Domestic ferrets: characteristics, characteristics of the content and breeding

The decorative ferret, better known to breeders under the name ferret or furo, is a domesticated species of steppe ferret. In recent years, it has become fashionable to keep him in an apartment, which is not surprising - with knowledge of some subtleties, caring for such a pet presents no problems.

The ferret is a rather brisk mammal, the distinguishing feature of which is an oblong body and a long bushy tail. The name “fretka” came to us from the Polish language, it was in this country that ferrets were first bred. In European countries, adopted another designation - ferret.

Ferrets are predatory animals of the weasel family. Their extended body reaches 40 cm in length in females and 50 cm in males. Paws of the animal are short, but at the same time very strong and hardy. Thanks to the developed muscles in the limbs, the ferret easily moves from one tree to another and digs deep holes. It enjoys great popularity among breeders due to its large bushy tail, whose length is 20–25 cm. The weight, depending on the variety, varies from 0.25 to 2 kg.

Under natural conditions, animals are common in Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, as well as in America and Central Asia. Some species of ferrets were also introduced even to Australia and New Zealand to combat the rapidly increasing population of rodents.

These are fearless and brave animals that bravely rush at snakes, moles, muskrats, although all these animals are often much larger and stronger. In previous years, ferrets often took to the hunt - at the expense of their dexterity, animals quickly coped with smaller animals.

Due to its lovely appearance and friendly nature, the animal has been bred for many decades as an exotic pet. Domesticated ferrets have pretty much taken from their wild ancestors, first of all it is their appearance, character, habits and coloring. Despite the fact that ferrets are domestic animals, they prefer to lead nightlife. During the daytime, the ferret loves to sleep, and closer to the night it wakes up and begins to stay awake.

In their natural habitat, ferrets dig deep holes, the same habits inherited from their home species. If you have a lot of potted plants in your home, then most likely your pet will not fail to seize the opportunity to search through all the pots with plants.

The furs have a rather flexible body, so they can even penetrate very narrow slits, but they are often unable to get out of there - this can pose a threat to the pet's life, therefore it is better to keep the ferret in captivity in a rather spacious aviary without the possibility of samovygul in your absence.

The following popular ferret colors are distinguished.

• Sable - This is the most common color of the animal. Usually tails and limbs are painted in dark colors, the body is lighter, beige. A distinctive feature of such animals - black circles near the eyes.

• Champagne - this color is formed by a combination of tones of milk and light chocolate. Their eyes usually have a pomegranate hue, and the nose is pale pink. These ferrets are most often grown at home.

• Pastel - here many shades are allowed at once - from light to dark color, but the basic tone is still white.The nose is brown or pink, the eyes are dark coffee, almost black. In the wild, such ferrets are widespread, but in captivity are quite rare.

• White - these ferrets look like albino animals with their appearance, but only with the color of fur. Such animals usually suffer from deafness, but their cost is much higher than all other species, which, however, does not affect the popularity of animals of this color among breeders.

• "Cinnamon" - Another kind of ferrets common for domestic breeding, in this case, the awn is brownish, but closer to the tail, the wool darkens. The eyes are usually maroon, but can be brownish-pink.

• Silver - This animal is characterized by beige hair with delicate grayish tints. Color is very rare, so these animals are highly valued among experienced breeders.

• Panda - one of the most exotic species. Such ferrets outwardly resemble large pandas: they have a white body, dark legs and an almost black tail.

Ferrets are very active and inquisitive, and, as a rule, friendly, but at the time of puberty (about six months) and during the rut, their character begins to deteriorate.

If there are already other pets in the house, the ferret will certainly become a leader in their relationship. These are rodents with high intelligence and commander manners. Ferrets are best contacted with dogs, especially guard breeds. Often they become very real friends and communicate perfectly with each other.

But with the "pocket" dogs interaction is much more difficult - the fact is that these animals are easily excitable, because the ferrets use this and often offend them. But acquaintance with hunting dogs can end badly for the ferret - they can perceive it as prey and even kill.

Relations between ferrets and cats can develop in the most unpredictable way - there can be a great friendship, and absolute indifference and aggression.

Relationships of ferret with rodents and birds are quite risky - in the wild, such animals become prey of the ferret, so it is better to keep cages at home away from ferret.

No need to start ferrets in families with young children - the fact is that fluffy pets have very sharp teeth and claws and they can harm the baby. Children often accept new pets as new toys, and if dogs with cats can stoically tolerate such actions, ferrets will necessarily respond with aggression and anger.

If your children are a little older, then this unusual pet will pose absolutely no danger to the household. - in comfortable conditions, he is no more dangerous than an ordinary cat.

The maintenance of ferrets has many advantages.

• These pets are quickly accustomed to the tray, and all care for them comes down only to periodic cleaning of the cage and washing litter.
• While communicating with a person, the ferret pretty quickly learns its name, learns such things as “good” and “bad”.
• Tamed animals are very popular with both children and adults - they are quite soft and very playful. Ferrets are very original in their amusements - during games they bizarrely jump and adore rustling bags, in the summer they tumble into dug holes, and in winter they make tunnels in the snow.
• Ferrets are adapted to a wide variety of conditions, they can walk in any weather and can be bred in different climatic zones.
• The animal is extremely unpretentious in food - they can eat both specialized food and get food from the common table.

Despite the abundance of advantages, The owners of this animal face many difficulties that you need to know in advance.

Keep in mind that this is a very sociable and sociable animal that requires constant attention from its owner. To maintain mental comfort and stable mental state of the animal requires at least 3 hours of communication with the owner per day.

Think ahead if you have enough time. If you belong to the category of busy workaholics who do not have the opportunity to sit once again at the TV or chat with friends, then all you can give the animal is to put in food and clean the cage. Such people are more suitable turtle or fish.

It is very important to be patient: this is an animal whose energy literally strikes an edge, it is characterized by naughtyness and irrepressible thirst for activity.. Any animal can spoil things - for example, a dog nibbles at sneakers, and a cat likes to sharpen claws about furniture, while a ferret does it all at once. You must be mentally and financially prepared for the damage that the animal can inflict on plants, furniture, toys and wallpaper.

It is important to understand that the content of a ferret is not a cheap pleasure. The purchase of such a pet will cost you a pretty penny - the cost of the animal in the market is estimated from 2 to 20 thousand. Also, you will have to equip for him a comfortable aviary, the price of which reaches 15,000 rubles. In addition, you will have to purchase a feeder and drinker, a variety of toys, a hammock, a sunbed, a house. You will need a carrier for visits to the vet, a leash and a scraper - this is plus a few thousand to spend on the arrangement of the pet's home.

Animal required complete balanced nutrition, vitamin and mineral supplements that contribute to its full growth and development. Do not forget to include such items of expenses as a vet examination every six months and vaccinations.

In case of illness, the average treatment bill is about 20,000 rubles.

When creating favorable conditions, the ferret lives in captivity for 7-9 years - this is a pretty good time for such a small animal, and for its owner - another reason to think about whether he is ready to take all the responsibility to maintain comfortable living conditions for the animal in the apartment . Do not forget that this is not about a hamster that lives for a couple of years and spends most of the time in a cage.

The ferret sleeps 13-15 hours a day, most often during the day. This means that at night all family members will sleep peacefully, and their pet will put maximum effort to prevent this, wake up their owners and involve them in active games. In order not to give him the opportunity to turn his house upside down, the animal will need a good spacious cage, best of all an open-air cage, the minimum dimensions of which should correspond to 1x1x0.7 m.

So that the pet is not boring, in a cage you need to hang a few hammocks in which the ferret will spend all your free time. If you have a large house or a spacious apartment, it is better to build something like a zoo pen - in this case, the ferret will have ample space and the need for a pet to walk completely disappears. In such constructions it would be useful to hang ladders and ropes.

A small kennel should always be provided in the dwelling - usually it is collected from improvised means, paying special attention to the safety of a house for Fuzzies. Inside, be sure to place bedding from old, warm and very soft canvases, for example, from wool and terry. Feeders and drinkers are better to buy small and at the same time durable. It is advisable to use suspended structures, otherwise the active animal can simply turn them over.

Ferrets adore squeaky and rustling toys, balls, cloth cuts, teethers and many other entertainment devices.

As a toilet, you can use the most common tray, as for cats, and as filler take sawdust or compressed mixture.

The duration and quality of life of a pet directly depends on its nutrition. In their natural habitat, ferrets eat birds, insects and small rodents. At home, to adhere to such a regime is hardly possible, therefore, breeders transfer their pets to finished feed.

There are 4 main types of feed - economy, middle class, as well as premium and professional mixes. The first two categories belong to the most budgetary ones - it is undesirable to use them for ferrets, it is better to purchase more expensive products that contain all the necessary vitamins, micro and macro elements. They also have less fat, so they are much better absorbed by the stomachs of fluffy pets. Preference should be given to dry mixtures - firstly, they do not smell, and secondly, they contribute to high-quality cleaning of teeth from plaque and stone.

If desired, you can feed animals with natural food, most of the diet in this case should be meat-chopped into small pieces or grind in a meat grinder. This food is given to the ferries twice a day, and approximately once every 7-10 days this mash is supplemented with sea fish and chicken eggs. By the way, such feeding is not cheaper than buying ready-made mixes.

Bathing a ferret too often is not necessary - two or three times a year are enough, and shampoos should be special, harmless to animals. Daily cleaning of fur is carried out with the use of napkins and sprays - they can be purchased at any pet store.

Do not forget about the toilet for animals. The fact is that the urine of these pets contains quite a lot of ammonia, therefore, it has an unpleasant, pungent smell. To prevent it from spreading throughout the house, the tray should be updated daily.

Special care requires an animal during the molting period.. It usually occurs in March - then the pet folds its long hair and remains with shorter, more sparse hairs. The second molt occurs in October-early November - at this moment the hamster is preparing for wintering and forms a thick coat with a dense undercoat. Shortly before the start of the molt, the animal usually begins to itch very much, the itch often worries the animal even during sleep. In such conditions, he can not sleep until he gets rid of unpleasant sensations.

Such a period usually lasts no more than 1.5-2 weeks, but causes a lot of inconvenience to both the pets themselves and their owners. Breeders get very scared when they notice small blue spots on their pets - but don't let that frighten anyone, so the ferrets are “paving the way” with new fur. During this period, the animal needs vitamins, then changing the coat will be much easier for the pet.

Ferco breeding usually begins with the correct selection of animals. It is best for mating to prepare the largest individuals with no signs of disease. It is better to take animals from different nurseries and different families - crossing between relatives gives unfavorable results and the young are born weak and sick.

Females of ferrets are able to give birth several times a year, and there is no framework defining a specific period of the hunt. During breeding, the female becomes rather aggressive, often rushes through the aviary - it is at this point that an adult male should be planted to her, the animals will do the rest without the participation of their owners.

Females bear babies for about 40-42 days.As the delivery approaches, their mammary glands swell and begin to increase in size. As a rule, each female gives birth to 3-10 cubs.

During pregnancy, special attention should be paid to the quality of the feed, and in the fourth week to increase the portions by 2-2.5 times.

Childbirth is easy and does not require human intervention - wild genes allow the female to cope with everything on their own. However, if they last more than 12 hours or are accompanied by the release of a sharp unpleasant smell - You should immediately contact the veterinarian, otherwise the risk of death of the mother and her puppies is high.

In the first month, the young are breastfed. If you feed the new mother in sufficient volume, she herself will be able to cope with feeding all her 10 cubs. A month later, you can gradually translate it into special food or finely chopped "naturalku".

If you do not plan to breed ferrets, the female is best sterilized. - at the time of the hunt, she is extremely aggressive and if she cannot get the male, she soon stops drinking and eating, falls into apathy. This is accompanied by loss of hair, sometimes even to alopecia.

Males not intended for breeding, castrated. If this is not done, they will begin to mark everything and tenants will have to face such a problem as unpleasant odors in their own house, which are quite difficult to get rid of.

By nature, ferrets have strong immunity, but, nevertheless, they are prone to certain diseases.

Among infectious diseases, the greatest danger is plague and rabies, for which there is no medicine and the affected animal dies, therefore in childhood kittens should be put vaccinations.

Non-communicable diseases include the following.

• rickets - most often with such a problem faced young animals that do not receive a balanced diet;
• avitaminosis and hypovitaminosis - another problem caused by errors in the animal's feeding system;
• aplastic anemia - usually occurs in females during estrus in the absence of mating;
• gastroenteritis- ferrets face such a problem if the feed contains too much plant food;
• stones in the kidneys - Another consequence of an overabundance of plant component in the feed;
• congestive cardiomyopathy - Pathology of the cardiovascular system, caused by a lack of taurine in the body;
• stomach ulcer - becomes the result of stress and errors in the organization of nutrition;
• urocystitis - occurs as a result of overcooling of an animal;
• cataract - most often, old or previously injured pets face it;
• prostate cyst - this disease is faced by neutered males, whose age exceeds 2 years;
• tumor processes, including oncological.

Often, animals suffer from parasite infection:

• ear mites - are transmitted from one sick pet to another, for people they are not infectious;
• fleas - most often the ferret is attacked by human lice, as well as cat or dog fleas.

Feedback from breeders suggests that ferrets are good, but overly active pets. It is best to purchase them at the age of 2-3 months. During this time, they completely switch to adult food, and in addition, the mother teaches them the basic survival skills. This greatly facilitates their adaptation in a new place.

When buying an animal, special attention should be paid to its appearance. - wool should be smooth, shiny, unpleasant appearance of bald spots. Spout should be wet and eyes clean. The animal should be moderately well-fed and quite active.

For people who do not have much experience in caring for pets, it is best to take a female into the house. The difference is that girls are more docile and intelligent, much smarter and more intelligent than males. The feedback from the breeders emphasizes that the ferret ladies quickly get used to a new home, are accustomed to the tray and in a short time exploring new territory.

These animals are big restless, they are in constant motion, they literally need to stick their nose into every crevice, try everything and feel it with their paws.

Males are more imposing, sedate, they are calmer and stronger attached to their master.

The male is more attracted to the host person than the territory, so they will often spin around you for a walk, but you shouldn’t be too happy - the ferret boys rarely walk on their hands, allowing such treatment to be quite rare and then in mood.

On the features of care and maintenance of the domestic ferret, see the following video.