Don't Get a Ferret : 16 Downsides to Ferret Ownership

Yes, ferrets are cute, funny, smart, loving, and incredibly unique, but are you really sure you want one as a pet? I'm about to get into all the nitty gritty, expensive, heartbreaking, surprising, and yes, smelly parts of ferret ownership to help see if this pet really is for you. Hey guys, it's Haley from The Modern Ferret, and this is part two of my pros and cons of ferrets video series. Make sure to check out part one linked in the description below, where I list the many benefits to ferret ownership. The first con to ferret ownership is a rebuttal to the first point I made in the last video. When it comes to ferret intelligence, specifically in the area of problem solving, ferrets actually rank somewhere around small primates, if you can believe it. And yes, it is fun to see them figure out stuff like the little Einsteins they are. This also means that they are bound to figure things out that you wish they wouldn't, like how to open doors, how to get into food they shouldn't, or how to hop over gates meant to keep them safe. That also means unless you take pretty extreme measures to ferret-proof your entire living quarters, your ferret is likely going to end up escaping or possibly injuring themselves. Ferrets can end up inside your walls, inside your recliners, behind your cabinets, and under your doors. I have an extensive series of videos I made specifically on ferret-proofing your house, room by room, so make sure to check that out, linked in the description below. There's another downside to ferret intelligence. They get bored easily. This is not the type of pet that you can lock in a cage all day with the same toys and hope that they'll be okay. You must provide them with ample room to play and rotate the enrichment items you provide so they don't develop stress behaviors. Ferrets also require regular interaction with you throughout the day, and if you don't have time for that, then this really isn't the pet for you. It does seem that pretty much every ferret loves to play, which is awesome, but not every ferret likes to cuddle. Some people will adopt a ferret with the expectation that their ferret will be super cuddly on day one and then be disappointed when they're not. Though there are things you can do to bond with your ferrets and get them more interested in snuggling with you, some ferrets never become big cuddlers. Moose was a huge cuddler. Albert is becoming more of one as he gets older, but Newt would always rather investigate a room than sit with me, and that was totally okay. Ferrets are capable of a lot of cute behaviors like war dancing and speed bumping, but they exhibit other behaviors that some people might find annoying. Many younger ferrets, and older ones too, like to nip when they play, and if they want you to join them, they might nip you too. Many times, ferrets don't know how hard they can bite a human. This behavior becomes a big pain point for a lot of new ferret owners. I actually have a video on ferret biting and advice on how to train your ferret not to bite linked in the description below. Another potentially annoying thing ferrets do is steal personal items. This could include your wallet, your TV remote. If you're in no rush, you might find it funny, but if you're running late, it may start to be a serious nuisance trying to locate all your ferret stashes around the house in search of your car keys so you can get to work. Once a ferret decides they want to get somewhere, they will dedicate their entire existence to accomplishing that goal. A lot of times, a closed door looks like an open one to your ferret if they can just scratch long enough. If they can't figure out a way to wiggle their way under it, your ferret will try their best to dig a trench to fit through it. And if you have carpet, this results in mangled bald spots next to your bedroom doors. So you probably aren't going to get your deposit back. Ferrets can make great companions to you and even your dog or cat under the right supervision. However, it's really not a good idea to keep ferrets with other animals like rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas, birds, and reptiles. Your ferret is an obligate carnivore. And even though they might not seem like it to you, your ferret has actually evolved to hunt. Keeping prey animals in close proximity can be extremely stressful for these other small animals and it could result in a deadly accident. Now, before I get to the biggest complaint we get on a regular basis about ferrets, which is perhaps the biggest universal con of ferret ownership, my name is Haley and I make educational and entertaining videos about ferrets. So if you enjoy my content, now is a perfect time to like, subscribe, and turn on that notification bell. All right, ready for this? By far the biggest complaint I have seen from the global ferret community at large is, drum roll, their poop! It's runny, it's smelly, and it is plentiful. Why is this? Well, ferrets have a relatively fast metabolism. So they poop every three to four hours. And if you have multiple ferrets in one house, that adds up to a lot of poop. So that means they don't have little rodent poops, which are small, formed, and kind of odorless. Instead, ferrets produce something more like loose dog poop, but luckily not in terms of size. And try as we might, even the best trained ferrets still find reasons to miss their litter box, resulting in stained carpets, AKA lost deposits, and ruined socks. My ferrets also seem to revolt whenever I slacked on cleaning their litter boxes, which led to the discovery of many new ferret-selected potty corners. I learned that if you want your ferrets to stay potty trained you have to clean up their potty areas constantly. If you'd like to learn about how to minimize accidents, check out my video on how to potty train your ferret linked in the description below. Unfortunately, ferrets seem to suffer from quite a few serious health problems, like insulinoma, adrenal disease, mast cell tumors, helicobacter, ear mites, and enlarged hearts, to name a few. My own three ferrets became sick with many of these things and more, and taking care of them became very difficult for a lot of reasons. If you'd like to hear about that personal experience, check out the video linked in the description below. Health problems are expensive, costing hundreds a year to treat, heartbreaking because some of them are very long-suffering, like insulinoma, and time-consuming, with medications that need to be given every three to four hours in some cases. If you're seriously thinking about ferrets, it's really important to become aware of these animals' most common illnesses and diseases so you can be financially and emotionally prepared. I have a resource linked below if you wanna learn more. In addition to contracting or inheriting various illnesses, ferrets are also prone to getting hurt in their environments. According to Ferrets for Dummies, intestinal and stomach blockages are the leading cause of death in ferrets under two years of age. Ferrets love to chew on and swallow lots of things they shouldn't, and because they also love to weasel their way into forbidden places in your home, it's hard to prevent this risk 100% of the time. And that leads me to the next downside of ferrets. It is very hard to find a vet who will treat your ferret properly. Many vet clinics are strictly dog and cat-focused, and ferrets, for some reason, fall into the exotic category, which narrows down the number of available vets even more. I remember speaking with my own vet a while back, and she suggested I buy three specific books. The first one was Ferrets for Dummies, and the other two were medical veterinary textbooks. And she said, read these, and you will know more about ferrets than most trained vets. Make sure to check out my resource below on how to select the best vet for your ferret. Because ferrets are not as popular as dogs and cats, that means there are less options for food, treats, and enrichment. A lot of big box stores sell unhealthy or unsafe items marketed for ferrets too, and for first-time ferret owners, they usually don't know any better. It takes time and research to select the best stuff for your ferret. And it's not always easy, because just like the products, learning resources at this time are still limited too. I have a list of my own recommendations for ferret products linked in the description below, so hopefully that can help some of you guys. If you wanna contain your ferret for any period of time, you're going to need some sort of cage, and good cages are expensive. Good ferret food is usually pretty pricey too, depending on whether you're going to feed high-quality kibble or a rock-ray diet. Vet care starts to become more and more expensive too as ferrets age, because oftentimes they need annual implants to treat their adrenal disease or twice-daily medication for insulinoma. This is not a cheap pet. I plan to do a video on the real cost of ferret ownership soon, so check back for a link to that video in the description below. In my experience, there are not many places that hoard ferrets. Perhaps more and more are popping up, but again, these types of things seem to be more catered towards dogs and cats. That means you are either going to need to bring your ferret with you when you travel, which means finding a hotel or an Airbnb that will allow them, and then ferret-proofing that space, or leaving them with a trusted friend who is comfortable changing litter boxes multiple times per day, feeding them a potentially unique diet like a raw prey meat, and giving them twice-daily medication if they're sick. When a friend watched my ferret, I remember being so scared they might step on them sleeping in a pile of their clothes, or accidentally leaving the door open and letting them escape. I made little signs for his apartment, and I put them on the floor, and they said, step lightly, there could be a ferret sleeping under these clothes. I covered ferret lifespan in the pros section of this video series, but depending on your own preference, a ferret's typical lifespan of five to seven years could be a big con for you. The bond you form with them is deep, and oftentimes the time we get to spend with them here on Earth doesn't seem nearly long enough. That same vet from before once told me there are two types of ferret owners, those who have ferrets for life, and those who do ferrets just once, and then decide they cannot handle a heartbreak again. They get sick so often, and they are gone so fast. A last one I thought I'd quickly mention, ferrets are not legal everywhere. I know in the United States, ferrets are still banned in California and Hawaii. There are also some cities and other countries where ferrets are illegal. This would be something to consider if you plan on moving during the course of your ferret's lifespan. I would not describe ferrets as an easy pet. They are time-consuming, they are expensive, they are messy, they love to steal, they can be smelly, they can get really sick, but for some people, it's all worth it. Even after watching this video, that may be you. Just make sure you are really prepared for this kind of commitment, time-wise, financially, and emotionally. And when in doubt, first join an online community like The Modern Ferret, and start talking to real ferret owners about their own experiences. I hope this video series sheds some light on what it's actually like to have ferrets, the good, the bad, and the smelly. Please let me know what you thought in the comment section below, and if this was weasel-y, the best thing you've seen all day, please like and subscribe. All right, bye! Did you have to poop? Did you have to make a big, smelly poop? Annoying ferret behavior, stealing and stashing. That's what happens when you write in all caps. This is gonna be all the social clips. Instead of teasers for sections, it's gonna be you shouting. Learn about their annoying behavior. See the bearded lady, see the annoying ferret. They do this bad thing, they do this bad thing. I'm excited for the reel you're gonna cut.