by Victoria Tiegert

Created on: February 19, 2009   Last Updated: March 06, 2009

Ferrets are an interesting and exciting breed of animal that, like humans, have differing personalities depending on their environment and the nature they come by at birth. Acquiring these animals is acquiring live entertainment for their lifetime and a heart full of love and affection, as well. Even though each ferret is individual in their specific nature, there are some attributes that run through the breed typically, with only slight variances.

*PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The ferret has a long, slender body atop short legs and tiny, clawed feet. The typical weight for an adult ferret is three to four pounds. The face is elongated with a pointy nose and small eyes and ears. The teeth of the ferret are extremely sharp, meant for tearing meat, as they are carnivores by nature. Colors of the coat vary between black, gray, brown and white, or with combinations of all of these hues. There are some ferrets that are pure white with the red eyes that signifies they are an albino, lacking color pigments. The ferret is a cousin to the weasel and shares many of the same characteristics on a smaller scale. With a life expectancy of approximately seven to ten years, the ferret will have plenty of time to become a much-loved part of your family.

*PERSONALITY

Ferrets are extremely playful, even as adults, but also require a great deal of sleep (approximately eighteen hours per day) to maintain their activity level. They are very social animals and do not enjoy being left alone when they are awake. If they are unhappy and needing attention, the ferret will let out a cry that is shrieking and incessant until their needs are met. Especially the younger ferret will be wiggly and squirmy if you are trying to keep them still. They have little desire to be cuddled in their younger years, but full-grown ferrets may indeed allow you to snuggle with them, happily sleeping with you and relaxing in your arms.

The ferret is an intelligent animal that will easily be litter-box trained and leash-trained. They may even learn a few simple tricks and commands. Their intelligence also makes them amazing escape artists and thieves. They will steal everything they can to hoard away somewhere for later entertainment. The ferret will burrow and love to find small spaces to hide out in, so they do require an owner who will be quite attentive to them when they are out of the cage. An unsupervised ferret will not only get into all the trouble they can, but they may also get injured.

*CARE AND HYGIENE

The

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>