Interesting Ferret Facts You Should Know.
The furry ferret or just ferret is the domesticated form of the European polecat, it is a cute looking animal that anyone who loves animals as especially as pets would love to have and keep at home, this is especially due to their cute appearance and their soft fur which comes in different colors such as brown, white, black or sometimes mixture of all these colors. Being a cute animal there are so many facts about ferrets you’d love to know. Those interesting cute facts about ferrets is why we have this article in the first place.
To learn more furry ferret facts you have to stay with us and read down the ferrets fact sheet compiled below.
Enlightening Facts About Furry Ferrets.
There are several interesting facts about the furry ferret you should know. Here are 35 of such facts.
- A pet ferret lives in approximately 334,000 households in the United States, according to the American Veterinary Medicine Association.
- Ferrets have been domesticated for more than 2,000 years, but in the United States, they have only been popular as pets for the past 30 years.
- From a pet store, ferrets can cost up to $100.00. You are also likely to spend up to $25 every month on food. In addition to these expenses, your pet will need a quality cage, and that can cost you between $60.00 and $500.00. That is to say that ferrets are somewhat expensive.
- Most ferrets live for 6 to 10 years, but they can survive up to 15 years.
- In the United States, there are about 5- 7 million pet ferrets.
- You only need to bath ferrets a few times in a year. This is because continually bathing a ferret can result in a smellier pet. When you wash off the oils on the ferret, its oil glands overproduce oil to replace the ones you just washed off.
- When jills do not mate, that is the adult female ferrets, and they are not spayed, they can produce too much estrogen that can result in clothing, anemia, and in extreme cases, death.
- When happy, ferrets wag their tail but not as commonly as dogs do. They also dook.
- Though pet ferrets are not so easily trained like cats, they use litter boxes to ease themselves.
- Ferrets have a sharp sense of smell and hearing with which they make up for their nearsightedness.
- Though most ferrets do not pose much real danger to humans, however; some ferrets do. There have been cases where ferrets attacked and killed babies. Expert reviews conclude that the fact that babies smell like milk makes them appear like prey to ferrets.
- Ferrets perform a “weasel war dance” when they are excited. It consists of a series of sideways hops, leaps, and bumping into objects nearby. This weasel war dance is an invitation to play rather than a sign of aggression.
- Ferrets neutered when they are still very young may not grow as big as their counterparts neutered after the ferret is six months old.
- The ferret in Leonardo da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine” painting is probably the most famous. Actually, ermine is the name of a stoat or weasel, but scholars believe it is a ferret in the art.
- Several thousand years ago, ferrets were domesticated to assist hunters in flushing out rabbits from their holes and to also catch little animals like mice and rats.
- Rabbit hunting with ferrets is a sport in England. The ferrets wear unique collars so that their owners can find them and dig them out after they burrow and track rabbits underground.
- Ferrets have ribs that are so flexible that they allow them to flatten themselves to crawl through tiny places.
- Queen Elizabeth used to have an albino ferret. It appears in one portrait of hers.
- It’s illegal for one to own a ferret in Washington DC, Hawaii, California, and New York City and other communities in some states. See fun facts about Washington state.
- It’s difficult to introduce new food to older ferrets because they imprint on their food when they are about six months old.
- Ferrets used to be trained to carry cables through pipes, tunnels, and other small places when humans can’t pass.
- Ferrets sleep is so deep, and it is called “ferret dead sleep.” It lasts for about 4 hours at a time, and in all, they can sleep for 15 to 20 hours a day.
- European polecats can breed with ferrets just as wolves can breed with domestic dogs. In England, there are actually some polecat/ferret hybrids in the wild.
- Baby ferrets called kits are born blind and deaf. They only begin to see and hear when they are about 34 days old.
- At birth, all ferrets are white. However, they come in a variety of colors like cream, chocolate, silver, cinnamon, sable, and albino. They start changing to their adult colors from three months after birth
- Ferrets are much closer to dogs and cats than they are to rats and mice.
- As at four years old, ferrets are considered to be old.
- An endangered species of ferrets, the black-footed ferret, believed to have gone into extinction, was rediscovered recently in America.
- An adult male ferret is called hobs while an adult female is called jills. A baby ferret is called kits, a castrated male ferret is known as gibs, while a sprayed female ferret is a sprite. Hobs and gibs are larger than jills and sprites.
- Amongst all the members of the weasel family, ferrets are the only ones domesticated to become pets to humans.
- After dogs and cats, the next most popular mammal kept as a pet in the US is the ferret.
- A newborn ferret is tiny, such that it can fit into a teaspoon. Also, it weighs only 1 ounce. However, a full-grown ferret can weigh between 1.5 to 4.0 pounds, and reaching 20 inches long
- Ferrets steal and hide things a lot. These are their favorite activities. This may be connected in some way to its Latin fur root, which means “little thief.”
- A group of ferrets is referred to as a “business.”
- Ferrets are likely to have many medical conditions such as adrenal diseases and intestinal blockage as a result of swallowing inedible objects. Cats and dogs afflictions like heartworm, rabies, distemper, and canine affect ferrets too.
This knowledge is especially crucial if you are looking to take a pet ferret, or you already have one. At this point, you would have picked a fact or two about ferrets, which you didn’t know.
Also we’d like to answer some important questions that are popular amongst those who have love for furry ferrets;
FAQ
- What are ferrets known for?
Ferrets are known to be good hunters or help well enough in hunting because they’re very well built for getting down holes and chasing rodents, rabbits and moles out of their burrows. Apparently, getting down holes is possible because of their lean body build.
- What is a good number of ferrets to have?
It is recommended to have more than one ferret, this is because they’ve been known to be fun and sociable, having two or more ferrets will definitely increase the fun that you’ll have with your pets.
- How smart is a ferret?
Ferrets are known to be smart in their own way, well maybe not better than the smartest of animals, but they’re quite smart. Also, they have a good memory as they’re better than cats at remembering things, that could in a way add to their intelligence.
- What are baby ferrets called?
Baby ferrets are called kits.
- Can a cat kill a ferret?
No, a cat can’t kill a ferret, in one bite. But they’d fight very well as the ferret is not known to back out of a fight against cats, cat’s aren’t very much bigger/larger than ferrets enough to be able to kill a ferret in one bite.
- Why is it illegal to have a ferret?
It is illegal to have a ferret as pet due to concerns about biting, as well as rabies, and escapees colonizing and threatening native wildlife in the area. Ferrets are illegal everywhere in the USA but they’re illegal in Ney York and California.
- Do ferret bites hurt?
Yes, ferret bites hurt if they bite you. But biting isn’t always a thing with ferrets because they’re friendly and sociable with humans. They mostly bite when frightened.
- Can ferrets die of loneliness?
Yes, ferrets can die of loneliness. They’re known to mourn their owners if they leave them, and this mourning can lead to deep loneliness that’s capable of killing them.
- Can ferrets sleep with you?
Yes, your ferret can sleep with you if you want and comfortable doing so.
- Do ferrets eat their own poop?
No, ferrets do not eat their own poop .Ferrets are actually hygiene conscious as they never poop nor pee close to where they eat.
- Do ferrets easily die?
Ferrets do not die easily, but lack of sex for the female ferrets can lead to death. It always lead to death if she lacks sex for a prolonged period without breeding.
