BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Exotic Pets Ferrets

I am curious to know why they are not allowed in the State of CA? I know you can have them in Florida, but is there a list of states that they can and cannot reside in?

I noticed that this is the subject of the latest article, but this information was not covered? Will there be a followup one to address where you can live with one?

My son wants one and we are in Los Angeles.

I think (and am not positive) that they are considered wild animals by CA and thus a danger. Although I think that could be applied to a lot of pets.

Ferrets are considered to be a feral animal in California. The gov't there is afraid that they'll get loose and "colonize". And no amount of writing to them or e-mailing them has changed their minds. The Governator Arnie was supposed to do something about the current law there as he has worked with ferrets before and knows a little about them, but so far, he has done nothing.

Have you ever owned ferrets before? Do you know anything about them? We have had ferrets for the past 15 years. Nothing against you or your son, but I do not recommend ferrets for children. They are messy, smelly, hit the litterbox about 85% percent of the time, destructive, do NOT like to be held, cages and litterboxes have to be cleaned daily. They sleep all the time and are only awake for short periods, aproximately an hour or so a day. They are susceptible to a LARGE amount of diseases and are very delicate. Finding a good ferret vet that doesn't charge an arm and a leg is next to impossible. Our vet is 200 miles north of us and we'd never get them there in an emergency. No vet in our town will see them, let alone board them. Ferrets need other ferrets to play with. I have heard of one ferret households, but a ferret will get lonely and die if it's on it's own. You can NOT leave a ferret in a cage 24/7. They must be allowed out to play and run and investigate as they are much more curious than a cat. They don't care if that's a new carpet or a new couch. They'll poo and pee on the carpet, even if you have litterboxes scattered around the living room. They will dig in your furniture, houseplants and carpets. And I have found that even though children want them, they do not want to clean up after them and the adults of the house are the ones left to do the cleaning and minding. Ferrets are adorable, it's true, but they are really hard work, extremely delicate (if you hold a ferret wrong, you can damage his back), and terribly expensive on vet bills. We had 4 ferrets go ill at the same time. It cost us $2500 dollars in a 3 month period for us to try to save them, but they all died anyway. Two from cancer and 2 from lymphoma and old age. Ferrets only live to be about 5 years old. Some live longer, but the majority don't...they either die from old age at 5 or die from a disease.

I'm just stating the facts and the disadvantages of ferret ownership. A lot of people see the ferret and think "Oh how cute", then take them home without knowing what they've gotten into. Ferrets aren't like cats. So if you aren't prepared to invest a lot of time (cleaning up after them), money (cages, ferret food, ferret treats, ferret beds, medical, boarding, etc.)then a ferret is definetly not for you.

My husband and I are getting older and we have decided that after our 2 ferrets have passed that we'll not get anymore. It's gotten to be way to much for us to handle.

Sorry this is so long, but I thought I'd let you know what you're in for should you decide to get a ferret. Lots of people will tell you that there's nothing to taking care of them, but they are soooooo very wrong.

oh, i have to disagree with a lot of the previous posting.

ferrets are illegal in california because of a lack of proper information. the ferrets you get here in this country are already fixed before they get to the stores, so there's no way they could reproduce if they got out of your house.

also, they'd likely die within a short amount of time due to not knowing how to hunt, being caught/killed by some larger animal or hit by a car. so it's extremely unlikely they'd turn feral.

ferrets getting out and turning feral is what is the concern.

the law is in place due to something that happened in australia a long time ago...the ferrets brought there for purposes of controlling pest animals were not fixed and some did get lose and managed to get established in the wild and did reproduce.

it just could NOT happen in this country - in california or anywhere else. even if you buy from a private breeder, you still have to get them fixed (if they haven't been done already) so, even if one did get out, they'd have nobody to reproduce with if they have the equipment necessary - which they don't.

the arguement the state gives is just complete rubbish.

as for ferrets, themselves. they DO NOT stink!! yes, they can have a musky odor - that's completely normal. some have a stronger scent than others - still, it's not overpowering in the least!!

the biggest mistake people make is giving them baths with shampoo all the time. the shampoo strips the oils away from the fur so the body will make more to replace what was lost. if you bath them every week or even every month, you run the risk of causing the glands to go into overdrive. that results in an excess of oils on the fur and that will collect dust/dirt and that's what makes them smell bad! bathing with shampoo should only be done yearly, maybe twice a year.

keeping their environment clean is another point to keep bad odor down...bedding and hammy's should be washed weekly, the litter pan should be cleaned at least once a day and the cage spot-cleaned as needed with a decent wipe down every couple weeks and a complete wash down every couple months.

the food provided has a big impact on how a ferret and it's poo smells. even though the bag says it's for ferrets, most of what is available at the big-box places (petsmart and petco) is complete junk and shouldn't be given to any ferret!! too many filler products and too much fish products in them. ferrets are strictly carnivores - they can not digest grains, so any kibble with grain in it is a waste (in more ways than one). feeding a good grain-free kibble is what they need. they eat less of it because they utilize more of each piece and you see less coming out the backend, so less to clean up in the litterpan. so, less odor all around!

another way to keep excess odors down is to let them play in a 'dig box' filled with uncooked rice or shredded paper...rolling around will remove the dirt/dust from their fur as well as any excess oils. they can also be allowed to play in plain water - that will also remove dirt/dust yet won't set the oil glands into overdrive.

they are NOT nasty. not in the least. baby animals (any species) will nip so they need to be taught not to. with ferrets, the training is different than with cats and dogs. ferrets are very, very intelligent AND they can be extremely stubborn, so it can be a longer process than with other animals. further, biting is the way they invite other ferrets to play, so it's a fine line between teaching them not to bite you and still allowing them the freedom to do what comes naturally. all of mine understand that they can't bite hard on my skin...a pant leg or sleeve is fair game though. they will still sometimes grab my skin - it's not hard enough to hurt and definitely not hard enough to break the skin, either. on the rare occassions (other than as kits during the training process) that they have bitten and it was done to hurt it was a result of them being frightened of something or if they were hurt and in pain.

if you've train them incorrectly, they're going to develop a fear and that will make them bite more.

holding them when young and socializing them is an important part of the training process. the more they are held and nurtured and the more they are properly reprimanded when they nip when they shouldn't or get into things they shouldn't the quicker they will learn and the quicker they will behave. it's all a matter of teaching them what is acceptable and what isn't.

no, kits don't like to be held too long...they want to get down and explore their world!! as they age, they do get more cuddly.

they can easily be trained to use the litterbox and are usually 100% in the cage...during playtime the success rate for going in the box can be less (they're so busy playing they forget they need to go until the last second and then don't have time to get to the box, lol). still, that, in and of itself, is not a reason to not have them as pets! they can be worked with to up that percentage during playtime...just takes a bit of persistance on the owner's part to grab them when they go 'into position' and place them in the box. i actually have one that goes into the box on command and another that will (on command) about 50% of the time.

ferrets do not sleep all the time! yes, they sleep a lot and are naturally nocturnal, so it can certainly seem like they're always sleeping. i've found that all the ferrets i've had (or have now) have gotten on my schedule within a few weeks of being here. so, that means they're up shortly after i am in the morning and they're up and waiting for me when i get home from work.

as kits, they'll sleep about 16 hours a day...so that leaves a good 8 hours of time to play. as they age, they will sleep more and will be less rambunctious during thier awake time. if kept in a cage they should have about 6 hours of time out of the cage a day...no less than 4...and, of course, if you can offer more than 6 they're not going to complain at all!

they can be kept by themselves and with plenty of success. you would need to give them more time and attention though. they're naturally loners...it's only in domestication that we've forced this 'togetherness' bit on them...i've had many that were quite happy to be by themselves. even with the opportunity to be with other - they still went off on their own and did what they wanted - by themselves. others will make the most of having other ferrets to roughhouse with (since they really can't go all out with me).

yes, they do develop many diseases...the mass-production in the mills is to fault for most of that. and a lot of that is actually due to dietary reasons (again, those mills recommend their food which is basically [censored]...so, they get high turn-around and sell more ferrets). feeding a proper diet will alleviate some illnesses and put off the development of others...there's been a few studies going recently that document this.

lifespan is anywhere from 7-10 years with some living to 11 and even 12 (yes, that's rare. it does happen though).

anyone who is thinking about getting a ferret should get a copy of 'ferrets for dummies' by kim schilling (originally published in 1999 and a revised/updated version published in 2007). actually, even those with experience with ferrets should have a copy of it. it's a fantastic manual of exactly what is required to care for ferrets. she really did a fabulous job at collecting information that is correct and she presents it in an easily understood manner.

as for vets, YES! you do need an experienced ferret vet. and they can be hard to locate...it's worth traveling (and i do about an hour one-way to get to mine) to be assured that your pet is receiving proper care.

Raynefalls's post is a bit negative though some parts are true. There would be no feral colonies. They have to be "fixed" even if they aren't broken. I have ferrets that are going on 8 years now. I lost two ferrets over the years. Both were from the same breeder in Minnesota. They happened to be my very first pair and I have a hunch there was inbreeding involve - perpetuating immune/disease problems. Ferrets are very social. Ferrets do not smell if you keep their cage clean, fresh blankies daily, and give them an occasional bath. Not to frequent shampoos can dry out the skin. Litter boxes, watch what corner they want to use and put litter boxes in these corners. When they wake up watch where they are heading, if not toward the litter box snatch the little guy and gently put them in the box. Diana Geiger