New pet!

[justahannah]

We bought a ferret last night. Found him on Craigslist, we got a sweet deal...he's only 6 months old, neutered, de-scented, came with his nice cage and harness and litter box and all kinds of ferretty stuff for $100 (even with my petsmart discount I can't get a crappy cage for that cheap)... The girl didn't realize her apartment complex didn't allow them as well not having the time for him, so we scored. And I think he did too...we got there to pick him up, and he and his cage were so coated in pet perfume we could barely handle the smell of him, and the cage had a residue on it like she'd been layering it on like that a loooong time (maybe to hide his smell from her land lord?). All his food and water dishes were really grimey too..we threw them out and bought him new stuff today, and showered him and his cage as soon as we were home last night, laundered his fleecy hammock, and all around cleaned everything out. He's like a new ferret and smells normal now :D.

Here's a couple pics of the new guy, he's really mellow and sweet...likes to cuddle and explore, the cats don't know what to make of him yet (simultaneously curious and afraid). Earlier today he was napping on my lap by the fish tank when he looked up, saw the fish and the tank, and took a leap face first for it, thinking he would land on the substrate... I don't think he'll try being a fish again :evil_lol:. She had named him Loki, but we're thinking every other ferret in the world is a Loki or a Bandit....so we're just calling him "Ferret" and "Hey little guy!" until something better stands out :). I really like his big nose!

[Bethany1979]

Awe, so adorable. I love ferrets! Congrats!

[wataugachicken]

awww. i found a mongoose on craigslist once. my boyfriend wouldn't let me have it.

stupid boyfriend.

[justahannah]

This was ALLL my husband's idea...he's wanted one since he was a kid. I had one as a kid, so I knew what we were getting into. But I did the footwork and pushed the deal through once I learned he wanted one, they're awesome little critters :D

[rocker92]

COOL!!!!

[Mokomon]

Yay!
I'm so happy for you!

[cam191919]

very nice, mine stank so bad that i had to build him a special outdoor cage. i love him tho, and he loves when i make him his own customized toys. sigh, his name is bandit :evil_lol:

[msjinkzd]

I had several ferrets, one for about 10 years. I adored that ferret, took it college and to apartments etc. He used to hop in the shower with me in the morning. I hope you enjoy yours, it looks very sweet. :)

[Bethany1979]

I had 2 of them when I was growing up, Bonnie and Clyde. They are really funny in pairs. But, they really like to hide things. They like to pull all sorts of things (clothes, stuffed animals, keys and whatnot) under my bed, dresser, behind the toilet. KUP how that little cutie does.

[powerkit]

How sweet! That is a great deal! We love ferrets too. We are in process of turning part of room into a ferret sweet. We have had 4 ferrets. they are definately fun in groups! just watch them if you ever have kittens, yes they steal those too, lol! we miss them terribly and hubby says it is time to bring some more into our lives!!! Glad you found such a great woooozle, i know you will enjoy his antics!

[noodles62]

He's cute!

[justahannah]

The kittens keep going back and forth on whether they want to play with him or hide from him. Bristley tails when we first walked through the door, but nothing but curiosity (with a healthy dose of fear) since. They follow him like a shadow, and the moment he turns to follow them they run and hide. He's already picked his first item to stash and obsess over....the bathtub plug. He latched on while playing in the tub and now he drags it around, stashes it in our shoes, moves it under the couch, drags it around some more...the best part is the cats like to chase the chain as it drags behind him and when they realize they're almost on top of him they panic :D. Here's an action (meaning blurry) shot of us playing tug o war with it:

[Damodred]

I didn't know there was such a thing as descenting a ferret! I've always wanted one but been deterred by the smell... Now you've got me thinking!

[noodles62]

How fun! My dog would just think he was a squirrel and chase it to death! Guess I am better off just enjoying yours here on AC. LOL

[justahannah]

Oh, they still smell like a ferret! Descenting just means they've removed the scent glands that they use in emergencies (kind of like a skunk) to release extra stink. The normal ferrety smell has to do with a musk in the oils released by the skin...nothing can be done about that. Bathing too often dries out their skin, makes the glands over productive and smellier and the "pet perfumes" out there smell worse than their natural smell IMO. And ferrets rely so heavily on their sense of smell, I would feel bad making them walk in a cloud of artificial scent everywhere...it'd be like us going blindfolded. So a person needs to not mind (or like) the smell if they want one, although if you keep their bedding and cage washed up, it doesn't get too bad. Then again...I grew up with one and find the smell kind of comforting *shrugs*

[cam191919]

my dog is almost afraid of mine. maybe just because hes a miniture dachshund....

[Squawkbert]

While I apprecaite their personalities & cuteness factor, I can't abide the smell most (well, most of the ones I've met) make when going out of their way to poop up the sides of their litter boxes instead of in the litter. The ferrety smell doesn't bother me, but the rogue catbox stench does. I enjoy playing with other people's ferrets, but would never take the chance of getting one that would refuse to go like a cat.

[Bottomfeeder2]

id like a Ferret but theyre illegal in NY
:cry:

[justahannah]

Yea, that's my only peeve. Ferrets just scoot backwards into a corner, they never cover. I'm just thankful this guy came pre-trained, he goes in the box in his cage and he's used the cat's a couple times while wandering loose. I'll have to keep up on keeping things scooped, but at least I'm not finding random "presents" around the house :D. And when he uses the cat box, one of them always follows and covers it up for him, so it's really only the box in the cage that's unsightly.

[justahannah]

So we've had the little guy for almost a month now, and he's doing well, and it seemed like a good time for an upate. Named him Mokkun (pronounced Moe-coon) after a character in one of my husbands favorite animes, it's an affectionate nickname for a demon type spirit in the show. Been to the vet a couple times, first time the doc confirmed he was getting over an upper respiratory infection and thought he'd get over it on his own within a week or two, and again a few days ago for some antibiotics because the cough still wasn't getting better and we can't do vaccinations until he's 100% healthy. Giving a ferret meds is WAY harder than a cat...at least I can roll the cats up in a towel,but he just slinks right back out and wants nothing to do with the banana flavored junk. He's put on some weight already, and his fur's starting to get glossy, so I think we're doing something right. Here's a few pics...he tries to be good, but I made the mistake of letting him out on the balcony with the cats and forgot I had a bag of potting soil out there... And a video of him being wild after the bath.

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[AquaGem]

Oh sooo cute!!! Glad he's doing well :)

[Winged]

Ferrets are cute, and their behaviour is even cuter. But my brother had one and I know how bad they can stink.

[Hurley]

Very cute! I've never had a ferret before and I had no idea you could let them run around free like that. He doesn't run away or try to escape? Can you leave him out like you do the cats?

[BELLUM]

i love how his looking at the camera in the second picture. Guilty look

[justahannah]

Some people leave their ferrets out all the time, some people leave them in the cage all the time (cruel and unusual punishment in my book), we go half n half. His cage is for when we're at work or sleeping because he's mischievous enough to need at least partial supervision, but good enough to let loose as long as the garbage is secured, car keys are too high to get stolen, and we're aware enough to hear if he's getting into something he shouldn't (like the other day, he snuck into the bathroom cupboard and shredded half a package of toilet paper). I even leave him loose when I'm going to take a nap, just do a quick visual scan to make sure there's nothing dangerous or messy out. He'll climb into bed and worm through the covers and lick my toes to wake me up if he thinks I've ignored him too long (a great alarm!) . He's also very good about using the cat box, so we've had no surprises, and doesn't seem to have any interest in chewing cords. He's usually loose for 10-14 hours a day, more on the weekends...I'd say he's not as well behaved as our cats but definitely better than a puppy. The only time there's an issue catching him is when he falls asleep under the couch, otherwise he's easy. Especially if I rattle the treat bag, if he's awake he's a total glutton and will run out for a snack :D.