Ferrets were domesticated before the cat, probably by the Egyptians. The first ferrets came to the United States over 300 years ago on ships and were used for rodent control.
Ferrets are domestic in the truest sense of the word.
They come in a variety of colors, with albino being the original color of pet ferrets. Male ferrets are referred to as hobs and average from 2 to 5 pounds. Female ferrets are called jills and are half the size of the males. This summary contains tips that should benefit veteran ferret owners as well as first time owners. There are estimated to be over 6 million PET ferrets kept in the United States.