Ferret as a pet??

[911ctS]

Just wondering if anyone here has had a ferret for a pet. I have been reading that, like a skunk, it has stinky glands that can be easily removed for domesticating purposes. Do you think it would be a nice pet to have roaming the house? Im pretty sure they can be trained to crap in a tub, like cats.

[Rot 911]

Ferret = White trash man with mullet pet.

[vash]

no.

[motion]

They bite everything.

[osidak]

They can be mean little f'ers. Never owned one but a college buddy had one and he was bitten weekly by that rat of a pet. Nasty bites at that

[dd74]

I heard they eat human brains...

[Bill Douglas]

Nasty little ****s if they become wild. They devastate native bird life.

[Moses]

The glands are not that easy to remove. Even after removal they smell musty. No matter how you slice it, they are still weasels.

Want an exotic pet? Try chinchillas. Clean, odorless, cute and soft. They also pay for themselves. A chinchilla can cost $100-500 (depending on color). A pair will produce 2 or 3 babies/year. They live about 15 years.

If you gotta have a rodent, the chinchilla is a good bet.

[vash]

the chinchilla is tied with the RAT as the best rodent to have as a pet. the regular dust bath they need in pumice dust will coat everything in your home. but they are cute and nothing is softer. rats are smart.

i used to manage a pet store in college and ferrets are a potential horror story. so are hamsters.

[dd74]

Weasels, pot-bellied pigs, alligators, kids in NY with Bengal tigers in their apartments...there's a reason a dog is still probably the best pet of choice...

[bigrubberjeep]

Is it just me or does every little boy want one of those little monekeys that stay under 10 inches tall?

I want a monkey damn it!

[campbellcj]

I have had limited exposure to ferrets, basically just friends' houses in my younger days, but my recollections are similar to the above -- stinky, biting, PITA little critters.

I would much rather have a rat, which I also have some experience with and they are (surprisingly) good pet animals. They will piss and crap on you...but besides that, no problem

Between myself, friends and family, I've also been around tortoises, hamsters, birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, salamanders, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, fish, cats, dogs, horses, and I think overall that I would rather leave the animals up to somebody else at this point. We have two adult dogs right now and I honestly am not sure there will be others once these two leave us. I just can't make the sustained time and energy commitment to care for them as I feel they "should be". Guilt trip. (The barking and piles of crap in the yard do get old, too.)

[tops911]

I had a ferret for about 7 years untell I had to have put to sleep.
His health got real bad at the end. If you train them they are nothing like people are saying. When little they can bite hard however you train them not to bite. Ours never bit hard once we let him know how to play with us. They love to play and stay playful all their life. there is nothing like the weasle war dance; when they get excited they jump (dance) around. They are one of the only animals that will play with differnt animals. He was litter box trained but was not 100% on it. If the litter box was in another room he might not make it to the litter box. We ended up putting boxes in the corners that he wanted to use. I would not let them have total free range in a house they get into too much stuff. We would put him in a cage at night or when nobody could watch him.He did have the habit of chewing on things that were not good for him. He would of never survived in the wild. The ferrets I've been around have no real survival skills. He was not afraid of 2 large Doberman dogs, he just wanted to play. As for the odor, we gave him a bath about every 2 weeks, so he did not realy smell. He did smell like a ferret if you put your nose up against him, but the house did not reek. No one ever came to the house and ever noticed the smell.
The ferrets sold in the pet trade in the US are already descented and nutered. There are some health issues with ferrets from the US. The adrenal glands are the biggest problem. We had to have his removed, $1200. He had cancer realy bad, I find it hard that he lived as long as he did as sick as he was. He was a thief, if something caught his eye he would take it and hide it. It took me a day to find my wallet, he hid it under the book shelves. I would tell you to read some books about them and then decide if one is for you. But they are not like the bs that is always being quoted

[RickM]

Originally posted by Moses
Want an exotic pet? Try chinchillas.

Here in NJ you need a permit to own them. Not sure of other states.

[Scooter]

A roomate of mine in college had one. His name wasn't "Stinky" for nothing. He never bit anyone, and was actually a well trained and playful little guy. He eventually went blind and died from old age. RIP Stinky!

[911ctS]

Thanks guys! I'll have to read more indepth about these creatures characteristics and if one would be appropriate for me.
It would be cool to name one "Limo Rat".

Tops911- sounds like you had a pretty cool ferret. sorry to hear he passed away, but at least he had a good life.

BRJ - yeah a monkey would be way cool. They are big $$$ though I hear. Plus if I got one I would feel bad if I treated it any less than I would treat a child and I just dont have that kind of time right now.

[juanbenae]

monkeys throw poo out of their cages. behavior that BRJ can relate to, you read any of the poo he's been throwing as of late?

[bigrubberjeep]

k911sc - what is the purpose of your slander? Was I giving an opinion on you? NO!

[dhoward]

Originally posted by k911sc
monkeys throw poo out of their cages. behavior that BRJ can relate to, you read any of the poo he's been throwing as of late?

Thanks K911. I just spit coffee all over my keyboard...
Wuff wuff....

[juanbenae]

sample the poo throw here... http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?threadid=162575

YES?