Curious and adventurous, ferrets are perfect for people who are interested in having a lively pet that doesn’t require a great deal of space to live. Ferrets are related to otters, skunks, weasels and minks. Many describe them as being somewhere between a cat and a dog, if much smaller. They are quite intelligent and love to interact with others and with their environment. Ferrets need a couple of hours every day where they can run, play and explore. They are usually capable of being trained to use a litter box and to do tricks. Most enjoy traveling, whether on your shoulder or curled up in a bag.
Ferrets generally live somewhere between six and ten years. During that time, owners should be prepared to spend of couple hours a day with them. Ferrets are not destructive animals, but care does need to be taken to ensure that they are kept away from anything that an owner doesn’t want to be thoroughly and enthusiastically explored.
It is extremely important that ferrets be spayed an neutered. Females who are not spayed and go into heat are likely to deny of anemia if they do not mate, and males who are not neutered tend to spray frequently and have very aggressive behavior. Neutering a male ferret also greatly improves the animal’s smell- being related to skunks, ferrets possess similar musk glands.
