Ferrets

One of the pets that became quite well known and sold all over the world was the ferret. It is a mammal of the order of carnivores that belongs to the mustelid family, which is made up of more than 60 species. It is known as a more modern domestic animal, although its domestication dates back to ancient times. Throughout history, the ferret has been considered a very useful mammal.

Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to tell you all the characteristics, feeding, habitat and care of the ferret.

Ferrets Characteristics

These mammals have been considered very useful for man since they were capable of controlling rabbit pests. It has also been used as a companion animal and is considered by many people to be a more sociable animal than cats. There is a wide variety of colors of these animals, so it also helps their better distribution as a domestic animal.

These ferrets have some crepuscular habits and spend many hours resting. When they are awake they are considered very active and curious animals. They will always be looking for some mischief to do. Therefore, if we have it, a pet, we must take some precautions to avoid accidents at home. They have great ease to be able to enter hidden and small places in the home. At any time we can find it in an unexpected place in our house.

They are quite sociable animals and love to play with humans. Above all, they become very affectionate if they have been taught and integrated to play with humans since they were little. They are animals with a small and thin body, elongated and short legs. Their neck is long and they have a triangular head that gives them an ideal morphology to be able to enter the burrows to hunt. This is one of the characteristics that allows it to become one of the perfect animals for the control of rabbit populations.

They usually weigh between 1 and 2 kilos on average, although they can reach 7 kilos. Males are smaller in size than females. The denture is changed 50 days after birth and the first one usually grows after 17 days. When they have completed the first year of age they become adults. The breeding season usually covers between the months of December to June. Gestation lasts between 40 and 46 days and they usually give birth to between 2 and 16 pups on each occasion.. The young are born hairless and blind. The life expectancy of a ferret in good condition is usually around 8 years.

ferret feeding

This animal has a strict carnivorous diet. In order to be well fed, they require a large amount of good quality protein. More or less the protein in their diet consists of 40% of the total. Commercial feed is the most recommended for them since it contains all this necessary amount of protein. It is necessary to administer taurine since they need it for some vital functions.

There are some fairly balanced food preparations on the market in terms of nutrients capable of covering all the nutritional needs of ferrets. The protein can be consumed both dry and wet. Industrial feeding offers a balanced diet according to the nutritional needs of the ferret.

It is not at all advisable to give him any raw meat as it can have harmful bacteria. If you want to give him the meat yourself, it is necessary that it is previously boiled and that it does not become the basis of his diet. It can only be used as a supplement on a few alternate days in your diet. Another complement that can be given as a reward can be the must-have jars or fruits and vegetables in small proportions. These fruits and vegetables must be chopped very well to facilitate their intake. We remember that they are carnivorous animals that need a high amount of protein to be able to satisfy their nutritional needs.

Vegetables or fruits will only be a sporadic prize.

ferret care

If we want to educate and socialize our ferret, we must start when they are younger so that they get used to human presence. just like cats it can be educated to perform its positions in a sandbox. It will require some extra care such as regular nail trimming, brushing, ear cleaning, and some monthly baths. There are some experts who do not recommend bathing, since they think that it can increase the bad smell.

He better recommends neutering so that the problems related to this bad smell disappear. One of the cleaning tasks of the ferret is that of its accessories. It is an essential factor in these animals, since they can give off an unpleasant odor for people. These colors give off it to be able to mark its territory from the rest of the congeners.

Adopting a puppy ferret is the best option so that they can adapt to the home from a very young age. It must be handled regularly so that human contact is to your liking and it does not show signs of aggression towards the domestic environment. If we get him used to being in continuous contact with people and with the domestic environment from a young age, he will have no problem being affectionate towards us.

Areas should be provided for them to perform physical exercise and not have them in the cage continuously. It is ideal to have him at least a couple of hours out of the cage daily. You can let him pass through a room in our house, taking extreme precautions so that he cannot escape or manipulate the electrical wiring. In the house we know that there are some accessories that can be harmful to the ferret. Almost all of these accessories are usually related to electricity.

The cages should be spacious with soft floors so that they have their habit of digging. Unless they are neutered, they have to live solitary. The rooms must be correctly separated both in the area of ​​food, rest, direction, etc.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about the ferret.