I have a ferret - help!

I'd get him to a vet before you do anything else. He needs to be tested for communicable diseases and general health. Ferret-specific food is important because they need a high-protein diet. Give him something to curl up in/on. They like hammocks. I think ferrets are lovely, and if I had the money I'd own one.

Awww how sweet ! i used to have an albino ferret for a pet. Ok let me try to remember. The corner litter pan is great. I had a huge cage - 4 feet tall with multiple levels. They like to sleep in hammocks. They like tubes and tunnels. Ferret chow is fine. The males stink if their not fixed. I put lots of old t-shirts and baby blankets in the cage for him to snuggle in. I washed them every day. They are like spunky puppies and they have super sharp teeth. They sleep most of the day away and play at night. Get a big hamster ball for it to run around in. Have fun ! Ferrets are great pets. I found a new home for my Roscoe when I had my daughter. He was very jealous of her and it was not improving. I miss the little guy. Cindy

Wow. This is bringing back memories! Ours always liked to hide, so be careful when you sit down. They also tore a hole in the bottom of our box spring of our bed and used to sleep and hide things in there. Sometimes, they would steal my bath beads and hide them. Then, every once in a while they'd smell really good because they had broken one open and rolled around in it. :laugh:

I hope you don't have any potted plants on the floor. Remove them if you do or you just might come home to a disaster area. As for the corner, it worked for our male ferret. Our female would just stop in her tracks, wherever she may have been, poop, and then continue on her way. :noway: :grumble:

I know nothing, except you're a great guy with a big heart. The person who lost him is probably either terriby upset-and with be so thankful for you:smooched: , or unfortunately could have dumped it-which, thank God you took him in, or he would have a different fate. I was sooo upset when one of my cats got out while I was away, and thankfully some good soul took him to the Humane Society, where I had got him. Congrats and a big hug for being you! Have a great father's Day (if your a Dad). You may to be a cute Ferret soon! Kath

Well, I am trying to keep in mind that ferrets in our area sell for a pretty large sum of money (~200$) so I want to make sure that if I find the owner that it is actually the owner. I'm going to contact the management of the apartment complex my friends live in and see if anyone is looking. I also have my friends asking around.

Any good ferret-owner tests? Besides describing the color of the thing.



I'm going to wait 2 weeks before I take him/her to the vet, I figure if I haven't found the owner in 2 weeks then the chances of finding the real owner will go down exponentially.

YES, there is another test for an owner. there are several products which are microchip based and have a code that can be read with a scanner - Home Again, AVID, etc. If you bring him/her to a vet, they can scan the ferret and see if there is a microchip. if there is, it is easy to track down the owner with that information.

It is a sign....you finished and you now have time for a new friend. You're doing great, it's more than what most people would do. I have a local rattery nearby (ga street rats) and it's where I've adoped my brood. I haven't had any ratties in about 3 years because my dachshund would rather not be friends with them and I can't run the risk. Was your mom able to sex it? If not I found a pretty good site.

http://www.harrys-ferrets.co.uk/page63.html

Hope this helps. :bigsmile:

Also wanted to let you know it is normal for them to sleep like 16-18 hours a day. It's what they do. And make sure your new friend isn't walking just on the bare wire floor of the cage, that can hurt them. Line it with newspaper and lots of old towels, etc.

Looks like a gorgeous one. Have fun! They love to play but will get into anything and everything. Let it out of the cage for some play time (ideally daily) but make sure you secure the area first. One of mine can even get under the door into the den. She's so tiny we have to stuff a blanket under there!

Hey there, former ferret owner here I had 8 in total and miss my fuzzies all the time. Here are a few things that might help:

Sexing - Pretty easy, does it have a "belly button"? If so, you have yourself a boy (and it's not a belly button!). Boys are bigger than girls (female 1-3lbs male 3-5lbs) but with no comparison that won't help. Females also tend to have much pointer faces. In the picture it looks like you might have a young one but it's hard to tell.

Check it's ears for a small tattoo. Marshall Farms breeds the majority of ferrets sold in pet stores and they place a small tattoo (kust a black spot) on the ear once the ferret has been spayed or neutered. It's pretty hard to get an unaltered ferret in the states so I'm sure this one has been fixed. It is important because female ferrets can become very ill if they go into heat and aren't bred. Males also get extra stinky if they aren't fixed. Most ferrets are also descented. It's a fairly useless practice and it's banned in other countries but we still do it here because it makes people think they won't smell.

Like someone else said you should feed it a food made specifically for ferrets because they have a high protein diet. In a pinch you can use a high quality kitten food.

Sadly ferrets are super-cute and lots of people buy them as pets without checking into what it takes to really own one. They are absolutely wonderful pets but they do have a smell that isn't going to go away. Actually bathing them too frequently just makes them produce more oil and smell worse! To love a ferret you just have to accept it.

I hope things go well, feel free to message me if you have any questions

It was meant to be! Your Mom has a rat rescue? How awesome to know people who know stuff about small animals like that. I wouldn't have a clue! What are you going to name her, or have you? Thanks for keeping us updated, and to all of you knowledged folks, glad I can learn something-I always wondered about those little guys. You HAVE to get her a hammock, there is nothing cuter!:flowerforyou: