I haven’t had them but I cared for them for years at a pet store. They are very playful and in my opinion, need to be with another ferret. Of course it isn’t mandatory by any means and they can live very happy lives alone, but be prepared to play with them all the time. They do have to be neutered, but all [big chain] pet stores do this before selling them and I would assume that all ferret shelters do as well.They do make good pets- they can be litter trained so easily [easier than rabbits, imo] and they are so social! Look up some ferret videos on youtube because the way they play is hilarious! They do stink… their scent glands are usually removed [again, always when you buy them at a big chain pet store or if you go to a rescue] but that doesn’t help their poop. It’s like mushy cat poop and I would clean it out 2x a day.
As for a cage- you would want big- something with a nice big base for them to run in as well as tall. They love to explore and move so bigger is better. They are carnivores so they eat something similar to cat food.
That being said, I would NEVER own one. To me, they are great for a while… The people that do get ferrets usually end up with 3-4, I’ve noticed. It was not unusual to sell a ferret to someone and then have them come back in for another ferret within the next few days! I also didn’t see many ferrets get returned to the store and honestly, I don’t see them often in humane societies or on Craigslist. I do think that says something about their ability to adjust to home life.

They do make great pets. They are very playful and loving. I also think they should be in pairs but its also not absolutely necessary as long as you will play with them for a few hours a day.
How much they smell has a lot to do with diet and bathing. The better the diet the less they smell. Raw is best but you would need to do research. If raw is not an option or you dont feel comfortable with it a high quality kibble would be the next best option. Wysong eipgen 90, evo and orijen cat food are some good options. Removing scent glands doesnt actually do very much. They are like skunks. They spray when they get frightened. Having scent glands doesnt make them always smell. But most ferrets have already been descented. They should only be bathed when they get dirty. When you bathe them you are removing the oils (which is what smells) and thei bodies go crazy and produce even more oils. So bathing just makes them smell worse and dries out their skin.
They dont need huge cages because they sleep for 18-20 hours a day but they do need floor time for at least 3 hours a day. Or you can get a huge cage so they dont need as much floor time. Whatever works. With my ferrets it was easy to get them to use the litter pan in the cage but out of the cage they poo wherever. A lot of ferrets are like that. So that would be a downside. Having to clean poo off the floor every day lol.
They can also have expensive vet bills. They are a lot of health problems they can get. Some common ones are adrenal disease, ibd, dental problems, intestinal blockages and insulinoma. Feeding raw reduces the chance of a lot of health problems.
They are little thieves lol. My ferrets will steal remotes, shoes, videogame controllers, the cats and dogs toys and whatever they feel like stealing.

When I had my ferrets, I had a litter pan in every room of the house that they played in. Didn’t have any potty accidents that way. Also when bathing – get coconut scented shampoo. For some reason coconut cuts the ferrt musk smell right down. As long as a ferrets cage is clean, I don’t think they have a bad smell. Now, if you have one that is unaltered, they smell terrible.

I have had about 8 ferrets and 7 of the 8 ended up with Adrenal Disease.

Ferrets make awesome pets, I have had none better.

They can make good pets, but I wouldn’t want one. They can get stinky, and would NEVER want them around a bunny, as they are carnivores.

Which does lead me to ask… why wouldn’t you want one as a pet with you being vegan? I mean.. it’s their nature to eat meat, its just what they are.

A lot of vegans won’t buy meat or animal products for any reason, so prefer herbivore pets.

Ferrets are adorable and I always wanted one, but boyfriend thinks they stink. And now we have two buns and a bird, wouldn’t be good to bring a predator into the house. They are fun to play with though.

Ahh I gotcha

I don’t have one, but a close friend does have some and I lived with some for a while. I don’t mind that my girlfriend has them, but when the girl I roomed with one summer came home with two of them, I’ll admit I was mad. They smelled sooooo bad. I could barely eay in our apartment without gagagging. Now, we had a huge place with separate bedrooms and bathrooms, but even when she locked them in her bedroom I could smell them everywhere

With that said, they’re adorable and sweet! I wanted one for years, but now that I know more I’m happy with bunnies instead.

My ferrets lived from 6-8 years. They would not get along with bunnies. My ferrets bullied my cats and dogs and the cats and dogs avoided them like the plague. I still miss them though. I love ferrets…

Ferrets dont have to smell. How much they smell has a lot to do with diet. If you feed a high quality diet they dont smell. Raw fed ferrets only have a slight corn chippy smell to them. Over bathing can also make them smell worse. Ferrets should only be bathed when they get dirty. My ferrets dont smell any worse than my other pets. They are right in the kitchen and the whoel downstaris is open and no one can smell anything. Not even visitors. People are suprised to find out I have ferrets.

I think the fact everyone thinks they smell is a lot like the overwhelming majority of people think rabbits smell (unaltered rabbits in cages that aren’t clean often being what most are around if any) – pet stores and most owners have smelly ferrets. They do have a slight smell, what my mother calls a “wild” smell because several of the wild animals have a similar one. I had a skunk once, she smelled a bit like a ferret, but it wasn’t bad. I can’t convince my boyfriend that ferrets don’t smell awful though – but then, he expected the rabbits to never learn to use the litter box and chew the whole house up and he expected the bird to be wild and fly around and scream not be a sweet cuddly velcro pet.

Ferrets like any exotics have a stigma attached to them, because 90% of the people who own/sell any exotic don’t give them very good reputations.

Ahh gotcha. All the ferrets I have seen were very stinky

I know someone with well cared for ferrets and they do smell a bit, but then dogs smell a bit too – I just don’t like the ferret smell.

The girl I lived with during my internship had the smelliest ferrets of all time. They were just babies and I really don’t know how she took care of them because they were in her room, but I could smell them all over the apartment.

Every animal has some smell, but the overpowering gag inducing can smell them from across the room smell isn’t normal. Even bunnies have a scent to them and my bird smells a bit like baking powder. Raccoons, ferrets, skunks, prairie dogs all have a similar scent though and a lot of people don’t like it, but if kept well it’s not over powering like the ones in pet stores (which you can smell a mile away). Our shelter had a pair of ferrets when I picked up my bunny and they were in a cage with a bunch of toys (guessing their owner dropped off their setup with them) and I couldn’t even tell they were there except when I turned around and saw them across the room and they were so cute!

When I was in Drum Corps my first year, we had a free day and I went into a mall in Georgia and went into a petstore. I couldn’t believe there was a petstore in the mall. Back when I was maybe 4 years old I remember a mall here had a petstore but they closed – my first guinea pig came from there. Anyways….I saw my first ferret there – since ferrets are illegal here in Cali. bummer…. anyways……HOLY MOLY HE WAS SO FREAKIN CUTE BUT HE SMELLED SO SO SO BAD. I am guessing he wasn’t de-scented and they had the poor thing in a 10 gallon aquarium. Ughhhhhhh. Anyways they sure are cute, my friend had a trio of them that loved to take things out of your purse and hide them in their special little hidey spots all over the house haha. I know if you give a good diet and take care of cleaning their cage often they won’t smell like the poor one I saw in Georgia….that one made me gag.

Yeah, they are not supposed to smell horrible. Mine always had a nice musky smell. I love the smell of a well taken care of ferret…

Posted By lwayne on 08/12/2011 08:22 PM

I don’t have one and I think I’m more of a bunny person, but I’m curious about ferrets as pets.  Do they make good pets?  They seem playful.  If you have one  please post some pictures and tell me about him/her.  Are there any down sides?  I’ve heard they smell (can their sent glads be removed?). 

*ahem*

Posted By jerseygirl on 08/16/2011 11:23 AM

Posted By lwayne on 08/12/2011 08:22 PM

I don’t have one and I think I’m more of a bunny person, but I’m curious about ferrets as pets.  Do they make good pets?  They seem playful.  If you have one  please post some pictures and tell me about him/her.  Are there any down sides?  I’ve heard they smell (can their sent glads be removed?). 

*ahem*

*ditto the ahem*

I have a friend that has a ferret. He loves him a lot. He says that he doesn’t smell at all. The little one even plays and latches onto his sock. It is hilarous XD

I think ferrets are very cute, but I’m not sure how I’d be with feeding meat. Granted, I eat meat… but IDK. It just seems odd to me. Veggies are so much easier! I have a known a couple people who have had them and their ferrets definitely smelled musky. I could see it not bothering you if you lived there, but just going into someone else’s house, it did make me gag a bit.

So I guess ferrets are like cats for me… very cute for other people, but just not for me.