Ferret Care
I made a thread for this post at the request of @JuliusBorisov and @Anduin.
The most important thing to know is how much stink can you handle. Ferrets themselves don't smell so bad, but their poop can smell worse than anything else you've probably smelled. That's coming from a guy who can barely smell rotten potatoes anymore. This is due to their close relationship with skunks giving them that stink juice that skunks are famous for. Domesticated ferrets usually have those removed, but that doesn't help the smell of their poop. Which brings me to another point: ask if the ferrets have had that gland removed, unless you like being squirted.
It would probably be best to go ahead and buy a litter box and make sure the ferret is trained to use one. If you're worried about losing the ferret in the house, then I would say buy a fairly large cage with a small litter box. You can use cat litter, and I would say get the best kind for eliminating odors. You will probably still need to change the litter at least once a day to prevent the smell from overwhelming you.
If you're still interested after all of that, then great!
Ferrets are playful creatures. They like to hop around and sneak up on people, nibble on their heels, etc. Their fangs are sharp, but they don't bite hard. The exception is when infants enter their teething stage, at which point they'll clamp down on anything, including skin. And yes it does hurt (I know from experience). I recommend getting a young adult who has grown past that stage, if only for the kids' sakes. If you want, you COULD also consider getting two ferrets, as they will play with each other, which makes keeping them entertained easier, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you can handle twice the poop.
Ferrets are very active, but run out of energy quickly, so after roughly half an hour to an hour of playing, they'll get tired. The best way to tire them out is by playing with them until they lay down, exhausted, at which point they'll take a nap. They will take a lot of naps, not because they're lazy, but because they wear themselves out often. They do start to get restless after they've rested, which means it's time to play again. When they get excited while playing, they'll start making a panting-ish noise, which is basically their equivalent to a dog wagging its tail.
Ferrets like to explore. They have an inquisitive nature, and the problem solving capability of rats, meaning that if there is virtually any way to get into a place, they will figure it out. If there is any part of the house that you want to be off-limits, such as tight spaces that will make it difficult to keep track of them, setting up a barricade using household items will keep them out as long as they can't climb it. If they can scale it or bypass it in any way, they will. My ferret will crawl through the space under my door, for instance, and then proceed to harass the family dog, who jumps onto furniture to avoid her. You will also want them on a leash if you take them outside. You can find leashes for small animals hopefully at the nearest pet store. Or you could just not take them outside at all. It isn't a requirement.
This next part might surprise you: I don't actually feed my ferret cookies. I stay with a trusted brand of healthy ferret food. My brand of choice is Marshall, though I don't know if you have that brand across the pond. Something similar will suffice if it doesn't. Putting a handful or two in a small dish will keep the ferret fed for the day. I also throw in a ferret treat/multivitamin once a day. These have become more scarce recently where I live, but I try to get my hands on them whenever I can.
Ferrets shed their hair when it gets too hot, so you won't have to worry about trimming it, just getting the hair out of the carpet :P. It comes out easily though, and they don't shed it all at once; it's more like a little bit one day, a little bit the next.
There's one other important thing to know. Ferrets will need to have their claws trimmed occasionally. Do NOT trim more than a tiny bit, just enough to dull the claws. Ferrets have skin under their claws up to a certain point, and trimming them down past that point will hurt them, just like peeling off a fingernail hurts for us.
So yeah, like any other pet, ferrets require some maintenance, but they are fun to play around with or to watch as they explore, and they are very adorable when they're crawling all over you or licking your hands as you hold them, or pouncing at you and nipping your heels from the shadows (this really will happen, by the way. Did you think I was joking about the backstabs?)
The most important thing to know is how much stink can you handle. Ferrets themselves don't smell so bad, but their poop can smell worse than anything else you've probably smelled. That's coming from a guy who can barely smell rotten potatoes anymore. This is due to their close relationship with skunks giving them that stink juice that skunks are famous for. Domesticated ferrets usually have those removed, but that doesn't help the smell of their poop. Which brings me to another point: ask if the ferrets have had that gland removed, unless you like being squirted.
It would probably be best to go ahead and buy a litter box and make sure the ferret is trained to use one. If you're worried about losing the ferret in the house, then I would say buy a fairly large cage with a small litter box. You can use cat litter, and I would say get the best kind for eliminating odors. You will probably still need to change the litter at least once a day to prevent the smell from overwhelming you.
If you're still interested after all of that, then great!
Ferrets are playful creatures. They like to hop around and sneak up on people, nibble on their heels, etc. Their fangs are sharp, but they don't bite hard. The exception is when infants enter their teething stage, at which point they'll clamp down on anything, including skin. And yes it does hurt (I know from experience). I recommend getting a young adult who has grown past that stage, if only for the kids' sakes. If you want, you COULD also consider getting two ferrets, as they will play with each other, which makes keeping them entertained easier, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you can handle twice the poop.
Ferrets are very active, but run out of energy quickly, so after roughly half an hour to an hour of playing, they'll get tired. The best way to tire them out is by playing with them until they lay down, exhausted, at which point they'll take a nap. They will take a lot of naps, not because they're lazy, but because they wear themselves out often. They do start to get restless after they've rested, which means it's time to play again. When they get excited while playing, they'll start making a panting-ish noise, which is basically their equivalent to a dog wagging its tail.
Ferrets like to explore. They have an inquisitive nature, and the problem solving capability of rats, meaning that if there is virtually any way to get into a place, they will figure it out. If there is any part of the house that you want to be off-limits, such as tight spaces that will make it difficult to keep track of them, setting up a barricade using household items will keep them out as long as they can't climb it. If they can scale it or bypass it in any way, they will. My ferret will crawl through the space under my door, for instance, and then proceed to harass the family dog, who jumps onto furniture to avoid her. You will also want them on a leash if you take them outside. You can find leashes for small animals hopefully at the nearest pet store. Or you could just not take them outside at all. It isn't a requirement.
This next part might surprise you: I don't actually feed my ferret cookies. I stay with a trusted brand of healthy ferret food. My brand of choice is Marshall, though I don't know if you have that brand across the pond. Something similar will suffice if it doesn't. Putting a handful or two in a small dish will keep the ferret fed for the day. I also throw in a ferret treat/multivitamin once a day. These have become more scarce recently where I live, but I try to get my hands on them whenever I can.
Ferrets shed their hair when it gets too hot, so you won't have to worry about trimming it, just getting the hair out of the carpet :P. It comes out easily though, and they don't shed it all at once; it's more like a little bit one day, a little bit the next.
There's one other important thing to know. Ferrets will need to have their claws trimmed occasionally. Do NOT trim more than a tiny bit, just enough to dull the claws. Ferrets have skin under their claws up to a certain point, and trimming them down past that point will hurt them, just like peeling off a fingernail hurts for us.
So yeah, like any other pet, ferrets require some maintenance, but they are fun to play around with or to watch as they explore, and they are very adorable when they're crawling all over you or licking your hands as you hold them, or pouncing at you and nipping your heels from the shadows (this really will happen, by the way. Did you think I was joking about the backstabs?)
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But looks like as an familiar they seem to have some stinky problem.
Then, again, another quite viable Lawful Neutral familiar option is a 4d12 minor horde of baby goats.