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Everything you wanted to know about The Ferrets but were scared to ask...

The common ferret (Mustela putorius furo) is a domesticated form of the European polecat. It has a long, lithe body and is brown, black, or white (albino). Its average length is 20 in.

The black-footed ferret (M. nigripes), of the North American plains, has a black mask across the eyes and brownish black markings on the feet and tail tip. It is an endangered species.

It has yellow-brown fur and pinkish-red eyes. The polecat-ferret has brown fur. A North American native, the black-footed ferret (M. nigripes) has a black face mask and brown-black markings on the tail and feet. The female ferret is called a jill, the male a hob, and the offspring, kittens. Ferrets are highly susceptible to infection by the canine distemper virus.

Ferret  hybrids have been perceived to have caused damage to native fauna, perhaps most notably in New Zealand. As a result, some parts of the world have imposed restrictions on the keeping of ferrets.

The name "ferret" is derived from the Latin furittus, meaning "little thief", a likely reference to the common ferret penchant for secreting away small items. Ferrets spend 14 to 18 hours a day sleeping and are naturally crepuscular. They usually sleep in two to six hour periods. Though ferrets sleep more than most other domesticated animals, they are very active when awake and will seek to be released from their cage to get exercise and satisfy their abundant curiosity daily.



Ferret dragging off toy to hide

Ferrets are energetic, curious, interested in their surroundings, and often actively solicit play with humans, having a repertoire of behaviors both endearing and difficult for some humans. Play for a ferret will often involve hide-and-seek games, or some form of predator and prey game in which either the human attempts to catch the ferret or the ferret to catch the human. They also have a strong nesting instinct and will repeatedly carry small objects or food to secluded locations. Ferrets will seemingly form attachments to certain objects and will repeatedly seek out and "steal" the same object and bring it to their hiding place.



A ferret in a War Dance jump

When ferrets are excited, they may perform a routine commonly referred to as the weasel war dance, a frenzied series of sideways hops. This is often accompanied by a soft clucking noise, commonly referred to as dooking. It is often an invitation to play or an expression of happy excitement and is not threatening. The ferret's posture may become rigid with wide open jaws, momentary eye contact followed by thrashing or turning of the head from side to side, arching the back, piloerection (goosebumps), and hopping to the side or backwards while facing the intended playmate. This is often accompanied by an excited panting sound that may sound like a hiss. Often, this behavior will break into a game of chase, pounce and wrestle. Ferrets in war dances are very accident prone, often hopping into obstacles or tripping over their own feet.

Ferrets may have a fondness for sweets like raisins, bananas, peanut butter, and breakfast cereal.

Ferret curiosity surpasses common sense in domestic environments, and ferrets are good at getting into drains, through holes in walls, under doors, inside drawers, in or under cupboards or cabinets, and inside, under, or behind household appliances such as clothes dryers, refrigerators, stoves, ovens, and dishwashers. This penchant exposes them to the danger of being injured or killed by moving parts such as fans or belts, getting into poisons or chemicals, or by drowning or some other misadventure. Serious and sometimes fatal injuries have resulted from ferrets chewing on live electrical cords.

Ferrets may take naps in hazardous places. They can go to sleep in a pile of laundry and get put in a washing machine, or crawl under chair cushions or pillows and get sat on and squashed. They can slide under throw rugs and get stepped on.

Many ferrets chew items that present the risk of intestinal blockage and death if ingested. Objects made of soft rubber, foam, or sponge are the leading cause of obstructions, but many ferrets, especially kits (juveniles), have eaten dangerous or fatal quantities of cloth such as cotton terry towels, cotton socks, and other articles of clothing. At least one kit has died after swallowing tufts of carpet that was in his cage. Latex and hard rubber dog toys, foam rubber cat balls, rubber bands, foam ear plugs, pencil erasers, chunks of "flip flop" thongs, soles from shoes, foam weather-stripping or insulation, rubber feet from small appliances or telephones, etc., remote control buttons, foam insulation around sports bottles, foam rubber cushions or matresses, and Styrofoam cups or packing "peanuts", have all been eaten by ferrets. If ingestion occurs, sometimes dosing the ferret with a cat hairball laxative paste may help the foreign matter to be passed, but if this is unsuccessful, surgical removal is probably necessary. If a ferret is vomiting due to an obstruction, it is a medical emergency.

Clothes dryer vents often become escape routes to the outdoors. Open windows with loose-fitting or unlatched screens provide another way to the outside. Also, ferrets move very quickly, and can slip unnoticed between a person's feet who is exiting through a door.

Unlike dogs and cats, many ferrets display little homing instinct and cannot survive as strays. Wandering ferrets run the risk of being injured or killed by passing vehicles, neighborhood animals, or local wildlife: their curious nature also may lead them to confront and try to play with dangerous larger animals. Most domestic ferrets display poor survival instincts in a feral situation, have rudimentary hunting ability, and, being habituated to a commercial pet diet, are not likely to recognize prey species as food.

Ferrets tend to nip as kits (juveniles). Nipping is the act of biting in a playful manner representative of mock fighting and sparring; young ferrets are also more prone to chewing and teething, and have a tendency to bite harder. Their teeth are very sharp, but ferrets naturally have very tough skin, so they get used to play biting each other without doing injury. When on the receiving end of a play bite, a ferret will sometimes let out a high-pitched squeal or hiss to signify its annoyance or submission. Kits usually need to be taught to be more gentle with humans than they are with each other. Older ferrets tend to chew far less frequently and, when trained correctly, almost never nip a human hand or, only do so very gently. However, ferrets that have been abused or are in extreme pain may bite a human, and are capable of strong bites which break through the skin.

As with cats, ferrets can use a litter box with training, but they are not always completely litter box trainable. Their instinct is to spread their waste in order to scent mark a wider foraging territory for themselves, but they will return to a used spot and "refreshen" it.

Ceremonies of Sorrow

Cast Away

Star Still Blue.

Infinity of the Light.

World Keeps Turning.

Fesnying

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