It was clear to me the first day that they could not live in my house. The musky smell was not so offensive, but the smell of their feces WAS. I mean, it is really BAD. I couldn't stand that. So, they were either going to the garage or outside. After some research I found that they are okay living outside as long as they have shelter and bedding.
They are such mischievous little creatures you have to be careful with them or they will get away from you. So, I ended up getting this tall sturdy cage from Ferret Nation.
The people at the pet store assured me that I could litter box train them, but this is not usually the case. I have since read that ferrets are often abandoned because the owners cannot deal with the poo in the house. I can certainly see the problem, as they poo anywhere they please in the cage, even with five litter boxes. Now, maybe this will change later on, I'm not sure. The first litter boxes with litter from the pet store, they played in. They had great fun rolling around and digging in there.
Since this cage is outside I can spray it with the water hose. That makes it a little easier, but it is still a big problem so far. They like to back up to a corner to go. So the corners of the cage are where you are supposed to place the little triangular litter boxes. That doesn't seem to matter though, as they just go anywhere.
Also, the food is expensive. I paid $28 for a 4 lb bag of ferret food, a good quality brand. They went through almost half of that in a week. Not sure what this food is made of, and probably don't want to know. I'll be shopping again for ferret food this week. Maybe I can beat that price by buying in bulk. Regardless, it is not cheap, and they eat much more than I ever thought they could.
Regardless of all that, they are fun to watch. Sometimes I put them down in the backyard, one at a time, and let them run around and explore. They do not resist me when I reach down to pick them up. The chickens are afraid of them and stay out of their way. So far, they are little and very sweet. They are so soft too and fun to hold and pet, that is, if you can hang onto them. They want to get down and run around. No way am I letting them out inside my house to free range. No way. I've seen what they have done to their cage.
At first they were biting too, but now, not so much. I held their little mouths shut like I have done to my kittens in the past, and they seemed to get the message. Last night, one still thought my arm might be dinner. Seriously, they are meat eaters after all. Yes, they are quite different than I imagined them to be. So far though, I do not regret my decision to get them. Eleanor and Prissy, those are the silly names I gave them. Prissy from the movie, "Gone with the Wind" I guess, as those names just came to me out of nowhere. Eleanor, because the first one reminded me of Eleanor Roosevelt. That woman had a funny ferret like face. I didn't sit and ponder names. Those just came to my mind instantly. Don't ask me why, we all know I am a bit odd.
Which is fine with me, I like being different. Who wants to be like everybody else?
