[Mimzzy]

Hey there my fellow 3FCer's!
My boyfriend and I have been thinking about getting a ferret for months and have been doing research for much longer then that! We recently cleared it with our landlord and have started saving up for one. My are they expensive pets when you add in everything they need like vitamins/supplements, high quality food, litter etc. In Canada the cost of adopting one through a pet store is $200 or more! Although, we are looking to adopt one from a shelter/rescue or from someone who just can't take care of it anymore. Anyway, I have read almost everything there is to read on the internet, but I would really like to hear some personal stories! So if you have one, two, three or more I would love to hear everything you have to say about them. Tips and tricks for training, keep down the smell, homemade toy idea's are all appreciated!

Thanks in advance everyone!

[tessendicott]

They are extremely cute pets. I had a friend with some. They have BIG personalities. The only thing that can reduce the smell at all is if you have the scent gland removed. Depending on the ferret, even if you bathe it regularly, they smell absolutely terrible.

I would recommend getting two of them if you can afford it. They are like most other animals, they tend to do better with a partner.

Hope you all enjoy it when you get it!

[Daki]

My only tip for you is if you haven't already played with one for more than 5 minutes, I would go and do that. I got rats a few years ago and it turns out I'm highly allergic. Like laying-on-the-floor-considering-calling-911-because-I-can't-breathe allergic. It never even occurred to me that I might have an allergy because I didn't have any bad ones before this. It broke my heart to have to give my girls away. But the funny thing is it took MONTHS for the allergy to emerge. I had them for 9 months and the first several months they were fine for me. But when they transitioned from babies to adults that's where my problems started. It started with itchiness, then I started getting hives, then I started sneezing, then I got itchy eyes, then the hives got horrendous, then my throat started closing up if I was in the same room too long/if I touched them. Took about 4 months to go from the mild allergy to the severe one. And now I'm just allergic to any rodent, I'm pretty bummed about it lol.

New pets are super exciting though, I love doing all of the research. Have fun and good luck!

[Quiet Ballerina]

Just may sure that when you look at expenses you also think about vet bills for regular visits, as well as bills in case something happens.
I have a friend who has owned ferrets; if you have any specific questions I'm happy to pass them along to him for answers.
(if I forget to come back to this post you can always PM me)