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Ferets As Pets

© Barbara Lombardi

Before acquiring a ferret, there are many things to consider, including the age and sex of the ferret, where you will get her, financial considerations, changes you will need to make to your house and lifestyle, and how you are going to introduce your ferret to other pets, and possibly, to children.

Ferrets have become the third most popular house pet in the USA, and their owners now represent a large cross-section of America. Most pet ferret owners are upper middle class or professional people who work all day. Frequently they are single women or childless couples over thirty years of age. Generally, ferrets are pets of adults, not of children.

Ferrets require neither human nor ferret company for security or amusement most of the time. They are not nocturnal, but go to sleep when nothing exciting is happening and wake up whenever a human comes to entertain them (or to be entertained by them). Ferrets do not become neurotic as some other house pets do when left alone for long periods of time. They are excellent pets for people who go to work early in the morning and don't get home until evening. They require little out-of-cage exercise and no out-of-doors exercise and are much safer when kept inside a ferret-proofed house.

Because they can be caged, ferrets can be prevented from damaging the house while their owners are away. Apartment landlords often accept a ferret as a cage-dweller like a hamster or guinea pig even if it really spends most of its time free in the house when the owner is at home.