Could my rabbit bond to a ferret?

[Lis]

My friend wants to give me her ferret, since she feels like she doesn’t give Freyja enough attention. Now, I’ve always love ferrets and wanted one, but my bun comes first.

Freyja is an unaltered female ferret, Stormy is an unaltered male rabbit. 

First of all, a ferret shouldn’t attack a bun, right?

Secondly, do you think it would be possible to bond them? They wouldn’t live in the same cage, but maybe playtime could be together? 

[Monkeybun]

I wouldn’t suggest it. Ferrets are carnivores, your bun may seem like dinner to it.

[Dextervonbon]

yes I agree, ferrets can and will most likely harm your bunny. I wouldn’t suggest getting a ferret if you do have a bunny. They can squeeze into small places and under doors so you would have to ferret proof everything you possibly can.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I had two ferrets when I was a teenager. They are very fun pets to have! Although cats are carnivores and they can bond with rabbits. I wouldn’t suggest getting a ferret. A rabbit would more than likely be on the menu! Oh, and I have never found any way to ferret proof a house! They can squeeze into any small space. They are also very good at escaping! It is much like having a toddler in the house when you have a ferret.

[Beka27]

As the others said, absolutely not. I would not even house them in the same room.

HRN recently had a short article about ferrets. For small animal lovers like ourselves, it’s easy to think that ferrets are just another extension of having a rabbit, but they are very different, both in their behaviors and their care/requirements. I think they’re very cute and fun to watch, but I know they’re not the pet for me.

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/ferrets.shtml

[Sarita]

I agree, definitely not. Also your friend should really reconsider and keep her – maybe she doesn’t have the time RIGHT NOW to give her attention but that is not always going to be the case. Also if she doesn’t rehome her with someone she knows and trusts like you then the she could be in a worse situation.

In any event, I don’t think it’s a good match for your bunny.

[Beka27]

I’d much prefer to see you get a mate for your bunny, after he’s neutered. That way you’re using things you already have (instead of having to have food, litter, and housing for two different species) and your bun is getting interaction when you’re not around.

[Andi]

I wanted a ferret, but I will not own one while I own rabbits or other rodents. Ferrets are much to intelligent to figure out how to get to their prey AKA Rabbits/Rodents.
Just the smell of the ferret can upset a bunny. In the wild, relatives of the ferret can take down small children, so I would never underestimate them.

[Lis]

Alright, no ferret it is then. I do not want to put Stormy in danger or make him scared.

[Nibbles_NZ]

If I didn’t have bunnies I would get another ferret! They are very cool…but, they are sooooo sneaky! lol

[Dextervonbon]

I use to have 3 ferrets and loved them to death! They made a “home” in my dad’s couch and always stole my pens, socks, stuffed animals, or anything they could and hide them in the couch lol.

[TARM]

In the wild relatives of the ferret can take down small children? Uh…no…lol Ferrets are completely domesticated, they do not exist in the wild. The black footed ferret isn’t the same species as a domestic ferret. Polecats aren’t either.

Ferrets are carniverious but they would be more likely to chase a rabbit than kill and eat it. Still, it’s not safe to allow ferrets to “play” with bunnies.

Also, female ferrets MUST be fixed unless they’re used for breeding. If they aren’t they will die in their first heat if they aren’t bred. They will literally bleed to death unless they get a shot from a vet to stop their menstral cycle. Pet stores do not sell unaltered ferrets and those that wind up in shelters generally come from pet stores…so…the female is most probably fixed.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I read a post on a forum about someone-her bf left the cage open accidentily to his ferret-and her bunny didn’t survive. I wouldn’t even house them together let alone introduce them.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I had no idea that pet stores didn’t sell unaltered ferrets! Wow! When I had my ferrets (not at the same time) I didn’t know thier gender. I bought my 2nd one at a petstore and it was very young. They can alter them that young?

I agree that a ferret may not actually “hunt” the bunny but it would definelty play with it to death. My ferrets were very sweet and not at all agressive to people but I have no doubt that a bunny wouldn’t have been safe around them at all.

What ferrets are in New Zealand then? I read an article that New Zealand is completely overrun by rabbits because they had no natural predators there to hunt them. The same article also said that the ferret population there is getting out of control too. Wouldn’t the ferrets have hunted the rabbits being that they are carnivores?

[Monkeybun]

Some pet stores DO sell un-altered ferrets, it isn’t actually a law in many places in the states. Was curious about it so I looked it up They do sell them at a lower cost though, as they haven’t had the expensive surgery performed, so I suspect many people buy them just for that. So don’t assume a ferret is altered in a pet store unless they specifically say so and can prove it. And of course, other countries may have different laws on it, and not require it at all.

[TARM]

Monkey, where did you read that pet stores sell unaltered ferrets? The only place I’ve ever known of that you can purchase unaltered ferrets is from a breeder FOR THE PURPOSE of breeding. I worked with a ferret rescue for 5 years and I’m pretty sure if unaltered ferrets were sold out of pet stores we would have heard about it. Altering is a law in most stated and is also a general practice by the breeder mills. They do it on site as early as 4 weeks old in order to ship them out to the stores while they’re little and cute. It’s not uncommon for one or two not to make it through the shipping process. The dead ones are sent back to the breeder for a credit. I’m not kidding. The super early spay/neutering is also why so many ferrets stay so tiny. Their growth is stunted by the lack of hormones. If you want a bigger ferret you need to get one from a reputable breeder.

The purpose behind altering the males is to keep them from getting too large and hormonal. An unaltered male ferret is MEAN and WILL bite. He will also smell horrible. I’ve only ever met one unaltered hob and he came from a breeder going out of business. Altered and descented ferrets still have a slight musky odor but unaltered ferrets smell like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. Not many people would want them in the house because they will literally smell up the entire house. They’re also kind of greasy and if you hold them you’ll need to change your clothes because the smell rubs off.

I’ve never met an unaltered female ferret (out of hundreds I’ve seen cycle through rescue) but the smell is also horrid if they are left with their scent glands. Not all places descent any more since that’s becoming considered cruel and unnecessary, much like tail docking and ear cropping dogs. And, like I said before, a female will die if she is intact and not bred. You can find that factoid on most any ferret related website and/or book.

I don’t know what’s happening in NZ with ferrets but the only way the population is getting out of control is if people are dumping them. But, since ferrets are completely domesticated and imprint their food they’d starve not long after getting dumped. If they’re raised on kibble, and most are, they won’t try to eat anything that isn’t kibble. Most ferrets won’t even tolerate a brand switch, which is why most owners mix different kinds of food together, that way if one becomes unavailable their ferret will still eat. If I had to guess I’d say they weren’t domestic ferrets but polecats or minks or some other type of weasel.

Dr. Foster and Smith have some very basic info about ferrets on their site. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?c=17342&articleid=1985&category=625 It pretty much describes all the reasons that ferrets would not be sold out of pet stores intact.

 

[Monkeybun]

There were a few sites I went to when searching for ferret laws and such that stated that some pet stores will sell unaltered ferrets at a reduced price, as it isnt a law everywhere. Didn’t find a list of states where it was legal to do o though, was getting rather tired at that point and gave up to go to bed

[Sarita]

Most animal codes are city by city so you’d have to look at alot of codes and ordinances to know what the laws are.

[Nibbles_NZ]

My Ferrets (when I was a teen) must have been altered then. They weren’t mean at all and didn’t smell at all. I rescued one of them so I don’t know where it came from. The other I bought at a petstore for $100. Every petstore I’ve ever been to sells them for $100. If they are altered then how are they making any money from them?

[Andi]

Posted By TARM on 05/08/2010 05:57 PM
In the wild relatives of the ferret can take down small children? Uh…no…lol Ferrets are completely domesticated, they do not exist in the wild. The black footed ferret isn’t the same species as a domestic ferret. Polecats aren’t either.

Ferrets are carniverious but they would be more likely to chase a rabbit than kill and eat it. Still, it’s not safe to allow ferrets to “play” with bunnies.

Also, female ferrets MUST be fixed unless they’re used for breeding. If they aren’t they will die in their first heat if they aren’t bred. They will literally bleed to death unless they get a shot from a vet to stop their menstral cycle. Pet stores do not sell unaltered ferrets and those that wind up in shelters generally come from pet stores…so…the female is most probably fixed.

 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_t…and_ferret

http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/ani…_baby.html

I’ve seen the Damage a Mink (also related) has done to rabbits. Domesticated or not, they are powerful little animals, so wether they are just going to ‘play’ b/c they do not have the instincts to kill for food, it’s not something I want to chance.

[Nibbles_NZ]

They would play with it until they killed it. Like a lot of cats do with mice.

[Beka27]

Posted By Nibbles_NZ on 05/10/2010 02:55 PM
My Ferrets (when I was a teen) must have been altered then. They weren’t mean at all and didn’t smell at all. I rescued one of them so I don’t know where it came from. The other I bought at a petstore for $100. Every petstore I’ve ever been to sells them for $100. If they are altered then how are they making any money from them?

 

I can’t speak for ferrets directly, but in general, petstores make money on pet supplies, cages, food, litter, not so much the animals.  And it makes sense that the petstores would prefer ferrets to be altered b/c it’s an “easier sell”:

Customer: “Why is this ferret $100?!” 

Employee: “That ferret is spay/neutered and descented!”

Customer: “OH!  Okay… here’s $500 for ferret and supplies!”

And this also prevents them from being “backyard bred”.  Many people don’t realize shelters exist that have ferrets (and rabbits!) and maybe they don’t want to bother with finding a reputable breeder, so they think that a petstore is their only option.  A win-win for petstores.

 

I wish that if petstores HAD to have rabbits, they HAD to be spay/neutered.  Wasn’t Petco or someplace experimenting with only selling altered rabbits, but then switched to adopting out for shelters?

[Nibbles_NZ]

That makes sense to me. I only paid $20 for my bunny but spent a lot on supplies for her. I don’t know a whole lot about the shelters because the only ones I have ever found even close to where I live do not have any type of exotics. They only have cats and dogs. I would very much like to adopt from a shelter. I agree with you about pet stores needing to spay/neuter thier rabbits. A lot of people that buy them do not realize that it is essential to have it done. Either that or they don’t want to pay for it. I don’t know about Petco. We don’t have one. I’ve also spend hours searching for a good breeder and didn’t get anything. You either have your basic out for profit breeders that make money off of any kind of animal they can get thier hands on or you have the breeders that sell mostly show quality rabbits. I am going to look into more. I think I will have to drive a ways to find a good shelter. Of course not any time soon! lol I have my hands full right now.

[Beka27]

And… petstores create a returning customer. They are going to go back probably monthly to buy litter and food, and maybe some icky toys that the buns will sniff once and never touch again. Best thing you can do is find a good PET SUPPLY STORE that only sells products and no live animals, and give that store your patronage, or there are many reputable websites that sell high quality hay/food, so IDEALLY… you never have to go into a petstore again.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I don’t buy my rabbit supplies there anymore. Just that one time I bought thier supplies. I actually found a Tractor Supply store here that I like a lot. It’s a farm store. They have a lot of pet items and good books about them. I buy food and hay from them. As far as toys, honestly, I can’t find a lot of rabbit toys around here so I buy the cat toys (balls and things with no catnip). They love thier toys so far. I think I am going to shop at the BB store soon for more toys. I would like them to have some good toys designed for rabbits. Oh, what do you think about the chew toys that are colored and say “for rabbits and other small animals”? Would the color on them be bad for them? I bought some but later threw the ones that were colored away because it just didn’t seem natural enough for them.

[Monkeybun]

Catnip is actually bunny safe

[LoveChaCha]

Catnip is bunny safe? For real? O.o

[Monkeybun]

Yep Not all buns enjoy it, but its safe.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I would have never guessed that

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