Advice for a Possible Future Ferret Owner?

heidisapirate on 10/08/2017 - 16:54
Last edited 10/08/2017 - 19:11 by 1 other user

Hey OzBargainers! So I've been recently considering getting myself a ferret as a pet, and I've been looking up a bunch of info online, but not much is Australia/Victoria specific, so I figured I'd ask around here.

I would prefer to keep it outside, and have found a quite large cage online (120cm tall, 3 stories high), however I have read that ferrets don't do well in the heat. What do you guys do during Australian summers? Does it get to a point where it's impossible to have them as outside pets year round because of the Aussie heat?

How many do you have? Websites I've found have been 50/50 on whether it's okay to have one or if you should have two or more.

Did you get your ferret as a kit, or did you adopt an older one? Which do you recommend? If you did adopt an older one, did it warm up to you as quickly as you would expect a kit to?

I know they need a lot of attention, and I currently have quite a bit of time on my hands, and would be up for walking it around the neighbourhood each day, as well as playing with it.

Any other advice (either general or Australia-specific) for a possible future pet owner? Also how much should I expect to spend?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • afoveht on 10/08/2017 - 17:11
    +2

    Advice in pets best interests: Don't buy pets. If you have it in you to look after one then adopt from death row.

    • heidisapirate on 10/08/2017 - 19:19
      +5

      I found a ferret rescue centre that often take in both young and old ferrets so I'd probably be going to them, rather than a breeder or pet shop

  • Irate Monk on 10/08/2017 - 17:52
    -2

    Any other advice (either general or Australia-specific) for a possible future pet owner

    A cat.

    A domestic short hair cat is ultra cheap in maintenance.
    '
    And…consider these being definitely an alien intelligence.
    400 gms of holistically nourishing cat food for under $1 per can (bulk at 76 cents from a Foodland bargain; when it happens)
    A 5 KG cat can do a typical can in two days.

    • heidisapirate on 10/08/2017 - 19:17

      Yeah I've got cats. Love them to bits but I'm also always up for the idea of looking after new animals, and I've wanted a ferret for two years ever since I fell in love with one I met at a house party.

      • Agret on 10/08/2017 - 22:20
        +1

        Keep your cats away from your ferrets. Also ferrets smell a lot so try to keep them in a separate area away from the main house.

  • Word on 10/08/2017 - 18:40
    +1

    Socks.

  • Elppa8 on 10/08/2017 - 20:28
    +2

    I was on a non air conditioned train on 43 degree day when a middle aged couple got on with a ball like object full of holes and an awful smell around them. Turned out it was how they carried their pet ferret every where they went. They were concerned about the ferret in the heat so they opened the carriage end door and stood airing the ferret with the hot air blowing through the carriage. During conversation with another passenger they said ferrets made great pets and it slept in their bed with them. The thought of that smell and of losing private bits in bed didn't paint a pretty picture for me.

  • jzdhgkd on 10/08/2017 - 20:34
    +1

    I know someone who has a ferret and that same ferret has stayed in my house for a short while.

    Long story short - I would never want to own one purely because of the smell.

    I'm sure you'd get used to it but then other people would be smelling your animal on you and be wondering wtf is going on. Seriously they smell so bad!

    If you already know what they smell like and that doesn't bother you then the only piece of advice I can give you is to get a cage with the smallest holes you can find. The cage that the aforementioned person kept their ferrets in was about 1.5m tall and "designed for ferrets" however it still managed to get out through the holes. Ended up having to cover it with chicken wire.

  • edwardcr on 10/08/2017 - 20:45
    +2

    If you want to own a ferret, make sure that you buy some oversize trousers.

    Then you can partake in the ancient sport of ferret-legging!

  • altomic on 10/08/2017 - 21:07

    get a cat.

  • chrisd262 on 11/08/2017 - 00:38

    I don't think they can be house trained? Hence the marking of territory = smell.
    Ownership is banned in QLD and NT.
    They are an example of another imported noxious animal in this case originally to kill rabbits.

  • dogboy on 11/08/2017 - 08:27

    In the immortal words of John Kimble, "Thats not a dog, its a ferret!"

  • luffyex2010 on 11/08/2017 - 08:36
    +1

    There are three rules:
    (1) no bright light,
    (2) don't get him wet, and
    (3) never feed him after midnight,

    no matter how much he begs.
    Bright light hurts him,
    and sunlight can kill him.
    If he gets wet, he pops out more mogwais…..oops wrong creature

  • Marble250 on 11/08/2017 - 11:25

    When I was a kid I had a sable and a white…for rabbiting! - don't know why you would keep the the stinking, vicious little turds for "a pet"?!.

    If you get one, make sure you have the fortitude to punch it, full blooded in the head, to get it off your (meat smelling)fingers and if you're a bloke, wear tight, stout underwear, or your reproductive ambitions may be thwarted.

  • Lil0leMe on 23/09/2023 - 09:43

    Did you end up getting a ferret?
    They got a seriously bad rep here!

    But they're actually very cute, lovable creatures that don't smell as much as some cat homes I've been to (caveat: ours are all fixed, I hear the smell is stronger if they're not fixed)

    Yes, they can be bite trained and toilet trained. They really like toileting in corners so that gives you a head start.

  • Marble250 on 30/10/2023 - 23:33

    Did you even read my post?!….I hate the little bastards!!!

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