Pet Ferrets. What are their unique characteristics and behavioural traits? How do you care for and maintain them? Should you keep them in tanks and cages? What are their foods in their native habitat? How should you feed them to provide excellent dietary nutrition? Can they be housetrained? Is there any particular way you should handle them? How should you rear and breed them? What are their hygiene requirements? What are the main diseases and parasites they are they most susceptible to being harmed by?

Over recent years, there has been an upsurge in the popularity of ferrets as domestic pets. Far from being once considered as ferral animals they are now regarded as domestic pets. Not only that they can be trained to be walked on leashes. What is more they can also perform tricks. Such as rolling over, begging, chasing their tail. Our average ferret is much more intelligent than many of us realise. They learn new tricks very quickly.

When you keep ferrets as pets you have to expect playful, inquisitive,entertaining behaviour such as jumping on furniture and sofas, climbing up the walls, play fighting, dancing, hopping around sideways. In addition to this they can scream loudly when in danger and make clucking sounds when they are happy. Another quirk of our pet ferret is to steal shiny objects like keys and rings and hide them in particular places in your home. Unless you have them housetrained, they will urinate and defecate at various places throughout your home.

As ferrets like to sleep for 16 hours per day they can be termed as sedentary. However when they are awake they are hyper-active for 8 hours per day. During this time they exhibit boundless energy. As they are awake during the daytime they can be treated like your pet dog. Be aware that ferrets can be fed dried cat food as this contains many of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals required for their protein and fibre diets.

Since ferrets have tendencies to nip and bite and chew, this behaviour has to be curbed. Otherwise you will probably find chewed shirts and trousers. Always provide toys for your pet ferret such as bouncing balls and chewing toys. Also beware that ferrets like to dig and burrow. If you let them roam around your home and they are not trained they will dig up your carpets. Until you have them under control, they can be capable of causing havoc in your home.

Therefore you should keep pet ferrets in cages about 3 feet in height by about 3 feet in width. While keeping your pet ferrets enclosed in cages you should firstly ensure that your cage is well ventilated. Next, ensure that there is an abundance of cardboard and paper. Alternatively you can provide numerous blankets. Keep ferrets of the same gender in pairs in cages. Female ferrets kept in pairs or male ferrets raised together are more or less ideal for your pet ferret cage.

In their natural habitat ferrets hunt rodents and rabbits. As they are obligate carnivores, they require protein in addition to fibre and fats. Live prey is their preferred option. By feeding them live baby mice and rats about three times per week dietary nutrition should be provided. When they reach maturity at three years old you can feed them one live adult rabbit every week. While you may not like the idea of providing live food, dried cat food or frozen baby mice and rats are the viable alternative.

If you provide proper care and nutrition, your pet ferret has an average life expectancy of 8 years. Instead of buying pet ferrets as adults from breeders you should buy them at about 8 weeks old because they will be far easier to rear and train and breed. It is easier for your pet to bond with you once it becomes familiar with your smell.

When you handle your pet ferret, ensure that no children under the age of 16 handle them. Ferrets are not suitable for families with young children. While you may hold them on either side and gently stroke them, any young children may mishandle them and receive nasty bites in return.

At the stage where you have bonded with your pet ferret you can start to clean them with water sprayers or you can bathe them within a few inches of water in your bath. If you choose the latter option, use one of the ferret shampoos that are available on the market.

Both your pet ferrets teeth and nails require cleaning to ensure optimal health for your ferret. Whether you want your ferret to contract gum disease is your choice. To avoid this, always clean your pet ferrets teeth regularly so they can continue to have good nutrition. Always ensure that your pet ferrets nails are trimmed both fortnightly for the front nails and monthly for the back nails. By doing this you can protect your home's furniture from being scratched and damaged.

Between the male and female ferrets there are some important differences. Male ferrets are called hobs and the average size is 16 inches whereas female ferrets are called gibs and have an average size of 14 inches.

Because female ferrets are in season during March or April, you can pair male and female ferrets in the same cage during this time. By being aware that gibs have litters between 3-6 in size you can provide another cage for the female ferret to rear them.

Once baby ferrets reach 6 months old they become adults. Unless you want colonies of ferrets around your home you must spey the females as they breed every year. From this they can contract aplastic anaemia which will kill them. Therefore for expert pet ferret care, they require speying sooner or later. Therefore, ferret care knowledge is important.