Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Pyrockat]

I'm currently considering keeping a couple of ferrets, however I'll be keeping them in a reasonably smallish flat and I've heard they truly stink. I remember my next door neighbour keeping a lovely hob ferret when I was younger, but I cant really remember what the wee fella smelt like. These guys would obviously be neutered as they would be house pets, but I've heard they are still very smelly even when neutered? Can anyone confirm or deny this? Also, do the jills smell better than than the hobs?

Aside from the smell issues, any opinions and or tips on keeping ferrets as pets would be much appreciated!

[peaches]

My hubby use to keep alot of ferrets, only had one when I met him, that was a hob and man did he smell lol He said to me they do smell less when neutered and scent glands removed and when feeding on foods such as the James Wellbeloved dry foods.

When he kept them, they were in hutches outside.
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[Pyrockat]

Lordy...he must have stank if you could smell him in the fresh air! I didnt think descenting was legal in this country? Ah well...back to the drawing board...hamsters it is .

[Scott W]

Go for a rat, far more intelligent than a hamster, cleaner too
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[peaches]

The smell wasn't as bad as to pollute the air outside lol, just when close to him, or especially if you had him out for a play pee-euw!! But it was a male lmao

I wasn't with hubby when he had loads, so can't pass comment on what jills smell like
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[Peter Parrot]

Ferrets were a big part of my life for at least 20 years when I used to live in a more rural area and did a lot of rabbiting and pest control. All ferrets come into season in April, and that is when they release a lot of odour . They are fastidiously clean however and their distinctive smell must not be mistaken for uncleanliness.

The males in particular waft in spring time and the musky smell is very distinctive and quite clingy. The females also release a musk but not to the extent that the males do in the breeding season. I always had upwards of 30 animals at anytime and they were all kept out of the house.

I found them both endearing and intriguing, especially observing their natural behaviour whilst hunting, and the symbiotic hunting relationship that could be built up when they were worked in conjunction with a dog that knew the score. It`s a lot of absolute nonsense when people say that working ferrets, that is animals used for hunting , have to be vicious. Such a statement is utter rubbish and just goes to show how very little the person making the statement knows about either ferrets or ferreting for rabbits or rats. If hunting regularly, as we used to, then it is often necessary to have to plunge one`s hands into a rabbit hole as far as your arm will reach (usually when a ferret has a rabbit trapped in a dead end and has had to be dug to) and feel without seeing which is rabbit and which is ferret. Then grab the rabbit and pull it out, all whilst the ferret is with it`s quarry and at it`s most excited and most likely to bite. I never was. The only times that I have ever been bitten by my own animals were entirely my own fault, and in countless hunting trips over a 20 year period it only happened three times. The animals were so used to handling that if working a hedgerow, and the ferret showed my side of the hedge, if my partner wanted the animal his side of the hedge it was nothing to be able to toss the animal gently underarm over the hedge to him where he would catch it gently, stroke it behind the ears and place it by the burrow, lift the net and watch it dissapear into the darkness. Biting simply would not occur to them.

As such I can vouch that as well as being fascinating animals to study and hunt, if cared for properly and handled from an early age, thay can also make excellant pets. Mine were kept very close to nature, and were fed carcasses in the fur. They thrived and had glossy healthy coats and raced around their cages like wall of death riders when I approached.

Keeping them indoors is entirely foreign to me however. I believe it was an idea from the USA. Having never kept them in such a manner before , I am not qualified to comment, but having spent so much time in their company whilst hunting and living an existance that was as close to nature as you can possibly get, even capturing their own food, the idea of neutering, or keeping them in a house and feeding them a biscuit only diet does seem a million miles away from what makes the animal tick in my opinion.

Great animals, and great pets but yes, they do produce a strong scent. When alarmed ,(eg when a jill {female ferret} encounters a particularly aggressive rat or stoat whilst hunting) they release their scent glands much in the same way that a skunk does and believe me, it STINKS.

I would agree with Scott on the rat front. Much more responsive, and far friendlier than any hamster.
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[Amie]

My neighbours have ferrets, on a hot day it smells like 20 sailors have urinated in the garden

[Pyrockat]

[SteveL]

i had 20 odd feret/polecrosses as a lad and they are not dirty animals. but you must clean them out regular they do tend to use one side of there enclosure to poo in ,and are great to keep just put lots of pipes in so they can explore and not get bored .i do miss them but they were hard work 20 of the little buggers may have been 23 but its that long ago now i cant remember .i wouldnt consider one as a house pet NO WAY
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[Pyrockat]

Just out of interest How come not for a house pet? Too whiffy or because they are so excitable?I know they are very clean, I was thinking more of ferret BO .

Rats are lovely pets though, I looked after a pair for a while and they were just lovely...such sweeties. They have such short lifespans though .