Considering buying a ferret

[Marinam2]

They arent that demanding. All you need to remember is that they need at least 4 hours of mad running about a day. They have a 4 hour digestive system so need a constant supply of food unlike dogs and cats and ferrets NEVER grow up its like having a permenant kitten.

Also you shouldnt really keep them on their own. Like parrots/rats/mice/rabbits they NEED their own kind of company so a min of two is required.

Marina

[Gazellianaimee]

I'm not sure i can afford two, it is still questionable that i can afford one. I've looked at the food recommended, and done some math, food should be fine for one, it iis just the insurance on top of that, best i've seen so far is about 120pds a year for one (covers up to 2grand, i don't think it is much more to add another to), which might be a bit much.

[daisyleo]

I don't think insurance works with ferrets, if you have a look on the threads on Mercia forum it will explain all about it, apparently if you take on an older ferret they won't insure over something like 3 years of age, then you will have to pay your excess for any claims you make, if the ferret only requires a consult and antibiotics which happens alot with ferrets I have found you are looking about £40-50 which is the price of most insurance excess in which case the company won't give you anything so you'll be paying them AND paying your own bills.

What I found most reptile & ferret owners do is save in a spare account or money pot for that "rainy day".

My vet also runs an account system with me so if I get a big bill (maximum i've had was £200 for a ferret to be diagnosed and treated for cancer...and then that included when he couldn't fight anymore and was put to sleep) I paid it off over 3 months to save a huge blow out of money in one go.

There is a great vets in Coventry it's advertised on the Mercia care pages I have used him myself and he is VERY cheap compared to my local vet whilst not cutting down on knowledge.

Two really is the best for YOU and THEM, how much one to one time can you offer a single ferret?

[Doninha Princesa]

Originally Posted by daisyleo

What I found most reptile & ferret owners do is save in a spare account or money pot for that "rainy day".

Two really is the best for YOU and THEM, how much one to one time can you offer a single ferret?

Thats what I do too. I had similar priced bill for a similar prob, used an exotic vet because i called my vet explaining what was wrong and she told me to head straight there, she phoned and explained, they had her overnight but she was too ill (I'd picked her up from a rescue 2 weeks before and she was very aggressive, by the time she collapsed and i could get to her it was too late. I still have the scars to show for previous attempts to handle her.) And i had some money saved up in my emergency fund for the ferrets and still had to use some of my xmas savings as well as id not long had my Cocoa spayed.

I had Baby as a single ferret for her first few months and she got lots of attention, but i "had" to get more coz she needed cage company when i went back to work. Wish id got another sooner as she is such a spoilt brat and didnt take to new ferrets in "her" house very easily!

And I used Portuguese because..... a) Portugal had just kicked Englands butt at football and it wound my dad up and b) princess in most languages is recognisable as princess, but Ferret in most languages either doesnt translate very well or the word just isnt very nice, I thought Doninha was quite a soft, pretty name and went well with Princesa. It was actually on a motorbike forum as we were having racing t-shirts made and i didnt want my real name on a t-shirt so was asking for suggestions and someone came up with Princesa in so i found an online translator and started typing stuff in till I came up with Doninha Princesa (which the guys on the forum hate coz they can never say it let alone spell it, i have to introduce myself to ppl to save them the difficulty of remembering Don-in-a)

[Doninha Princesa]

By the way.... play time with a ferret is so much fun, they make funny little noises (sometimes called Dooks) and bounce around like loonies (search you tube for a giggle)

BUT you have to make sure any room they are gonna play in is constantly supervised (they can move real quick if u turn ur back for a second as my mum found out last month when she lost 3 of mine.... was out all night searching!)

You have to ferret proof everywhere, block in little holes, move wires, move plant pots (they do love to dig!) block anywhere you cant get them, mine love hiding under my mums sofa and pouncing on my hands when im trying to fish them out (i know the room is secure so they are allowed to play under there)

Also, some are very good as escaping (My Baby especially, I havent found a cage yet that she cant escape from, i have to use bricks and actual locks on the cages, metal clips on any clip open doors, like on most rat cages and cable ties on anything im not planning on opening.) So you need to watch your ferret to make sure, we moved baby into a new cage in our old flat, woke in the nght to the sound of a glass breaking, my ex flew into the living room (which was next to the bedroom) to find she had escaped, climbed up the other ferret cage, lept onto a tumble drier, run across a flip top bin and onto the kitchen cupboard and was climbing along the shelf of pint glasses above the sink, she got a stack of books on top of her cage from then on!!! Zorro and Cocoa can dig their way out of their rabbit run in its on dirt, Zorro can push most bricks and things out the way of a door. Luckily they havent got into trouble, Baby has escaped outside twice and simply wandered up to the back door and into the living room, Zorro, Bandit & Cocoa got out recently when Mum didnt close the cage properly (Baby was asleep) and Mum caught Cocoa, I found Bandit 3 hours later in a neighbours bin (they had caught her and called rspca) and my neighbours found Zorro the next day in their garden, was terrifying!!!!!!!!!!!

[dogmandango]

you go a head amd buy one i will gift you a kit as company if you can get to me in derbyshire or meet me off the m1 when i am traveling down to northampton

atb wayne

[Gazellianaimee]

Sorry for delay in reply, i've had exams the last two days (a heck of a lot more in a couple of days time).

Yes, Doninha does indeed sounds very lovely. My dad is a biker, I used to like going on the back of it with him.lol.

That is a wonderfully lovely offer dogmandango (very very nice of you), but i was more worried about the culmination of vet and food fees for two, so as absolutely lovely as your offer is, i would need to sort that side out first.

It's funny i've read/skimmed through quite a few pages on ferrets, but it is always better to hear about them from people more 'directly' like this. They sound like wonderful pets, but i am worried about my living situation and keeping them in it (on the plus side would definately make me keep my room tidier! I don't have enough room to put everything in easy reach, so it does have a tendency to get dumped Probably nirvana for ferrets burrying about and looking to jump out of places and hide, but finding them would be made somewhat more interesting!).

Also i'd need to find a way of moving a nice sized cage for them from my house to my parents over holidays (i was hoping to buy a collapsible one, or something that will flat pack, but obviously still secure). Also it is a rented house, so if they like digging and start digging up the carpet or something i'd loose my deposit (which, strangely enough, if i didn't have to pay would make a lovely little amount for vet fees). And of course, the money, if i just had to pay for food for even two then that would be ok, it just sounds like they do need to go to the vets a fair bit, and it isn't always cheap and am worried that i won't be able to afford those, especcially with vaccinations for two on top, which will probably add another 40 a year, right?

I'm wondering whether it would be better to put off getting one until later on, and maybe just settling for a couple of harvest or zebra mice (or any other suggestions??) for now, or maybe just being patient until after summer and buying a snake (my mum is petrified of the things, and not keen on lizards and live food either in the house). I know neither quite the same as a ferret, but might be a compromise. I'm guessing vet bills for them are a lot less, generally?

[Doninha Princesa]

You sound like your going exactly the right way about thinking. You sound very mature! Keeping your room tidy is a must if they are playing out, and you have to keep their litter trays and cages (accidents happen) clean to avoid the nasty smell, mine get litter picked every day and their cage gets washed out completely at LEAST once a week, sometimes more if they've been naughty and not used the litter tray.

Mine do dig at doors and walls, but they know they mustnt so stop and run as soon as i move to pick them up. They will dig one side of a closed door, but if i open it, they will run into the next room and when i shut the door they will dig on the other side of the same door, like they think they are missing something inbetween the two rooms, I keep their nails trimmed so they dont cause any damage but i have had a landlord agree to the ferrets then refuse to give me my deposit back because i had animals (unfort i was young and stupid and there was no mention of pets allowed or dissallowed in the contract) and he said there was an infestation (Complete load of Bull)

I started off with a few pairs of rats before I got the ferrets, My mum didnt like ferrets or rats but my dad bought me 2 rats home. They are quite easy to care for, from what i remember, Altho i recently bought a 2nd hand wooden rat cage for the ferrets shed and the smell was unbelievable! Im pretty sure my boys never smelt that bad but it was aweful, worse than a filthy ferret cage in a warm room! Or something like mice, hamsters etc are pretty simple too.

The best advice is to work out what you will need, what time/money/space you have and if you dont think you are quite ready then the best thing you can do is wait. I've wanted an APH for the past 2 years, but untill now I didnt have anywhere permenant to live, I had no space, and i moved into a small bedroom with 3 kittens and 4 ferrets in, I couldnt even get to my bed as it had practically a whole flat boxed up on top. Now I'm finally getting organised, the room is almost finished, the ferrets are getting their shed for day use, the kittens are allowed the run of the house (they are house cats tho, too many busy roads near the new place and used to staying in a flat anyway) and I am finally settled down. So hopefully the start of July I will be ready to pick up a hoglet and I know it will be sooooo worth the wait knowing that all my pets are happy and contented before I add any more!

[Marinam2]

OMG mac my big male has a thing for the airing cupboard door. It doesnt matter how many time i move him away or shout "stop" he carries on regardless it drives me crazy.

Marina

[Gazellianaimee]

Originally Posted by Doninha Princesa

You sound like your going exactly the right way about thinking. You sound very mature!

Thank you.lol. I had a lot of comments of the such when i was on another forum years ago, i was nigh 18, but someone mentioned a couple of times that sometimes they thought it was a 30 something trying to trick everyone.lol.

The smell thing would be a problem for me, i would have kept the ferrets outside in the shed unless i was handling them/with them or whatever, my nose is quite sensitive! I could always smell when horses were on heat when i rode down the stables, and our dog, when she was in season the smell was very strong. But i suppose you get used to it. And it is more chemical etc that i really hate, most other things i will tolerate. Just chemical give me headache and make my skin itch.*shudder*lol.

My room would probably stay a lot tidier if i didn't do so many different things in the same room: work (math phys student), music, art, writing, arty stuff (takes up a lot of room)...hopefully going to get to do a lot more of all of it during the summer (well, apart from the work.lol Want to take the opportunity to finish a few writing projects, arty bits and dabble with some music again, apart from singing, i do that everyday anyhow). But, anyway, rather side-tracked!

Maybe i'll just spend the money on a tonne of art stuff instead for nowlol and wait until september. It is just i rather like to have something of my own to interact with a bit, especially with summer coming, although my parents have 2 dogs and a cat, i'll also be one boyfriend short for most of it (his parents live in Brussels, although he is German) so will be missing my hugs and silly laughs!lol.