Rats and Ferrets?

[Ligeia]

I have rats.  My boyfriend has a ferret.  I read somewhere that the two don't get along and it's a bad idea to have both, so ever since I moved into my boyfriends place, we've been keeping our "kids" in separate parts of the house.  Now, I'm turning one room of the house into a "wildlife refuge," (my rats, a parakeet, and a hermit crab live there) and would like everyone's opinion on whether I can put the ferret's cage in there with my rat's cage.

They would not be out of their cages at the same time (obviously), but would being able to smell each other be stressful to either species?

[Heather]

I would keep them in seperate rooms just in case someone forgets to shut one of the cage doors. It's asking for trouble. Granted some do it with no problems I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'd put up a baby gate or shut the door to the room too so if someone escapes they cannot get out and a ferret cannot get in.

[Sunilata]

I had my ferret and rats in the same room for a while with no problems. If you are super, super careful, it can be done. We eventually moved the rats out to the livingroom, not because of the ferret, but because it was easier to clean their cage and around their cage out there. When Riley was out playing, he never bothered the rat cage, and the rats only came out to play in the bathroom, shut off from the rest of the house, so I never had problems. That was because my boyfriend and I were always very aware of what doors were open and shut, have a dog that gets along great with the smaller animals, and we always knew who was out at what time, though. If you live in a household with many more people and animals, it gets trickier.

Whenever I handle the rats and then go visit the ferret (or vice versa), each animal sniffs my hands eagerly, but shows no signs of fear or stress. I think they are just curious about the new smell, then they move on to other things.