Posted by fullottermoon on April 17, 2003 at 04:50:04:
In Reply to: Should I get a fuzzy? posted by Sharky on April 16, 2003 at 20:29:23:
:Hi, my name is Shark :) I adore fishies, and have been avidly into rodents (rat/gerbil breeder, but have quit). Recently, I started building a HUGE cage for all my darling little female rats (and I had a lot), but a virus or something struck all my sweethearts. 4 females are still alive out of 11. I lost 4 just in the last week. My boys (3) are all doing great, even tho they're situated right next to my ladies.
:But enuf about the virus. The conclusion, my Huge cage I built to fit 7 rats with 2 sq ft each is completely available for other pets. I want a pet I can take places, but is smaller than a cat or dog, but larger than a rat. I want them to be leash trained, litter box trained, and able to live in a cage for bedtime (would go everywehere with me, and have full reignhn of the bedroom the rest of the time).
:Thus, I come up with 2 conclusions- Ferrets and rabbits. But, my cage is much better for a ferret or two. Thus, here I am.
:She/he'd only be out with me every day for hours on end every other week, and then the weeks she/he wasn't with me 100% of the time, she'he'd just have full reign of the bedroom with optional cage (door would always be open to the cage. Is this enough?
:Also, I have a cat and dog (well, and rats and a hamster). Could the ferret be walked with the dog, and could the cat be allowed in the room while the ferret(s) are/is in their cage (she sleeps with me)?
:How high up should I keep my rodent cages? I only keep two small ones in my room, and they'd fit fine 4 feet up on my deep windowsill. Could the ferret get to that? Also, in the weeks that the ferret would just be in the room all the time, the cages wouldn't be there.
:I'd be rescuing the ferret from the humane society, maybe 1-2 years old. Is this okay for a first-time ferret owner? Also, the ferret I'm interested in in the humane society is a white female. I know dogs a little better, so is there a higher chance of deafness in white ferrets?
:This ferret would be around a LOT of people (but could have a ton of nap and quiet time as well). For this, would it be better to have a male or female? I also don't want the ferret to be extremely smelly, and I want it to be a tad easier to litter box train (my hamster was simple, I'm worried this'll take more work, lol!). I really need help gender choosing, any help would be great :)
:Other than those questions, I think I;m fine with information :) I'm looking forward to feedback, and am right now figuring out ferret proofing :) I may have more questions on that later.
:Thank you all so much!
:~*Shark*~
Those are alot of question in one breath! I will only attempt to answer a few off the top of my head. You may be bettter off with a rabbit. Ferrets sleep a good 20 hrs. a day regardless of where they are, they will sometimes just crash and go into what I call a "ferret coma." This can be good and bad depending on your expectations. As a rule, ferrets are not "sit still in a pouch or pocket" creatures. When up they are very active and my experience has been that they wiggle almost constantly to get down. Theircuriosity is incredible and they basically have no fear. They will stick their head into any place it will fit- and where the head fits the body can follow. Personally, Irarely take my ferets anywhere even though they are well mannered and notchrnic biters. Which brings up another problem. I don't believe that there is a guarantee,no matter how much training you put into it (and believe me, I have even put yrs. into training a rescue ferret!) that a ferret will not nip, esp. in new & different environments wth new people. Animal bites can always leave you vulnerable to a law suit. Ferrets cannot be taught to walk on a leash like a dog. The harnesses & leashes provide you only with a way to keep the ferret tethered to you so that the cannot run away. Their very nature and inquisitiveness makes it impossible to train them to that extent. They just want to see & sniff everything! And I mean everything! Plus, If they happen to see a hole they're gone! And they're very, very fast when they want to be. Thereis never a guarantee that a ferret is litter trained. Even if they use the litter pan 100% of the time in their cage, they may just find a convenient corner when out running around- and they do back up into corners to leave pee & droppings. Smell- again, no matter how often you bathe a ferret (which isn't that good for them too frequently) and no matter what you use, the smell comes back. They have scent glands that even though "removed" there is still a lingering scent for always. I think this answers some of your questions, and I think you ought to look at bunnies- they're more reliable- I've had both. Hope this helps! Nancy
