| Another 1 or 2 ferrets? - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| D. Hartman |
Back at the beginning of December, Joven curled up for one last long sleep.
He was my first and only ferret for these last 8 years. In that time he had
no contact with other ferrets, just people and a couple cats (which were his
favorite toys). I'm not sure Joven even knew he was a ferret. He had been
bottle feed before I got him, and my experiance with bottle raised animals
is that they are very friendly. But the place is too quiet now and I am
considering getting another couple fuzzies. But before I do, I wanted to
get some advice from other multi ferret homes.
I plan on getting two ferrets so they can keep each other company while I
can not. Ever changing work hours sometimes mean I am going to work or
sleep when Joven wanted to get out and play. Question is will the two
ferrets become less personable, and not as friendly towards people? Also I
assume ferrets can play rough with each other as they have tough skin, but
will this make them more nippy toward people? Joven would get ahold of a a
finger or hand, but would never clamp down with those teeth. Do males or
females tend to have better dispositions? Is it better to have two of the
same sex, or one of each? I plan on getting them fixed and descented, not
planning on breeding.
I have a large cage, plenty of toys, and the home is already ferret proof
(if there is such a thing). Dogs and cats just don't peak my intrest. And
the trash cans look very strange all standing upright. The big question is
will one fuzzy make a better pet than a pair of carpet sharks?
Dawson
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| Bill Leary |
"D. Hartman" <Dawson.Hartman@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:WlhJb.39038$E17.23915@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
> Also I assume ferrets can play rough with each other as
> they have tough skin, but will this make them more nippy
> toward people?
We've found that they can be taught the difference, and sometimes need to be
"reminded" once in a while. We play finger games with all of ours, and they
do grab us and do the ferret dance and attack pretty much the same as they
seem to do with each other. As with most animals, and people too, I guess,
what they can learn is subject to how their minds work. Razzle never did
bite too hard. Road Kill did a few times, but once taught the limits never
went too far again. Minya needed to be reminded every year to year and a
half. Marie has never been too rough. Quasimodo seems to forget the limits
every few months. Or may be he just consideres the limit setting lessons to
be fun. Hard to say.
> Do males or females tend to have better dispositions?
The only difference we've noticed (of five ferrets, two male, three female)
is that the males seem to be somewhat more stubborn about things. And given
that we've had so few, this could well just be the ones we've had.
> Is it better to have two of the same sex, or one of each?
Ours have all come to us neutered, so except for picking names (and the
above noted "subborn" thing) we've never noticed anything significant gender
wise.
> And the trash cans look very strange all standing upright.
I hear that.
> The big question is will one fuzzy make a better pet than
> a pair of carpet sharks?
"Better" is almost entirely subjective. If you mean better FOR THEM, I
think so. They seem to be awfully social as animals go and I think they do
better with their own kind around. We had Road Kill for a year or so before
we got Minya. He seemed happier and spent notably less time sleeping after
she joined us. After he died Minya seemed OK, but did sleep a lot. After
we got Razzle she perked up a lot.
- Bill
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| : : b r i a n : : |
D. Hartman wrote:
> I plan on getting two ferrets so they can keep each other company while I
> can not. Ever changing work hours sometimes mean I am going to work or
> sleep when Joven wanted to get out and play. Question is will the two
> ferrets become less personable, and not as friendly towards people? Also I
> assume ferrets can play rough with each other as they have tough skin, but
> will this make them more nippy toward people? Joven would get ahold of a a
> finger or hand, but would never clamp down with those teeth. Do males or
> females tend to have better dispositions? Is it better to have two of the
> same sex, or one of each? I plan on getting them fixed and descented, not
> planning on breeding.
>
> I have a large cage, plenty of toys, and the home is already ferret proof
> (if there is such a thing). Dogs and cats just don't peak my intrest. And
> the trash cans look very strange all standing upright. The big question is
> will one fuzzy make a better pet than a pair of carpet sharks?
Ferrets will sometimes play very rough with each other. My four are
pretty happy bouncing around the room together, and rarely play rough
with one another. I don't think a ferret's play habits make them more,
or less nippy. They are pretty smart, and learn pretty quickly that
your skin is not tough like their own.
I think having two or more ferrets is great. They always seem to like
each other's company.
It doesn't matter if you have the same or different sex ferrets if they
are spayed/neutered.
Have you considered looking at a ferret shelter?
--
Brian & The Four Furballs
http://members.cox.net/theferrets
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| Melissa |
In article <WlhJb.39038$E17.23915@nwrddc02.gnilink.net>,
"D. Hartman" <Dawson.Hartman@verizon.net> wrote:
> I plan on getting two ferrets so they can keep each other company while I
> can not. Ever changing work hours sometimes mean I am going to work or
> sleep when Joven wanted to get out and play. Question is will the two
> ferrets become less personable, and not as friendly towards people?
I don't think so. I think that has more to do with the ferret's
personality.
> Also I
> assume ferrets can play rough with each other as they have tough skin, but
> will this make them more nippy toward people?
It shouldn't. They can (and should!) learn the difference between
playing with "ferret skin" vs "people skin"! :)
> Joven would get ahold of a a
> finger or hand, but would never clamp down with those teeth. Do males or
> females tend to have better dispositions?
Again, this has more to do with the ferret's personality than with
gender.
> Is it better to have two of the
> same sex, or one of each? I plan on getting them fixed and descented, not
> planning on breeding.
I suggest finding a local ferret shelter and getting a pair from there.
Many ferrets in shelters are quiet young. Pairs that come in together
should not be split up because they bond closely and can have stress
related illnesses leading to death if separated. So by getting a pair
froma shelter, you know they already get along, they're almost always
already fixed and descented, and they're probably already nip and
litterbox trained.
> I have a large cage, plenty of toys, and the home is already ferret proof
> (if there is such a thing). Dogs and cats just don't peak my intrest. And
> the trash cans look very strange all standing upright.
Yours are upright? Mine were always "up" -as in "high up" :)
> The big question is
> will one fuzzy make a better pet than a pair of carpet sharks?
I say go for two and go for a pair from a shelter. Lots to choose from
with a variety of personalities. Probably more to choose from than most
pet stores you'll find. I know several shelters that regularly have at
least 30 ferrets available for adoption.
-Melissa
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| Urban Fredriksson |
In article <Q1qJb.273074$Ec1.9383290@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,
Melissa <nospam@nospam.com.invalid> wrote:
> They can (and should!) learn the difference between
>playing with "ferret skin" vs "people skin"! :)
Mine haven't even had any problem knowing the difference
between feet and hands and what you can do to them without
damaging them.
--
Urban Fredriksson http://www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/
Just because something is obvious doesn't mean it's true.
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| scott |
On Fri, 02 Jan 2004 16:53:10 GMT, "D. Hartman"
<Dawson.Hartman@verizon.net> wrote:
>But before I do, I wanted to
>get some advice from other multi ferret homes.
For me, it started with just one. Then, due to work hours, I thought
that two would be better than one. I was right! They loved each
other from the first day. Then I thought, what if one goes to the
bridge and the other is lonely, so I adopted a third. The third guy,
Emmet, loves me but apparently does not like other ferrets. Still, I
don't regret adopting him. When they are in their room, all three
cuddle together, I just have to supervise their playtime, and give
Emmet separate playtime, and all works out well. My humble opinion
would be to recommend two or three. No more work than one, and two
or three times the fun! (be sure to have two or three times the
socks, or you will be wearing mismatched socks to work)
scott
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