WoW Petopia Community

They are fun-loving to say the least. They will attempt to climb around on your furniture and such. A lot.

They aren't really the cuddly kind of pet, tough they are very friendly.

They're pretty fun, but just an advance warning that they are incredibly stinky. If you live in a small area like an apartment be prepared for overpowering ferret stench. >.<

What Veph said. The scent is horrible. Apparently the glands can be removed which diminishes the stench somewhat, but I don't know if this is good or bad for the pet. Not an expert.

Some relatives of ours had ferrets for a while. They were very playful and energetic, and loved to go swimming in the pool with us

~VelkynKarma

heehee I thought this was in the wow pets section for a second and was like "I'd so tame a ferret"

Bulletdance wrote:heehee I thought this was in the wow pets section for a second and was like "I'd so tame a ferret"

A jumbo ferret.

I would enjoy a ferret non-combat pet, though

Thanks to everyone for the input, I'm planning on stopping by the pet store with my friend tomorrow to check out the local ferretry. Maybe I'll find myself a new friend? :O

~Kaylai

One of my weasel boys is very cuddly; he will snuggle and fall asleep in your arms. The other one is very, very bouncy, and he loves to follow me around when we let them run around the house and always wants to play. They like to wrestle and nip at your feet, but they're very gentle and sweet otherwise. They sleep most of the day, but when they're active and we let them out of the house, they hide things under the couch and bed.

Their body odor is really musky--ferrets you buy from a pet store will already be neutered and have their scent glands removed, so they've only got a bit of smell to them, but it's not a bad smell, to me, anyway. Their cage is another story, keep it clean! My mother didn't want me to get any at first because she'd heard of the smell, but she's absolutely fallen in love with them now.

I think they're fantastic pets; so much personality and so damn adorable.

The scent glands are actually misunderstood - they're near the anus of the ferret and are only used when they feel they're in danger, much like a skunk. However, unlike skunks, the scent is not nearly as strong and dissipates within seconds. The "smell" that everyone refers to is just their ferrety musk. I personally love it. I love to hold my friend's ferret up to my face and just sniff her. Like everyone else said, though, they poop, and they poop a LOT. They have fast metabolisms and will go when they need go, whether they're in their litter box or not. Babies are even worse. But if you find that they prefer certain corners, put litter boxes there. They are high-energy and NEED interaction, at least one or two hours per day if you plan to keep them in a cage. I don't think being in a cage (provided it's big enough) is cruel to them, as they're going to sleep most of the time anyway. So as long as you let them out enough, keeping them in a cage at night or when you're at work is ok (just make sure they have food and water at all times!). They're not as cuddly as a cat or dog but they do love you in their own way. Some are more affectionate than others, they just have their own individual personalities. They do nip a bit (again, some more than others), but I've never been bitten by a ferret so bad that it hurt. It's definitely more of a playful nip. And it's so cute when they "dook", this little noise they make when they're playing/happy.

I love them myself, though I don't have one yet. I had my eye on a silver one at a pet store a couple weeks ago and it was all I could do to not take her home. But, I had just adopted two adult rats about a month ago, so I can't really afford to have any more pets at the moment. But oh, how I want one.

The Beastmaster had ferrets.

Oh Yeah Kodo and Podo!! I loved the Beastmaster when I was young. Those Ferrets saved the day more than once.

Omg...that brought back memories, I totally remember watching that show late at night years and years ago. xD Ahaha, it was so corny but awesome.

I remember watching the film when I was little, it made me cry though... Kodo! Aww, those guys were cute!

When I was younger my brother brought home a ferret that was named Miranda. Of the few memories I have of her she loved to nibble toes and ears, but always in a playful manner. She also used to scare the cat we had at the time and loved running under, in and over anything she could. Ferrets aren't for everyone, but they can be very affectionate so you should go for it if that's the pet best suited to you.

I know it's been over a year, but I have ferrets and my ferrets do NOT smell. It comes down to general maintenance of the ferrets. My ferret nation is in my walk-in closet for the dark nights and they have free roam of my room during the day time for a few hours here and there. My room is actually the best smelling room in the house.. XD

Anyway, why my cage does not smell is because I change out their litter boxes daily if not every other day and any messes they make that they don't make it to the box, I clean up as soon as I get home from work. Also, since their skin if very sensitive you can not give them baths often -- more like once every two to three weeks but there are a lot of Marshall brand spritzes you can use for daily use that won't dry out their skin. See, people tend to give them baths and not use a specific type of ferret shampoo (I, myself, use: Baking Soda Shampoo). And if we have a problem with fleas (not too bad, so far, I can get rid of them easily) I use: Tea-tree .

A wall of text! Nevertheless, they're VERY high maintenance pets. They're both spayed/neutered and descented. Also, if you're worried about their #1's or #2's smelling even within the 24 hours you change their boxes, this is the MOST perfect item I've ever bought because it really does eliminate poop/pee smells. Good-bye Odor
It's a NECESSITY!

I hope I helped! I'm kind of a self-declared ferret expert. When you have them, you have to be.

Erg.. im glad you did bring the thread back, i myself have been thinking of a ferret for my next pet but i dont want a high mantinence pet.. i'll look into another critter instead lol

Ferrets are fun, inquisitive, mischievous pets. Even de-scented, there is a smell, which I got around by giving weekly baths. Some hate baths, but one of mine loved the warm water so much she'd fall asleep. The poop...a lot...like a whole lot. They like to go in corners, so get a corner box and clean it often. They love toys and treats (for mine, apple juice and raisins). They do tend to hoard and steal trinkets. Mine liked rolls of paper towels and wallets. I miss them sometimes, though they lived to a ripe old age that even had the vet stumped. I don't plan on getting them again, however, due to various health problems (cancer) the breed is prone to.

I actually "inherited" a ferret named Kodo when I was in high school, my moms friend had to move and couldn't keep him. He was such a sweet little thing...very good with this baths and always loved licking people, never nipped once! Sad part is he died due to adrenal disease...but he was sweet while we had him.

P.s. http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/ferrets/ ... drenal.htm

Dewclaw wrote:Ferrets are fun, inquisitive, mischievous pets. Even de-scented, there is a smell, which I got around by giving weekly baths.

Yes, they HAVE an odor, but it's not an outwards odor. Every animal has an odor if you snort their fur, lol. But you'd never ever be able to tell I have ferrets unless I had them out or you already knew. I know this because I've been told it several times from old friends/family coming over.

Dewclaw wrote:Ferrets are fun, inquisitive, mischievous pets. Even de-scented, there is a smell, which I got around by giving weekly baths.

Baths make the scent worse, they have sensitive skin as someone else said and the maximum they should be getting is a monthly bath, bi-monthly would be better. When their skin is soaked from a bath, their oils kick into over drive which produces a worse scent.

However, ferret odor is extremely easy to control. A well looked after ferret on a PROPER diet has less scent than one fed something like cat foot or a shitty fruit-filled ferret food. Cleaning the litter box daily and keeping their cage clean makes the scent pretty much non existant, my mother and I were both surprised at how little they smell when you just take care of 'em properly, since we had always been told they smell horrible. Also, they make ferret leave-in conditioners to mask the scent in between baths, though I've never tried one so I can't say how well they work.

Zuilu wrote:

Dewclaw wrote:Ferrets are fun, inquisitive, mischievous pets. Even de-scented, there is a smell, which I got around by giving weekly baths.

Baths make the scent worse, they have sensitive skin as someone else said and the maximum they should be getting is a monthly bath, bi-monthly would be better. When their skin is soaked from a bath, their oils kick into over drive which produces a worse scent.

I've also heard and read from multiple sources that giving them baths weekly not only makes their skin dry out and over-work to get their oils regulated, it can cause them skin cancer. Also, more oil = stronger scent.

Kirsten wrote:

Zuilu wrote:

Dewclaw wrote:Ferrets are fun, inquisitive, mischievous pets. Even de-scented, there is a smell, which I got around by giving weekly baths.

Baths make the scent worse, they have sensitive skin as someone else said and the maximum they should be getting is a monthly bath, bi-monthly would be better. When their skin is soaked from a bath, their oils kick into over drive which produces a worse scent.

I've also heard and read from multiple sources that giving them baths weekly not only makes their skin dry out and over-work to get their oils regulated, it can cause them skin cancer. Also, more oil = stronger scent.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if it actually caused skin cancer, their skin REALLY isn't made to be wet all the time =/