Ferrets as pet for child?

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My grandaughter ,age 7, has been begging her parents for a pet. They live in a city apartment and a dog or cat are out. She wants something she can hold and pet and play with. My son doesn't care for mice or hamsters, so I was thinking the ferrets sounded good. Can you keep just one or are two better? Can they become somewhat tame? How are they in a pen when no one is home? Any input is appreciated.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), January 08, 2002

Answers

Something about ferrets rubs me the wrong way. While they are cute to hold, I just couldn't imagine keeping one.

One thing I did notice, the one I held about 6 years ago was teaming with fleas!! It went RIGHT back to it's owner's arms! They had cats, which may have brought the fleas into the house. I have been told that there are different fleas for different animals, but I am not sure of this.

-- Rick (Rick_122@hotmail.com), January 08, 2002.


You'll get both sides of this. My personal experience is they are mean little creatures and unless constantly kept after, they stink. I worked at a pet bording facility and we had them constantly. The supposed tame ones still bit, regardless of what the owner's said. You should also check to see if they are legal in your area.

-- Wendy A (phillips-anteswe@pendleton.usmc.mil), January 08, 2002.

I'm with Wendy. I have friends who have two. Both bite although they are supposed to be tame. They have a terrible time finding a vet who will tend them, the ferrets have very particular feed requirements according to my friends and they are relatively short lived. Maybe that's a blessing.

My friends have indoor/outdoor cats and allow their St. Bernards in the house on occasion. Their ferrets have constant flea problems and attendant skin problems as well. My friend has mentioned needing to give the ferrets a bath yet she says they lick and wash themselves as a cat does. Occasionally the ferrets will chase a mouse but I've never heard my friend say anything about their catching one.

Basically, you couldn't pay me enough to have one and I'm an animal lover.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), January 08, 2002.


Get it as young as possible .We had one and it was fine with the kids.It does need a weekly bath .Flea powder will work if there is ever a problem .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@hotmail.com), January 08, 2002.

I definitely would not recommend a ferret for a small child. As someone said earlier, even the tame ones bite. And they STINK. Even when someone is constantly cleaning them, they are in the weasel family and have glands that give off a rank odor. And no, they don't like being penned up, they like to have lots of room to run. In the wild they are busy predators with large territories. They are also intensely curious, and will be into everything.

For a 7 year old I would get her something easier to look after, like a dwarf bunny or a guinea pig. As with all pets, make sure that the child is capable of handling the animal properly. The nice thing about bunnies are that they can be house trained. Guinea pigs just pee/poop where they stand, they don't care if they're on your bedspread or your lap, they just let fly. They are easy to look after, and handled gently they can be fun affectionate creatures. They also are content with a small area, though they should be able to run about for exercise daily. You can easily do this by getting one of those water-proof mattress covers and block off the area around it and let the guinea run around on that to play for a bit.

I've had 2 rabbits, they're about as easy to look after as guinea pigs, but they need more exercise. We had one that was loose in the apartment all the time, he had a big wooden box with plastic liner and sawdust, had his food dishes at one end and he used the other end for his bathroom. Be aware that they do like to be active for a couple hours at night, so if it's caged up at night, keep it out of earshot. My one little guy used to leap up on the bed to wake me up in the middle of the night to play, I'd spend a few minutes with him and then roll over and went back to sleep. As soon as he heard the alarm go off in the morning he was there to greet me. Bunnies can be a lot smarter than most people give them credit for. The one thing you'll have to do if a bun is on the loose is make sure that all chewables are out of sight. We had to replace 2 phone cords. So we put all electrical cords behind furniture, and wrapped them with aluminum foil. He didn't like the foil.

Anyway, I'm getting long winded. Point I'm trying to make: DON'T give the kid a ferret. Please do take the time to do a little research on any animal before choosing a pet for the child.

-- Chelsea (rmbehr@istar.ca), January 08, 2002.



I had friends who had a couple. They spent most of the day asleep so be sure to put them somewher that they cannot disturb you when they wake up at night. The kids would hold them and carry them around while the ferrets slept blissfully in their arms. they just looked too much like a'possum to me and they did stink. A plus on that is the mice knew there was a predator in the house and this family didn't have much poblem with rodents. Tana

-- Tana mcCarter (mcfarm@totelcsi.net), January 08, 2002.

Sorry Katy, ferrets are not for children. I can't begin tell you how many children are severely bitten (and even killed) by ferrets. Not only that, their food, housing, and maintenance requirements are exacting and expensive.

Stuffed animals are much safer unless or until your granddaughter's housing situation or parental guidelines change.

Please heed the postings, since I'm sure you adore your grandchild (and your child, too)

On another note, I just loved your website. I'll be ordering some candles and wool samples pronto! Can't wait to see that loch blue!

-- Michaela (flhomestead@hotmail.com), January 08, 2002.


#1 question -- are they legal in my state?

#2 question -- what adult is going to be responsible for taking the ferret to the vet, bathing it, cleaning out the litter box (and poop balls in corners and under sofas), buying the right food,monitoring the ferret's health, monitoring the ferret's four hours of free-roam in your home per day, and ferret-proofing your home so that the ferret doesn't get killed?

#3 question -- when the ferret takes your socks, your wallet, your car keys, and hides them all from you, then decides to destroy the bathroom in play, are you able to say "Oh, how CUTE!!!?" or do you say "That's it! -- you're going to the pound!!!!"

Hopefully, this will start to tell you that there is a whole lot more to keeping ferrets than meets the eye. Start by visiting this site to find out if a ferret is right for your family -- http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/ferret/ferret.html

Ferrets really MUST be neutered, so figure that into your costs. Females will die if they are not neutered (or else bred ever heat cycle that they come into) and males will really stink if you don't -- they are a cousin to the skunk, after all.

Ferrets get lonely -- two or more are better. That's twice the havoc and twice the costs.

Can they be tame? Yes, very!! As a matter of fact, with a 7 year old (who should be supervised at all times handling a ferret at that age so as not to injure the ferret or hurt it -- in which case it might very well hurt the child in self-defense. They only weigh about a pound, but are equipped with carnivore teeth.), I would not buy any ferret that WASN'T tame to begin with. How would a 7 year old know the first thing about how to tame one? A friend of mine has done ferret rescue for over 20 years and frequently got them dumped on her for all reasons, including being 'mean' and 'biting to the bone'. She could retrain them in about 20 minutes time, since she knew what she was doing, however, this is NOT a job for a 7 year old.

Ferrets are a lot of fun, they are cute, extremely smart and clever, they will get into EVERYTHING (their name is latin for 'little thief'), and although I like and enjoy them a lot, they are not what I would recommend for every household, or even as a pet for a 7 year old. Sorry, but that is my considered opinion.

If you want a housepet and are still willing to 'proof' your home and are looking for a pet with less odor than a ferret, consider a house- rabbit. They too need their out time to play and run around the house, are litter box trainable (well, some are),and make good pets, however, at age 7 the child still cannot be responsible for the entire care of the animal and an adult is still going to have to supervise and ensure feeding, health care, grooming, and study up on diseases and maladies. They too get lonely without their own kind, so a bonded pair (neutered male and female) are recommended. Most rabbits do not want to be held, but house rabbits usually just adore to be petted while sitting on the floor with you, or alongside you on the sofa (all but dwarves can hop up themselves).

The other small animal of choice for many children that age (again, adult has to be the responsible one and undertake care and cleaning when the child doesn't, as well as supervise health) are guinea pigs. Guinea pigs also get lonely and are better with companionship, so you are better off with two sibling males raised together, or else two sibling females.

Check out what you are letting yourself in for on ferrets here --

http://www.ferret.org/ http://www.ferretcentral.org/ http://www.menagerie.on.ca/03-99/fuzzy.html http://www.goes.com/~ferret/resources.html

To read more on house rabbits -- http://www.rabbit.org/index.html

And a bit on cavy's(guinea pigs) --

http://www.cavies.org/health/

http://members.tripod.com/raaberao/cavymadness/madcare.html

http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/index.html



-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), January 08, 2002.


I have four ferrets and five kids ranging in age 3-13. Ferrets are great pets but I don't beleive a 7 year old should be the owner of one. Ferrets need time out of their cage (at least four hours a day) and they need the attention of their owners and will have to be bathe every few weeks to keep the musk odor down.If you bathe them to much it will just make the odor worse. Your home will have to be ferret- proofed as carefully as if it were being child-proofed. A ferret’s flexible bones allow it to crawl under and into spaces that seem impossibly small, so ferret-proofing is actually much harder than child-proofing. Two of my ferrets I can trust around my children the other two I don't (will bite you to look at you). If you decide to get a ferret anyways, you should get two (this way the won't be alone) and get them as babies so you can train them not to bite. They will nip even after being trained not to bite. Ferrets are expensive and they can have serious medical problems as they get older(which will run up the vet bills). If you decide to get a ferret you should look up information on them first. Here is a URL that might be helpful http://www.ferretcentral.org. You may want to consider a kitten until the child gets older.

Rita

-- Rita (Rlynchjarss@aol.com), January 08, 2002.


How about a rat for the girl? I know most people would find this kinda repulsive, but when you get them young, they really are sweet, smart pets. They are very inexpensive and can easily be bought very young. I had a white rat named Nimh who was very sweet, would curl up and sleep and your neck. They have a fairly short lifespan (about 2 years), which can actually be a plus, so the kid doesn't have to take it to college or anything. Just a suggestion.

-- Elizabeth (Lividia66@aol.com), January 08, 2002.


Elizabeth, you beat me to it! a rat is the best pet. They are friendly but not shy, can learn to come when called, are pretty tough, and do not bite unless you have something tasty on your fingers, in which case they'll nibble gently. They don't poop all over the place when you have them out like guinea pigs do. I have kids from 11 down to 5 who play with our rat, and every kid who visits here leaves wanting one!

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), January 08, 2002.

My vote is no on the ferret, yes on the rat or guinea pig.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), January 08, 2002.

No to the ferret, a big yes to a pet rat, from a pet store of course, they are remarkably intelligent and sweet tempered!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 08, 2002.

What about a budgie or a cockatiel? You'd want one that is "hand- raised" by a breeder, or it won't be tame. Skip the Wal-Mart pets altogether. A nice tame bird would be good for a little girl. You should be able to get one for under $50, easy.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), January 08, 2002.

How about guinea pigs? My son is 5 and has two girl guinea pigs. They are very sweet, happy to sit in your lap and be petted, no horrible odors, they squeak to you, love to eat treats out of your hand, etc... We keep our two in a semi clear large 12 inch high plastic storage box that we got at Wal-mart for $10 (obviously no lid - they will not climb out), they are in our living room, they have a large plastic tube to play in. They are very easy to keep, a great pet for kids. I recommend getting two girls as they really do like the company of each other.

-- Anita in NC (anitaholton@mindspring.com), January 08, 2002.


I say no to the ferret too. I work in a pet store and we sell alot of them but they are really not for a 7 year old.

A guinea pig or rabbit would be my first choice. The rat would like to be up at night. If you go for the rabbit, try to stay away from a dwarf or get a male. Dwarf rabbits can be nasty. A mini or holland lop would be best.

My son had a parakeet at a young age. He kept treating it like a toy, poor thing, and couldn't understand that it didn't like to be held cupped in his hands but that was the only way the bird would stay by him.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), January 08, 2002.


I recommend chinchillas .. cute, odorless, and very frisky. I have had two and they were both great pets, though extremely rambunctious.

-- Bethany (bethany@odysseyroad.com), January 08, 2002.

Ferrets ARE wonderful, but they can be difficult pets. the personality of a kitten & puppy with the curiosity of a monkey. They don't really mellow with age so they are not great hold/cuddle/petting animals. [yeah i know there are exceptions.]

i have owned -adopted-fostered 8 of the furballs, two were even intact males & one breeding female.

i personally don't find their musk offensive, stong & lingering tho.

ms.michela- you must be in california where scare stories abound about raving vicious ferrets abound! i was beaten to a public park in ca. by the police when a call came out about an abandoned/lost ferret. the policeman freaked when the weasel came out bouncing w/ teeth bared & shot the critter.

anyone who has been around ferrets know they have quite intimidating/goofy 'play with me' behavior that spooks people not used to being around fearless predators.

speaking of that has the child ever been around a grown ferret? did they like the bouncing & teeth baring?

nails have to be trimmed or else they will scratch you accidentally like a puppy. yes they can be very well socilized w/humans & other animals, hmm,maybe not geese tho ;), walked on a leash, come to their name, perform tricks, & taught to not bite whether they are an adult or kit.

they play rough with mouth open just like a puppy or kitten so scratches will happen but very few ferrets will bite/nip their family.

these fellows are domesticated but not domestic animals at all. does that make sense?

as in when you see a wolf hybrid dog, or bengal/jungle cat mix, you don't scoop up the cat into your arms or roll the dog over to rub its belly. you treat it w/ caution & respect waiting for it to signal its acceptance of you & not feel threatened by you.

where people see this cute little ball of fur asleep on the couch and pick it right up and get nipped for their trouble. not relizing it may be small but it is definitely a full grown predator on its home turf.

the poops the thing that never ends! you have to leave out litter boxes in the corners of the house & they will *mostly* use them when out.

if she just wants somthing 'different' i too would suggest a rat. it will cuddle & play & frighten others & make people say 'cool'. but not as high mantenince as a ferret. [btw. don't go to play w/ a ferret right after playing w/ a rat, it drives the ferret nuts trying to find where you have hid the rat & you nuts trying to get the weasel out of your clothes!]

-- bj pepper in C. MS. (pepper.pepper@excite.com), January 10, 2002.


I had two ferrets several years ago. And they really are into everything and not good pets for young kids, IMO. Also, mine were rather aggressive with my housecats, always trying to deliver that "neck bite" when playing with them. Made me quite nervous so I gave the ferrets to someone without cats! I can't believe several other people here had rats as pets! I had one in college in my dorm room. She was very affectionate, clean and always did her "business" after I put her back in her cage! Guinea pigs are wonderful too!!

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), January 10, 2002.

What does the rental agreement say? If it says "no pets" and the landlord finds out (perhaps through the smell), they are either going to be hit with a hefty $500 or more pet deposit per animal (animals of any kind can cause a lot of damage), or flat out evicted. Not worth it, because an eviction can cause you not to be able to rent anywhere if the next landlord checks references.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), January 10, 2002.

That last is an excellent point. Some rental places specify 'no dogs/cats' but don't mind other animals, so it is best to find out WHICH it is before getting any animal. When I go to the Humane Society, I see way too many cages with a card reading "Landlord won't permit" as reason for surrender -- even on things like birds and such. (Hamsters I'd understand -- they are ALWAYS escaping! and usually into the walls) Other rental places I've seen/talked to have said that a guinea pig isn't a problem.

I didn't mention rats earlier,since your son put a veto on rodents, but they ARE very nice pets, and can live 5-6 years, which is nice. As Dee mentioned, birds really are not cuddle pets generally, and once again, I don't think that a seven year old is equipped to deal with proper bird care/handling. Even with a pet rat, I'd advise that there be a responsible adult in charge.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), January 10, 2002.


I used to breed ferrets. I started out with one in Florida. Some kids in the neighborhood broke into our trailor and stole him. When we put and ad in the paper, we wound up with 3 ferrets, but never got ours back. We raised ferrets for about 5 years. When our oldest died, we stopped. Some were sweet as could be. They have different temperments. The female would bite when she felt like it. The albino male we had was so good and never bit. He would not even kill a mouse. The female would. They usually don't bite out of anger, but children can aggrivate them and make them mean. The worst thing about them, is the smell. Even though they had a litter box, they did not always use it, the males liked to slide along on furniture and shoes and deposit a little of their scent. They pooped in any corner of the house, and even in the cage they didn't always use the potty. If you have one in the house, people can tell it when they walk in, no matter how clean you try to keep it. Certain states didn't allow ferrets,but now I think more people have them, I was one of the first to own ferrets in Tennessee area, now they have them in pet stores everywhere here. I have dogs, guinea pig, birds, cats, snakes, and have had hamsters and gerbils. The cleanest to take care of is the snake. Next to the cleanest and easiest (if they have been fixed and declawed) is a cat. Hamsters and gerbils keep kids up at night and they bite. Guinea pigs are sweet, but you have to keep them up in a cage and they have to have it changed at least twice a week to keep the smell down and they only live about 5 years. Birds make big messes and don't like to be handled by kids very much. I see the ferrets at the pet store and think "oh how sweet, I think I want another one." But then I remember the draw-backs.

-- Vanessa (tvhayes@aeneas.net), January 11, 2002.

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