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Ivana doesn't want me to have a rat, and to combat our growing mouse problem, I think I'd like a couple of ferrets ;)
Can they be trained to poop in a kitty litter thingie?
Nick
SN
You can apparently get them to do all sorts of things for treats also... so the trick is to convince them the mice are treats. ;)
But don't let them into the walls, or outdoors without a leash. They'll get themselves stuck or lost, and they don't do well outdoors (except in New Zealand, apparently... hehe).
Ferret-proofing a house is more difficult than child-proofing. We've got all the cupboards locked, the corners stuffed, have to keep dirty socks in a secure laundry bin, had to nail boards across the bottoms of the cupboards, and always keep the bedroom doors closed when they're loose.
(And you may end up with faulty models like mine, who don't realize that meat is food.)
But if all else fails, and you're unhappy with your purchase, I hear you can just ship them to Alaska to get rid of them... ;)
As a side note my wife had a skunk and it was one of the cleanest pets.
>>Ivana doesn't want me to have a rat, and to combat our growing mouse problem
did you mean cat? If not how does a rat make mice leave. You could also look at getting a pet bird of prey. We have a lot of owls and hawks around that take care of any mice problems.
[edited by: korkus2000 at 5:23 pm (utc) on Sep. 26, 2003]
Nick
Maybe some of you ferret lovers could give some tips
Clean the cage weekly (launder all the bedding, wash out the litter box, etc.). They actually put off more odor while they're sleeping, and when the bedding gets dirty, it becomes kind of a smelly feedback-loop. Laundry is more important than bathing, really.
Bathe the ferret no more than monthly... if you bathe it constantly, it puts the skin glands into overdrive, trying to replace the oils the shampoo strips out, and the animal actually ends up stinkier (and it's bad for their skin).
They can be de-scented but STILL smell bad.
Also, they require A LOT of attention. I see them in pet stores and they are the cutest freaking things I've ever encountered, and I sit and play and play and play with them until I have to leave the pet store, but I know I could not have one. I couldn't devote the time, and the smell would overpower me.
My sister had the care of one for a while and if she ever dared put it in its carrier it would cry and cry and cry and cry. Also, it learned to steal the TV remote because that would get it attention. And, it peed everywhere. Fortunately, she had a tile floor.
They're smelly, and I don't know how they are as hunters.
If I had a huge house I didn't mind ferret-proofing and frequently deodorizing, and had seven or eight people living in it who wouldn't mind paying attention to the ferret in shifts, I would love to have one. But only then.
SN
I have three, and a big cage, and we let them out a few hours each evening. They run themselves around, fall asleep in the closet, and we put them away.
<added>They do recognize people by smell and voice mostly. They are also incredible problem solvers, if they want something... like socks, raisins, just getting on top of the counter, getting into the cupboards, etc.
In general, I find that predators make more intelligent pets than prey animals... At least where small animals are concerned.
Lifespan is usually 7-10 years.</added>
Nick - do you lie awake and think about these things at night?
I want a farm ;)
Nick
I used to keep ferrets as a teenager and hunt rabbits with them. If the conditions are right they will be unbelievably clean and yes the males Cobbs as we used to call them can be musky not unpleasant just musky.
I gained a bit of a rep. at school for always having ferrets in my pockets!
They can be very useful as well electricity was laid on to the local church by sending a ferret with a line down a drain before pulling the cable through.
Nick are you sure about this farm idea to be a, Gentleman Farmer would be OK pay someone to do the work., otherwise it would be the last we would hear of you.
Well, i say farm but I mean, big lot of land I can keep horses and goats and dogs on ;)
>affilate
hehe!
Nick
so I have a pair of treefrogs in a terrarium. They're not *really* pets, they're like goldfish, only without the water.
(They eat live crickets, but I didn't tell the landlady about the big jar of live bugs I keep in the living room.)
I want a kitty more than anything-- I grew up in a house with three cats, two dogs, two horses, six hamsters, fifteen chickens...
Not *in* the house, mind you. It was an abandoned dairy farm with two barns and 50 acres. *That's* the best kind of farm to have.
>ferret farm
Ugh! *shudder* can you imagine the stench and sheer hyperactive over-energy of a large quantity of ferrets bundled together? Yikes.
Not so sure about horses and Goats depends on if you like trees or not.
Goats eat everything thing they can reach and they can reach a lot standing on their hind legs. Horses strip the bark off trees, willow being a favourite if they have a head ache.
Ferret farm! ferrets are very popular, even got something in the post today about ferret racing.
I'm in denmark. Costs nothing where i am at the moment...
Nick
Costs nothing where i am at the moment...
That's because it's all about to be swallowed up by the sea.
The Danes: "our talles mountain is called "heavens mountain" and is 300 meters tall"
;)
Ho, so that is how we got Hermine [esigge.ch], right?
