A Guide to Owning a Pet Ferret

Ferret Care and Maintenance

Ferrets are friendly and social pets. They have been domesticated for over one thousand years and have been used as both pets and hunters. Ferrets are closely related to mink, otters, skunks, weasels and badgers. The ferrets you find in pet stores have already been descented and altered. Ferrets come in a variety of colors, mostly variants of sable and albino. Sable ferrets are usually tan with a dark mask and tail. Male ferrets are called "hobs" and females "jills". Baby ferrets are called "kits".

Male ferrets tend to be a bit larger than female ferrets. A fully grown male ferret is about 15-16 inches long and weighs 2-3.5 pounds. A fully grown female is only about 13-14 inches long and weighs around .75-2.5 pounds. Neutered males weigh a bit less than those that are not neutered. An unaltered male ferret can weigh over 4 pounds!

Ferrets are nearsighted, but they have an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. Ferrets spend much of their day sleeping. In fact, ferrets sleep about 18 hours a day! They are awake both during the night and day, but often they try to match their sleeping pattern with that of their owners. When awake, ferrets are lively and playful. When asleep, they are dead to the world. It is extremely difficult to rouse a sleeping ferret.

Ferrets do have a musky odor about them, but it is neither offensive nor overpowering. Occasional bathing is necessary, as with any pet, but excessive bathing will only make the smell worse, as it dries the skin and causes the ferret's body to produce more oils. Ferrets are born with scent glands, much like that of a skunk. Unlike the skunk, the ferret's scent is not nearly as strong and dissipates quickly. It also washes away easily. When a ferret feels threatened, it releases the contents of the scent gland. It does not spray, like the skunk does. As mentioned earlier, ferrets are descented at a very young age, usually before being sold. Descenting a ferret will not eliminate the musky odor.