sure to make sure I'm ready for that.

They'll DEFINITELY be neutered/spayed there is no doubt. So what's the good age to get them fixed then, to avoid Adrenal?

About where to get one. I'm talking to someone in the area about rescues and such so we'll see. I feel the same way about buying ferrets from petstores as buying rats from petstores so I do want to avoid that.

Since rats will never meet the ferret, the major issue is my dog Zippo. He loves my rats, he pestered a little dog who was visiting once, but most of the times he's very curious and enjoys the company of other animals. He sleeps most of the day when no one's home, and tends be very lazy, so I would be worried about the ferrets bothering him too much. He's very gentle with the rats, very patient for such a small dog.

So should they be descented? Do they automaticcally get descented when sold/adopted?

oops sorry, didn't read all the questions.. LOL

alright, my ferret's cage is a midwest ferret playpen, with added hammocks and added levels to the cage.  these cages can be really dangerous for ferrets without the added hammocks..  if they fell from the top, it could be deadly.  the cage is slightly smaller than my martin's Ruud cage for the rats (the cages are side by side).  

also, descenting is 100% UNNECESSARY!!!!!!  if you wind up adopting a ferret, more than likely it's already neutered as well as descented.  marshall farms ferrets you can tell by two blue tattooed dots on their one ear.  one dot is to show it was fixed, and the other was to show it's descented.  another farm does the dot-tattoo thing, but it's on the opposite ear of marshall ferrets..  I can't recall the name of that place right now, though, since marshalls are so bleeding common!!

you should hold the ferret, while someone else holds back the dog, for initial intros.  my ferret does NOT get along with ANY cats in either my mom's house, or this house.  he wants to play, they want him to die.  

I didn't read all the posts, so I am probably repeating someone else...

I DID notice someone reccomending getting the Ferrets For Dummies book, and I second that. I HIGHLY reccomend that book to anyone thinking about a ferret, or even someone who already has one. I learned a lot from that book!

I have 2 ferrets- I got them almost a year ago. Unfortunatly they are Marshall's ferrets (you can tell by a blue dot in thier ear) but I am the second owner for both of them, so I consider them rescues... which they kinda are.

Mine are both decented and neutered. I know that neutering also helps with the ferret-smell. Spaying is a must for females- if they go into heat and don't breed, they stay in heat and eventually can die from it... (There's technical stuff to that, but you catch the drift)

Basically they are like hyper kittens on speed all their life- but I love them to pieces!!  If I have a bad day at work, I either take the rats out so they can give me kisses- or I just go watch ferret-playtime and laugh my butt off!

My ferrets are approx. 2 and 3 years (I really don't know, since I'm 2nd owner) and neither of them really cuddle. Of course this MAY have to do with thier previous home, because I know a girl who's got 2 that are under a year and one fell asleep in my arms...I wanted to steal it.... anyways-- Just like rats they tend to calm down as they get older, and my 3 year old ferret is kinda doing that a little bit.  Dosen't cuddle as much as I'd like him to, but sometimes he humors me.

My ferrets and rats don't know eachother exist. They never meet, not even for fun to see if they'd even get along.  I'm too afraid of the instincts that the ferrets will have, so I just don't do it.  

Ferrets need LOTS of playtime. I have a big bathroom that they get to play in. It's got ferret toys all over it- and there's a nice hole in the carpet where one tried to dig and chew under it.  I can't ferret proff my whole house, but this bathroom is the size of a small bedroom, so it works.  They get to romp around in there. My dog gets to play with them too, but only close supervision. She loves them, but when they get under the bathroom rug, she dosen't know they are there, so we have to keep her from stepping on them. Otherwise *my* dog is fine with them.

My ferrets need thier toenails clipped and ears cleaned once a week, so I highly reccomend learning how to do it yourself if you don't already know how.  They get bathed once a month- or when they're really really stinky (which is actually about once a month or a little longer)

I have that 6 foot tall Super Pet cage for them.  They love it.

They are litter box trained, but if you don't clean the box at least every other day they poop somewhere else because the box isn't up to par.

Thier metabolism is also pretty quick so I keep a feeder bin in there with food all the time.

I have also found that my ferrets tend to like cat toys over ferret toys, which is fine by me, because ferret toys are more expensive anyways.

Because thier previous owners never gave them treats, I've had a hard time finding anything they will eat aside from their food. The younger one I got when he was still under a year old and I can get him to eat ferret treats out of my hand, but the older one has no clue.

They need yearly distemper shots. Rabies isn't required in all states, but if a ferret bites someone and you can't prove it's had rabies shots, in most states they will automatically euthanize the ferret to make sure.  Yeh, it's dumb, but if you get them rabies vaccinated you avoid that.

Anyways- I love ferrets-- I am glad I got them as a pet, I'll never regret it... Jeremy says that now that he's had them for a pet (he's always wanted them) he dosen't think he wants them in the future, because of all the playtime they require. I don't know if he's serious or not, because he loves them so much he might just give in and get more later. (Actually we're thinking about a 3rd anyways! lol)

Okay I think i rambled enough...  

*surprised Shanny didn't weigh in considering he's got 2 ferrets*

LOL!  Yes, of course.  FerRATS.  My mistake.

Try doing it this way....

http://community.webshots.com/user/sanitsplayground

go to the "other animals" section

I love my ferret. I rescued him too... but it wasn't a bad thing. just he got out and the neighbors thought he was an opossum, and the land lord said that they couldn't keep him anymore.

He doesn't have a cage at all... he free-ranges in the house.. has the whole house to get lost in. Well, it's only a two bedroom apartment. Dominic is actually really calm, at least right now... and he LOVES to cuddle. all the time, he's just a little cuddle-bug. He plays a little, but mostly just likes to find new places to sleep.