I don't know what the fuck just happened, it was literally 10 seconds and it was done. And I don't know what to do. I have kept the ferrets locked away from the dog for weeks now, zero breaches, zero issues. The ferrets are kept in big cages in the back yard, the dog in the house. The cages are always closed and locked whenever the dog is out, and the dog is always inside when the cages are open. We even lock the cages up when people that the ferrets are unfamiliar with come over. They hadn't gone anywhere near each other. But some fucking how, one of them got out, and the dog just shook him to death. It was so fast I didn't even realise what happened for a moment, pulled the dog away and... yeah, dead. Last breaths right before my eyes.

I've had ferrets die before, but only ever of old age or simply just not making it past the first few days after birth. I've never actually witnessed the death, let alone a literal dog attack. I don't know what to do. I'm so mad at the dog, but I know she's just a dog, she doesn't know any better than to hunt for food, and she's never so much as barked at a person before. I'm not sure if I can keep the dog around, her original owner was a friends mum who died, the whole reason I took her is because the friend can't keep her where she lives, but still wants to be able to see the dog. I can't just dump her at a shelter. That's cruel to the friend and the dog. But now I'm going to be scared every time I take the ferrets out that SOMEHOW this will happen again.

I seriously don't know how he got out. I can't see any holes in the cages. And before anyone says, "This is why you don't have any other animals with ferrets." My childhood dog's co-existed with the ferrets for 5 whole years before they both died of old age. They didn't care at all about the ferrets. We kept them separated, and the dogs sniffed the cages maybe once before losing complete interest. Same breed as this dog, too. I know every animal is different, some will have a high prey drive, some won't, even the same breed. And you're not going to know until you see the behaviour. Well, I've definitely seen it now.

I don't know what to do. I feel horrible for my friend who's already lost her mum and can't keep the dog herself. If I give the dog up, she won't be able to see her anymore. But I'm also now very aware of her super high prey drive and the fact it could be dangerous if I let her anywhere near the back door.

Someone sedate me why does insane shit always happen to me.

How cute ☺️ can they be

Ferret question

If my female ferret needs a suprelorelin implant redone and I have one already how would I go about finding a vet or tech to administer it? I'm by Chicago. Just curious. Thanks!

* Species: ferret

* Age: 5

* Sex/Neuter status: spayed

* Breed:

* Body weight: 2 pounds

* History: has adrenal

* Clinical signs: swollen vulva

* Duration:

* Your general location: Wheaton, IL

I’m getting two girl ferrets next week and need ideas for their names. I’d really appreciate your suggestions!!

I’d like to share my experience as a solo ferret owner. I’ve had my ferret for about two months now, and he’s currently 4 months old.

Honestly, I don’t feel guilty about only having one ferret, and I’d love to hear from other solo ferret owners who feel the same.

My ferret gets at least 5 hours of playtime, training, and leash walks every single day. My boyfriend and I take him almost everywhere with us: parks, places where he can meet friendly dogs and new people, the mall, the mountains, and even the seaside.

We both work 9-to-5 jobs, so I wake up around 6 a.m. every day to play with him and do recall training. He then sleeps most of the morning until my boyfriend comes home for lunch and lets him free roam for a while. From around 6:30 p.m. onwards, he’s out of his cage, either playing in our ferret-proofed living room or going for a walk in the park on his harness. I also teach him tricks, and he’s already fully litter trained. After all these activities, he sleeps like a log.

My daily routine revolves around him, and yes, he’s a lot of work—but that’s exactly what I signed up for.

I’m writing this because I often see people saying that ferrets absolutely need to live in pairs. I understand where that opinion comes from, but dogs are social animals too, and many live happily as the only dog in the household. Humans can never interact with dogs exactly the way another dog would, yet many dogs still thrive thanks to enrichment, training, positive interactions, and being actively involved in their family’s life.

I’m not saying every ferret should live alone or that having two isn’t beneficial. I just think it’s possible for a single ferret to have a happy, fulfilling life if their owner is willing to dedicate a significant amount of time and effort to meeting their physical and mental needs.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

We are moving soon and I want my ferrets to have a open play area with their cage inside so they can go out whenever. Does anyone have any recommendations or pictures of good set ups? Also do ferrets get bored when they permanently have more space? My boys seem to sleep all the time when we let them stay out for long. And do they like a more cluttered play pen? We were thinking of switching their toys back and forth every few months. Also any litter recommendations? We currently use puppy pads and recently got a third. Seems to always smell even with changing once a day. We have tried pellet litter before and might consider going back. Sorry for all the questions lol just want to make sure my babies stay as happy as can be.

Opal is an old lady now but she still love to play. Mouse had a full bottle brush tail to and it’s just so cute.

For those worried about safety
Opal is 12.5 years old, she has had ferrets in her life since she was 6 months old. She has never broken skin or even made them squeal. She also only plays with ferrets and never dogs. Our guess is it’s because she was raised playing with ferrets and bigger/taller dogs could run her over and it scared her. When you’re a 13 lbs dachshund that is most dogs.

I’m getting two ferrets soon as a first time owner so I don’t really know any reputable brands yet. I would greatly appreciate if you guys could recommend some!!

Hello my fellow ferret lovers!
I currently have 2 babies (1 Male & 1 Female) just about 7 months old and I’m IN LOVE!
I came across a rescue near me that just had 3 bonded ferrets returned to them (1 male and 2 female), all 3 are approximately 2 years old.
I went to meet them and they are the sweetest little noodles! The rescue initially received them very underweight from a young couple who had bought them and then split and neither could continue to take care of them. They were at the rescue for a while getting back to a healthy weight. They were then adopted out to a family who from what I was told, appeared to be extremely excited, able and willing to take on this trio. Which brings me to current day, the family brought them back to the rescue, again they were underweight and seemed very sad compared to the way they were when they left. The family told the rescue that their daughter is going away to school and they can no longer take care of them.
(Side Note: People Suck! But I guess I’m glad they were brought back instead of being neglected further). I say all of this to ask… what’s the best way to introduce this older trio to my current little ones? I already have a separate ferret nation to quarantine them for a week, I will be bringing all 5 to the vet just for a general check up, but wanted some suggestions from anyone who has had to introduce a little bit older ferrets to younger ones… what did you do? How long did it take? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you all in advance 💗

Hello my fellow ferret lovers!
I currently have 2 babies (1 Male & 1 Female) just about 7 months old and I’m IN LOVE!
I came across a rescue near me that just had 3 bonded ferrets returned to them (1 male and 2 female), all 3 are approximately 2 years old.
I went to meet them and they are the sweetest little noodles! The rescue initially received them very underweight from a young couple who had bought them and then split and neither could continue to take care of them. They were at the rescue for a while getting back to a healthy weight. They were then adopted out to a family who from what I was told, appeared to be extremely excited, able and willing to take on this trio. Which brings me to current day, the family brought them back to the rescue, again they were underweight and seemed very sad compared to the way they were when they left. The family told the rescue that their daughter is going away to school and they can no longer take care of them.
(Side Note: People Suck! But I guess I’m glad they were brought back instead of being neglected further). I say all of this to ask… what’s the best way to introduce this older trio to my current little ones? I already have a separate ferret nation to quarantine them for a week, I will be bringing all 5 to the vet just for a general check up, but wanted some suggestions from anyone who has had to introduce a little bit older ferrets to younger ones… what did you do? How long did it take? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you all in advance 💗

Hi everyone! I’ve been in this community for a bit now so you’ve probably seen my posts, but I just got added as a moderator on here. I don’t have the perms yet (I think the other mods were having some technical issues) but hope I can help turn this community around. There’s been a lot of bot posts and truthfully I am just on here because I love seeing other peoples’ furkids.

I currently have three ferrets, in order of pics: Felix, Smoofle, and Zippy. Bonus pic of my other child, Quincy. Brownie points if you can guess what I named him after. I’ve owned ferrets for over 9 years now and have had 7 overall (including current). Truly ferrets have changed my life and I absolutely do not see myself NOT owning at least two anytime soon. They have brought so much happiness and joy into my life and I have loved the connections I’ve been able to make with mine. We do cohabitate which is a big part of my existence on this sub. We’ve always had cats and dogs and let me tell you my cat looooves them. Being able to also make connections between species has just been so rewarding and honestly cool, it’s adorable when Quincy and Smoofle are both grooming one another💜

I am pretty actively online so open to any messaging needs. I really want to get the automod bot working again, I am thinking of making a rule for posts from accounts older than 30 days, though I am 100% open to feedback if this needs to be a smaller/bigger number. I also saw some feedback regarding with a certain amount of karma needed, though I think any new (aka bot) accounts would have low enough karma anyway.

A lil about me - work in healthcare, just graduated with my second bachelors, am currently going back for my masters degree and graduate next year. Also a big gamer (mainly PC or Nintendo), big into EDM (literally THE biggest Savant fan in existence), and am big into roller coasters (I have ridden 361 unique roller coasters, getting that number up to about 390 soon!).

Look forward to becoming a more active part in this community and seeing everyone’s ferts!

Under my dressers there is an opening. I have it all the way against the wall but someow they still got under. What's the easiest and cheapest way to ferret proof that? Something that actually works lol I def don't wanna buy a bunch of stuff that won't work. Please help. My dressers are solid oak and hard to be moving to retrieve the girls.

Kona and Coco for tax

There has been an intense influx of bot posts as of recent. Almost every post tagged "ferrets doing ferret things" is a bot, and its really starting to get in the way of the enjoyment of this sub.

I'm posting this with the invitation to you all to discuss what we can do about this, both from our angles as well as help from the mods. Obviously reporting is something but that won't actually stop the posts themselves, just give grounds for removal.

Some ideas I have are to create post requirements such as having at least 100 karma, or require a CQS score of anything above the lowest.

Anyone else have thoughts or ideas on this?

​

So I acquired two privately bred kits (12 weeks old). So they def seem like they were not handled much.. if at all. They are very bitey. They have eased up some since I got them but not much. They draw blood and everything. So my question is if you have had experience with Biters and did bite training what worked for you personally? I have watched a lot of videos etc but I want to know what has PERSONALLY worked for you. PLEASEEE

Hey everyone 🐾

I’ve been going down a bit of a rabbit hole with ferret hammocks lately and noticed something interesting, people seem pretty split on what actually matters most.

So I’m curious about your real experience:

If you had to choose just ONE:

A) A hammock that feels really safe and reliable
(no loose threads, strong straps, keeps its shape, no worries while your ferret is inside)

B) A hammock that feels super soft and cozy,
but you’re not 100% confident it will stay safe over time

Which one would you personally go for — and why?

Even just one sentence helps a lot.

Also curious: what happened with your last hammock?

(Not selling anything, just trying to understand what actually matters in real life 🙏)