Do any of you have experience of ferrets as pets? Kids have reached the age of wantng their own pets. Girls are hppy with gerbils but my husband and son are looking into ferrets. They have found a local breeder with kits for sale and are curently doing their research. Anyone any advice? Sam.

try www.shootingcommunity.co.uk  friendly site and I'm sure they could advise you on this.  There are a few youngsters on there in the junior section who have them. 

I had a ferret when I was younger called Freda !! she was a great pet, she had a little harness and flexi lead and would come for walks with the dogs.  I also took her working a couple of times with a local guy who worked his, she loved it !!

Unfortunatley she was a great escape artist and after her 2nd time of escaping she was never found :(

Just one warning, they do smell !!  I had a special fleece I had to wear when handling her because my mum hated the stench   (personally I didnt have a problem with it !)

I had ferrets for many years.Can make lovely pets,but some bite and how much handling you do with them  they never stop biting and  it is very painfull.They should never be kept on their own best as pairs.If you get females,they must be speyed or if they are not mated get infections and will die.Very good at escaping one of mine escaped and was found asleep on someones driveway.They love tunnels to go through and a hammock to sleep in but make sure they are kept out of the direct sunlight as they overheat quickly and can die,obviously like any animal in a cage.In winter they get very thick coats and look like teddy bears,but in the summer they go very thin and look scrawny some lose the hair off their tails and look like rats but this is nothing to worry about.I could go on about ferrets for ages best to buy a book.Just one last thing best to feed them on a dried complete food as they can get a build up of tartar on their teeth.

Make sure they are descented and fixed before you get them they make better pets- Jills will come into continuos heat if not bred... males can be pretty mean if kept intact.

We have 2 ferrets that were givin to us about 5 years ago- before that we had a lil female sweet as pie but sadly she got sick and we had to pts :( (R.I.P) if you click on my name and check out my pics you will see pics of them :) I do find the black masked ones to be more nippy and the full white ones (albino's).

You can litter train them but also have a cage that you keep them in cause they get into everything- we have a 3 level chinchilla cage for our ferrets fits a hammock and litter box, food with out a problem and still gives them plenty of room. you want to use a water bottle cause they will just play in their water dish lol Do not use scoopable litter, if you can get Yesterdays news much better for them. When we let them out to run we have litter boxes in certain corners cause thats where they like to mess. We have a silver mitt male and a black masked female- the male is a sweety and well as for the female if she doesn't know you she will nip. When they are lil they are nippy lil things so alot of work to get them out of it, well some no matter how much you try they think its great fun cause of the noise you make. We had a back mask male had to rehome him cause no matter how hard we tried just a nippy lil bu**er and would always run after the kids and bite. They remind me of a hyper kitten even into old age. We feed ours natural choice kitten food mixed with ferret food. Can't remember what kind of ferret food but am picking some up today so if you would like to know I can let you no later. they also require shots just make sure your vet is familiar with ferrets. Mine have only had their first set cause we don't take them anywhere besides in the house.

My son use to have them in the room but he always let them into his bed and with his asthma was not a good idea so now their are down stairs in our living room- they seem to really enjoy it now cause its more busier down here...

Have you checked to see if anyone is getting rid of theirs cause then this way you can rehome one/two that is already out of the biting stage and has had litter training- mind you when you let them out to run you still have to watch them so they no where to go- they are famous for faking it in a litter box lol- they love treats. Here we see them all the time in the paper or on used regina.com 

http://www.usedregina.com/   

http://www.usedregina.com/classifieds/exotic-pets

I agree better kept in pairs then alone :)

There is a lady who walks two cream ones everyday past my house they act like little dogs, seem like nice pets but i dont have any experiance with them myself.

we have  8.... they are great BUT they really do need a lot of handling when they are kits otherwise they are hard to trust in the biting department! They also dont fare well in those awful hutches you seen in pet shops (does any animal???) and are much better off in a proper ferret court...we have one about 8 feet by 10 feet and 8 feet high with trees and swinging ropes and loads of stuff for then to play with. they are very intelligent and you need to treat them like small dogs in my opinion!! All ours work and have a raw food diet.....dont believe in dry food for them as dismembering carcasses gives them so much pleasure and stimulation. just ask if you have any questions.

We have 6 neutered males live in one great big 'avairy' type building with ladders,ropes, a large piece of vet bed made into a hammock which they all love.One of the ladders goes up to a 'runway'which goes all around my twelve foot pond! (great talking point with neighbours & guests.) We put something new infor them to try.They are very inquistitive animals.Ours are fed on whiskas cat food in the morning and ferret biscuits in the evening.They also like raw chicken wings & rabbit. My grandson has my 2  ten year old  females (both neutered) which he has had for four years now -my daughter could cope with them - she was not so sure about the males,although she does look after them all when we go away.Although some people keep them inside,I prefer them outdoors and I think they prefer it to!

I do agree with you on giving raw carcases for stimulation,but in this heat it don't half attract the flies!

This is what I mix the kitten food with http://www.buzzillions.com/dz_633569_8_in_1_pro_ultimate_chicken_rice_diet_reviews  They seem to enjoy it. I also free feed them :) Very curious lil animals.