Are ferrets good pets ??

Answers:
Ferrets are good/bad pets depending on a lot of different variables. It all depends on you, what you are looking for in a pet, your time commitment, etc. What is a great pet to one person is not necessarily great pet for another.
Ferrets are extreamly high maintenance pets. Start up cost for a ferret is around 500 dollars. When you first get your ferrets they will need to see a vet(not apart of the 500 dollar start up). Most states require yearly vaccinations for ferrets(rabies, distemper) this can cost upward of 150 dollars. They also need monthy heartworm pills
It is recommended that you have two ferrets, They can sleep together and play in ways that they cannot with you.
Ferret food is expensive. They should have at least three high quality food mixed togther. Marshals food is not a high quality food(do not feed the ferret this). High quality means first three ingrediants meat, and no fish.34-36% protein and approximately 20% fat (and low fiber) The high quality food can cost anywhere from 15 dollars to over 20 for a 5 -10 lb bag. Feeding them low quality food may be cheaper for awhile, but will lead to health problems and costly vet bills later.
Young ferrets monthy bills may be fairly reasonable, but as ferrets age they are extreamly likely to get adreanal disease. You are more likely to have a ferret get health problems when they get older than not, and older is only about 4, so expect high vet bills for about half its life.
Ferrets are smelly, there is no going around that fact(even descented). Since ferrets are strictly carnivours they have a short digestive tract, and need food available all the time, therefore they deficate every few hours. They also have a musky smell(even decented) it get into eveything (clothes, etc). Cages need to be cleaned daily to minimize the smell, if you let it wait the smell will be tremendous. Even cleaned daily you can still smell the ferrets as soon as you enter my home.
They can be litter box trained, but it is hard, and hit or miss(no pun intended). When they are out of thier cage they will not seek out a litter box and will usually just go anywhere. My ferrets never were litter box trained and preffered to go next to the box/dig in it, rather than use it.
Expect to have your ferret out of its cage for a minimum of 6 hours a day, otherwise they will not be happy. Ferrets have a lot of energy and need to burn it off.
When they are out they must be supervised as they get into everything, climb everywhere, etc. Mine used to love to go on my dvd shelves and knock them all off(finally had to replace the shelves with a cabinet style)
Some of them can be mean, there is no gaurentee. You must be prepared to deal with an agessive ferret. Do you know what to do with a problem biter? I have a formally abused ferret that was a bad biter(I took some nastly bites to the hands-nerve damage on one hand). Even friendly babies can have personality changes if not properly socialized and trained.
Ferrets must be nip trained when they are young. There are correct and incorrect ways to do this. Hitting, yelling flicking the nose do not work and may lead to an agressive and hand shy ferret. All ferrets nip, there is no way to completly stop, but it should be controled. They should know not to bite you too hard, often, ect. That is where having two ferrets comes in handy(they can play with eachother the way ferrets naturally play)
The cage must be fairly large, the ferret starter cages sold in pet stores are not large enough. A ferret needs a multi floor cage. You'll need hammocks, ferrets like sleeping away from thier feces and urine. Get food bowls that lock to the side or else they will throw them off the shelves. Large water bottles are best (32 oz), ferrets need water available all the time.
If you know all the information, and are prepared to make an expensive and long commitment then go for it.
Please be sure you hav emergency vet money set aside, it is recommended at least $1000 dollars, you do not want to end up as one of the kids on here asking, My ferret is injured how do I treat it without going to the vet. Thats not fair to the pet or responsible. I have thousands of dollars put aside for emergencies.

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uhuh i love mine!

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mm my sister had a ferret
it attacked everyone besides her
and it smelled really bad.
you just gotta make sure you can handle the stench
and that you need to get it active with more than one person.
cause they'll get attached

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Yes! They are so fun to have, sweet, cuddly, entertaining, and they're so cute! The only problem is their cost, the fact that they need a LOT of space, and also you can't have any cats or anything that might hurt it as they need to be able to roam the house every once in a while.
To Jessica: That's your sister's fault. It wouldn't be vicious if she had socialized it, and the only way they can stink is if their cage isn't cleaned enough.

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YES they are AWESOME pets.
i have one shes like dark gray and white and her name is Lucy.
i love her so much :)

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i suppose individual ferrets vary but my ferret was very loving and very easy to litter train and i taught him to play quite a few games and tricks...keeping the 'scent' down wasnt hard either, he was descented but there was still an odor, but as long as his cage was clean and he was bathed regularly it wasnt mush worse than a dog. They are very intelligent but high maintenance creatures, you have to 'kid proof' your whole house...pets like this should never be an impulse buy...also some states (last i knew) had made it illegal to keep them as pets, if you do decide to get one make sure its from a reputable breeder and socialize it well and im sure youll never regret getting it

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of course as long as you are willing to bath the ferret or deal with the scent glands.

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My sister had an insane ferret that was real viscious it turn's out the ferret spent to much time in the cage and when i let her roam the house for a couple hours she calmed right now and now the ferret is real nice.
Not viscious at all

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sure

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Really good pets. But it does take some time to get used to it. They will nibble at your fingers at first because they have poor eye sights. After a while, they learn to stop.
They can also be litter trained, but I could never get mine litter trained. She would poop all over the floor in every corner in my room and closet.
If you plan on getting a female ferret, make sure that she gets spayed unless you plan on breeding her. She can die if she goes into heat, so she needs to see a vet.
If you can't stand the stink, you can always have his/her stink gland removed.

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Here is a good site~
http://home.comcast.net/~mustalayday/fer...

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yes! I don't know what I would do without my ferret. It's practically my best friend 24/7! She is so funny! Th smell is one you can seriously get used to. I did. It's like it never is a smell. She is so cute when she is playing and jumping and hitting into walls, or even stealing shoes! Then when she sleeps, it looks like she's curled up and her feet are by her head. It's great animal and I am hoping to get a second baby ferret for my Birthday! I really hope people will realize that ferrets are very cool pets and a great friend!