I have had a ferret since I was a child, I have also had cats and dogs, but the ferret was always much smarter!

With a dog, you buy a bed, bowl and leash, feed it, play with it and walk it regularly and it is a friend for life.

Similar with a cat. Buy a bowl, cat food and cat litter, put a cat flap in the back door to give him access to the outside world where he likes to roam and hunt and you have a very happy pet but a ferret… wow!

You know, the ferret has been around for at least 2,500 years, although what appear to be ferret remains date back to 1500 B.C.

It is believed that they were generally bred to hunt rabbits and the like and in some places they still are, but in this modern world it is more popular as a domesticated pet.

A male Ferret is a Hob (although if he has been neutered he is now known as a Gib), a female is a Jill (although when she has had a litter she becomes a Dam) but if she is then spayed she becomes a Sprite, a young or baby ferret is a Kit and a group of Ferrets is known as a Business.

The male is much larger than the female, which must be remembered when buying the first. They can grow up to 20 inches long and have a 5-inch tail that can get in the way occasionally. They come in a selection of colors; black, white, brown, or mixed fur and, while fairly light, can weigh up to 4 pounds (or even more if not on a proper diet), which can make your pocket full of bags if you carry it around. you a lot

So what can you expect from your Ferret?

Well, they spend up to 18 hours a day sleeping, usually spread over two shifts, but during the 6 hours they are awake, be careful! They are very active and curious when awake and must be released from their cage during these periods in order to exercise.

They will be interested in their surroundings and will actively encourage interaction with humans to the extent that they like to play hide and seek; Look, I told you they were fun pets.

They also like to go for walks, so once they’ve had all their shots, buy a harness and take them for a walk down the street; they really enjoy being the center of attention.

Although they can become a real nuisance by regularly marking their feeding territory with urine and droppings, training a ferret to use a litter box is not only doable, but is now common practice; it just takes a little work and a lot of patience.

Their natural instincts are still very strong and, as stated above, they are very, very curious. They will be seen nesting and hoarding, especially food.

They will also carry objects they have become attached to out of the way, however they do not have strong searching instincts.

So if your ferret goes out into the wild, the chances of it finding its way back home are pretty remote and its chances of survival even lower.

Ferrets can be very entertaining pets, not least when they do some sort of war dance. When excited, ferrets jump up and down, and when really excited they make a succession of lateral jumps that are often accompanied by a soft clucking sound (sometimes known as Dooking). Seeing the ferret jumping frantically back and forth while singing the ‘dooking song’ can alarm new owners who may think their new pet is having a seizure or has gone completely crazy, but that is not the case.

These actions show that the ferret is very happy and you should join him as this can be a precursor to a game of chase, fight and jump. But a word of warning, during these times the ferret can be very accident prone and while performing the war dance they have been known to fling themselves back and forth quite violently – I remember my ferret, Bertie, throwing himself into the water. tv screen then quickly disappeared when my dad yelled at him, thankfully nothing was broken and my dad was still able to watch the news without having to rebuild the set.

Ferrets have a sweet tooth, which is not exactly good for them. The high sugar content of foods like bananas, raisins, and sweet fruit in general, has been linked to insulinoma (cancer) and other diseases, so even if you “love” giving your pet some treats, you might be doing more damage. that’s good

Ferrets are carnivores, which means they like meat. There are a fair number of commercial food products that can be purchased or even created, but they must be at least 32% meat. This will provide the proteins and fats required by a ferret’s metabolism. Don’t feed him adult cat or dog food, that’s definitely a no-no!

Providing edible ferret chew toys to young ferrets generally reduces the risk of them chewing on inappropriate objects.

Domestic ferrets are susceptible to various diseases. These include cancers that affect the adrenal glands, pancreas, and other internal organs, and more importantly, the lymphatic system.

As the saying goes, a Ferret is for life, not just for Christmas and normally has a lifespan of 7-10 years. So remember, if you’re going to have a pet Ferret, it’s going to be around for a while.