From: urf@icl.se (Urban F)
Subject: Ferret FAQ version 0.3
Organization: None. On USENET I speak only for myself.
X-Alt.reply-Address: n.g.u.fredriksson.swe2001@oasis.icl.co.uk
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1992 18:29:45 GMT


This is a draft version of a ferret FAQ. Apart from the fact that
there are [at least] four sections not yet written, I think it
needs some editing. If you have any advice on grammer or
spelling, please mail me. If you have any comments or anything to
add to the contents, please post it here so we can all discuss
it.

As long as the FAQ evolves, I plan on posting it, and an article
with the changes since the last version, about once a week.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
rec.pets ferret FAQ version 0.3

Subjects: PURPOSE OF THIS FAQ
          WHAT ARE FERRETS LIKE TO HAVE?
          GETTING A FERRET
          EQUIPMENT
          FERRET HEALTH CARE
          FERRET FOOD
          FERRET PROOFING YOUR HOME
          TOYS                                         (nothing written yet)
          HOW TO TOILET TRAIN A FERRET
          WHAT TO DO ABOUT A BITING FERRET
          HISTORY
          SOME PLACES WHERE FERRETS ARE ILLEGAL TO OWN

PURPOSE OF THIS FAQ

  It is meant to give interested non-ferret owners an overview of
  what ferrets are like and thus increase ferret awareness; help
  prospective ferret owners form a purchase decision; give new
  ferret owners basic helpful advice.

  All this to promote the well-beeing of ferrets, anything else
  is a secondary objective.


WHAT ARE FERRETS LIKE TO HAVE?

  When people I meet when I'm out walking my ferrets ask what they
  are like to have, the short answer I give them is "much like
  cats, only more sociable". Next question is usually "What do they
  eat?", whereupon I answer "Mostly cat food". If they then ask
  whether I keep them in a cage, my counter-reply is "No, you don't
  keep cats in cages, do you?".


  Sometimes they are said to combine all the good properties of
  cats and dogs. It is difficult to call this untrue, as what the
  "good" properties are is highly subjective.

  They need more care than cats, but not much. Mainly you have to
  spend lots more time with them in order to teach them how to
  behave, and they need your company more than cats do. Medically
  they are not as robust as cats.

  Ferrets learn new things just as fast as dogs, but they have a
  very short attention span, and have not the same liking for
  performing tricks. As apart from dogs, they will never regard you
  as their boss, so you can't expect them to obey you, even though
  they will do as you say much of the time.

  They like to play with you and other ferrets.

  A home normally contains lots of dangers to a ferret, so you must
  spend time and effort to ferret proof your home. When you've done
  this, you must still be very careful, as they are very lively and
  can easily have an accident, in for example a closing door.


GETTING A FERRET

  You should not separate puppies from their mother until they're
  at least 8 weeks old. Older, adult ferrets adapt very well to new
  families, and getting a mature ferret is what I recommend to
  first time owners, as you then don't have to do all the work with
  teaching it how to behave.

  If you want to get a young one, be sure to get one that's raised
  among humans, and not a farmed one.

  When you get one, check that it is healthy. The eyes should be
  clear and alert, the skin soft, the anus and genitalia clean
  without any signs of inflammation, the legs straight. It should
  be playful, careful and composed. Playful bitings are normal in
  puppies, agressive biting is a sign of bad mentality. It should
  not be afraid of new humans, sounds or things. Get the help of
  someone who knows ferrets.

  Ferrets like the company of other ferrets, so I would recommend
  you to have at least two. If you're a first time owner, get first
  one, and the next year another, as two new ones at the same time
  can be quite exhausting.

  Females normally weigh 0.8-1.2 kg, males are larger, up to 4 kg.
  Males generally have a calmer temperament.

  Ferrets normally live 8 to 11 years, the oldest known became 17,
  so it's a long term commitment from your side, during which
  they'll need lots of love and affection.


EQUIPMENT

  You'll need a transport cage; litter box; lead with harness and a
  claw cutter, all of the sort used for cats. Bowls for food and
  water, the latter must be of a type that cannot easily be tipped
  over as ferrets like to do just that.

  As it is harmful to eat dry food without having water to drink,
  I'd never leave a ferret with just one water bowl, you might
  also consider getting a bottle with a drip tube, like those
  used for rabbits.

  Ferrets like to sleep in tight, dark places with a low ceiling.
  They'll pick their favourite place, and then you can make it more
  comfortable for them with something to bed down in.


FERRET HEALTH CARE

Neutering

  If you're not going to use your ferret for breeding (something
  this FAQ has no intention whatsoever of dealing with), it must
  be neutered. To insure the normal development of the ferret,
  this should not happen until well after they've reached sexual
  maturity, usually at 5 to 8 months.

  If you don't neuter females, or breed them, they will die. Not
  the same year, but since they'll be in heat for up to 6 months,
  blood cell production will be harmed considerably, so they'll
  likely won't survive the next year. (If you don't want to breed
  them this year, but the next, they can be given a hormone shot
  to make them go out of heat, but this should only be done once.
  Even if you plan on using them for breeding, they'll have to be
  neutered after their breeding career is over: You should not
  get more than three litters of a female, partly for genetic
  variety, partly because it strains them considerably and they
  won't survive to an advanced age if they have many litters.)

  Males should be neutered too, as they also go in heat
  otherwise, and it's not good for them if they don't get to
  mate then.

Descenting

  Is completely unnecessary and can lead to troubles in that area
  later on.

  Ferrets do smell, but hardly more than for example dogs, just
  differently. Unless: They are frightened or in heat, which
  normally shouldn't occur very often.

Vaccinations

  You need to give your ferrets distemper shots. They shall have
  the first one at about 8 weeks of age, and repeated 2 weeks
  later. They shall be given a single shot every year after that.
  If you can't get a vaccine specially made for ferrets (I
  can't), those for minks, dogs or cats can be used.

  If you (unlike me) live in a country where there exists rabies,
  rabies shots are presumably mandatory.

  I'm sorry I can't recommend any specific vaccines, because
  1) I'm not an expert
  2) The same vaccines aren't likely to be available all over the world


FERRET FOOD

  Our ferrets' wild relatives mainly eat rodents, reptiles,
  insects, fish and birds, but also fruit and honey. We should try
  to give ours the same nourishment. They need food with lots of
  protein (>30%), relatively much fat, carbohydrates, vitamins (you
  probably need to add some vitamin B) and minerals.

  Choose a good dry fodder as base food, like for example Iams Cat
  Food and/or Hill's Science Diet. (In Sweden we don't seem to give
  adult ferrets kitten food.) You should also give it additives
  (remember, this is _cat_ food), every day vitamin B and once a
  week the yellow part from eggs. Extra vitamins and minerals can
  also be good.

  You should not give ferrets milk, as it will give them diarrhea.

  Fruit and raisins in small doses are good for ferrets, but don't
  give them so much so they get fat. Most food we can eat is not
  harmful to them, but for example a diet of fish will lead to
  lack of vitamin E, and they can't digest vegetable fibres, that
  is just for filling out cat food, so check the _animal_ protein
  content.

  Normal dry food is not hard enough to clean the teeth, so there
  will be hard depositions on them, which will have to be removed
  regularly to prevent the teeth from falling out.

  The above goes for Sweden, and as far as I understand also mostly
  for North America, but for example English ferrets seem to get
  different food. There it is common to give them milk every day,
  and as they are used to it, it doesn't harm them, and it contains
  important vitamins and calcium. Most of them eat raw meat in the
  form of chicken, rabbits and other birds, served complete with fur,
  feathers and bones. This is very good for their teeth, and the
  fur and feathers are said to be good for the digestion. They risk
  intestinal parasites from the raw meat, which will have to be
  removed at periods.


  I give my ferrets a both Hill's and Iams with vitamin pills for
  cats ground up and sprinkled on. Whenever I eat eggs, I give them
  the yellow part either raw or boiled. Twice a week they get pork
  chops, lightly fried and cut into pieces with no bones (they
  don't like beef much).

FERRET PROOFING YOUR HOME

  An average home contains lots of lethal dangers to a ferret.
  They are very good at finding spaces to crawl into; they are
  extremely clever at climbing up on things in surprising ways;
  with a little training they can learn to jump high and far.
  They have also a surprising facility for removing obstacles in
  order to go to places they want to.

  If there are ventilation shafts where there is a slightest risk
  they can get into them, you must assume they will do so, and
  get stuck in a place they can't climb up from. Same with the
  outlet in the bathroom floor -- there's usually a grille over
  it. Can it be removed? If so, screw it down. In the kitchen,
  are you sure they can't get the space where you sometimes have
  sharp implements, if not, you have to rearrange the furniture
  or something. Can they get behind the stove, and if so what
  will they find there?

  As ferrets investigate their environment very much with their
  mouths, you have to see to that there as few as possible things
  bite and eat that are dangerous. I've found that since most of
  their toys are rubber, plastic tubes are better than rubber
  tubes.


  An important part of ferret proofing is about attitude.

  The number one unnatural cause of death amongst ferrets is
  blockage due to ingestion of something incompatible. Therefore,
  you must always consider any object you leave lying aroud for
  its potential harm to a ferret. Is there something on it they
  can chew off and swallow?

  The second most common cause is probably more violent
  accidents. You can't sit or step on ferrets. Closing a door on
  them will break their backs. They like to burrow in the
  cushions of a couch, so you can't sit there unless you first
  check they aren't there. They may crawl under carpets, and if
  it's dark you won't see there's someone there. A desk usually
  have drawers you can climb into from the underside if they're
  open, so you always have to close it carefully. Ferrets are
  curious, so if you open a door, you can count on them sticking
  their head in, close it again and no more ferret.

  In short, if you have any doubts whatsoever that you'll have
  any difficulty at all opening and closing doors and drawers
  carefully and walk and sit down carefully constantly for the
  next decade and more, a ferret is not for you! Beeing off guard
  only once can be one time too many!


HOW TO TOILET TRAIN A FERRET

  I guess some of you have good advice on this. I don't, as to me
  it has always seemed like ferrets are born toilet trained. The
  only thing you have to do is explain to them which corners are
  OK, and which aren't. I think you do this best by showing
  encouraging or speaking harshly to them.


TOYS

WHAT TO DO ABOUT A BITING FERRET

  The easiest way is of course to get one that doesn't bite.

  If you already got one, you have to get it to understand it
  hurts. You shouldn't have to explain that it is wrong, they know
  that. Ferrets play very rough with each others, and it looks like
  they bite each other hard. In actuality, they are very good at
  regulating jaw pressure -- and need to be, as ferrets have a
  sensitive skin --, and only bite hard enough to get a good hold.

  How then to explain it to them? I have ruled out violence as a
  teaching method, partly because ferrets have a rather high pain
  treshold, partly because it's difficult to thump them on the nose
  or pinch them in the neck _when_ they are biting, and if you wait
  till a second after they release, they don't make the right
  connection. If you do it wrong, they may think you play with
  them. They also react better to voice control, like speaking
  softly to them when they are good.

  It is also easier to educate them by doing things they like when
  they behave, like playing more with them when they don't hurt
  you.

  If you want to show you are dominant, you can lift them by the
  skin of their necks, just like their mother used to do, but don't
  think you can ever be their boss, like you can be a dog's boss.


  I used to have a single ferret, and as she was alone she had an
  enourmous need to play with me. All the time, she was very fond
  of taking hold of fingers or wrist, but after the first week, she
  hardly ever scratched me. Only thing I did was yelling "Eeeeeh!!"
  and pinching in her cheeks until she released pressure. Then she
  understood what was my limits, and so was calibrated. She was
  very good at just holding, not biting, even when she got really
  excited.

  She kept up chewing on my earlobes when I carried her, and biting
  my nose when I slept some weeks more. Unfortunately, she never
  got calibrated on humans in general, due to a lack of enough
  social contact. Visitors who played with her always got scratches
  on their arms. This is not at all an accepted nor normal ferret
  behaviour!


  I've got two ferrets now. They were 16 weeks when I got them, and
  much more used to people, so it only took two days to calibrate
  them on me during play. And as they've met more humans, don't
  bite anyone else either.

  One of them kept chewing on my ears, and biting my lips, nose and
  eyebrows -- but not very hard -- for some weeks. As I realized
  _why_, I could put a stop on it. The other used to lick my nose
  quite a lot, so clearly the biting was just a way of seeking
  contact, but the poor creature didn't know how, as she thought
  what was acceptable with ferrets would be OK with humans too!

  The cure was to spend lots of time with her, and keep my nose
  close to hers and continue to scratch her ears or whatever, as
  long as she didn't use her teeth at all.


  Now I've got two ferrets who are both safe for anyone to handle,
  which is the normal state of affairs. My experiences has also
  made me a firm believer in that it is better to have more than
  one.


HISTORY

  Ferrets belong to the family Mustelidae, as do minks and weasels.
  They have existed for about 40 000 years.

  Our domestic ferret is known to have been living with humans in
  Egypt 3000 years ago. In the Mediterranean area it was used for
  hunting and rodent control in ancient times. They are smaller
  than cats, so they can get into burrows cats cannot, and rats
  will not stay near a place where it smells of ferret.

  There are no wild ferrets of the same species as the domestic
  ferret, Mustela putorius furo, which probably was created by
  breeding the ancient Mediterranean type with the European
  Polecat, Mustela putorius and/or the Siberian ferret, Mustela
  eversmanni to create a type that could stand colder climates,
  hunt and be a good domestic animal.

  Today, it is not just a companion animal, some are used to hunt
  for example rabbits. They're not supposed to catch the rabbit,
  just force them out of their burrows. Some are farmed for their
  fur.


SOME PLACES WHERE FERRETS ARE ILLEGAL TO OWN

  Don't rely on a place not mentioned in this FAQ allowing
  ferrets, check local regulations, and if necessary work to get
  them changed.

  Parts of the USA: California, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Utah,
  Michigan, District of Columbia.
--
 Urban Fredriksson  urf@icl.se  
 (When writing about ferrets, please include "ferret" in the subject line
 as it guarantees I will read it (unless you cross-post to talk.bizarre or
 misc.test: I never see such articles.(If you use nn, I can tell you how.)))