[BluerayDarkes]

My OH and I are actually going to be getting a ferret this year, what we did was find a local breeder. Rochelle is a lovely woman living about an hour away from us, who accepts all people who want to come to her place and learn about the care and personalities of ferrets.

Here's a few things we were told by the breeder.

1. They need lots of play time and attention, a ferret is like a toddler. If you intend to let them free roam then the rooms need to be ferret proofed, otherwise just like a toddler they get in to trouble. This means they need constant supervision when out the cage.

2. The bigger the cage the better, if you get one that is a little small then make sure they get lots of out of cage time.

3. A proper diet for a ferret is raw meat not kibbles, though kibbles are to fed twice a month to keep them used to it. This is because kibble is the only thing they can eat when they are sick. If you don't want to keep frozen mice in your freezer, then I would advise not getting a ferret. A raw meat diet actually keeps their smell to a minimum, it also prevents biting as their stomachs are full. If kept on kibble only they will smell and they will be more likely to bite, as it doesn't give them a full stomach.

4. Do not bathe them regularly. Bathing a ferret specially with shampoo strips the fur of its natural oils, then they have to make more oil which is what makes the smell. In the summer you can get a bowl with a few inches of water in it, to let them play in it and cool down specially if its hot.

5. If it does get too hot for the ferret they need to be put somewhere cool, we were told that a basement is ideal for this. If that is not possible then make sure you either got some AC or open a lot of windows, and also use the bowl of water.

6. Ferrets are social animals they crave attention from their owner. However if you keep more than one then each ferret needs their own cage to sleep in, as they tend to be very territorial and will fight. Ferrets are allowed to play with one another but if one starts grabbing the other around the neck, then they need to be separated as this is dominating behavior. After they are sexually mature some ferrets just don't get on with other ferrets, it is completely fine to keep one long as you give them lots of attention.

7. Some ferrets actually like to go on walks! You can get leads and harnesses just for them, but make sure your ferret likes to go on walks.

8. Ferrets can and do get along with cats and dogs but caution is to be required, if the cat or dog is a hunter they will harm your ferret.

9. We were advised to get the book Ferrets for dummies.

10. Ferrets smell during mating season as this is due to their hormones, a Jill (female ferret) if not spayed needs to mate or the hormones kill her. Rochelle says its better to get them a hormone implant to block their hormones, rather than neutering as it lowers their chances of getting tumours.

11. Ferrets can live up to 14 years of age.

12. Ferrets need inoculations against the canine disease called Distemper.

Hope this helps!