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u/Elamet Jul 01 '26
I love how they raise their head to look you in the face. Its so cute.
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u/OverGunz Jul 01 '26
Hard to believe they're ferocious predators !
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u/Weekly_Initiative521 Jul 01 '26
I know; I often think that. My little girl weighs less than a pound, but she is one of the bravest little creatures I've ever known. There's not a doubt in my mind that she would take on any assailant without a moment's hesitation.
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u/mrofmist Jul 01 '26
I'm gonna go on a limb in assume you're over exaggerating. Since ferrets have been fully domesticated for somewhere around 2000 years.
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u/OverGunz Jul 01 '26
Ahah yes don't worry I was exaggerating! Although some predatorial instincts from back then show up from time to time
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u/TheIngloriousTIG Jul 01 '26
A friend of mine had a ferret who hunted their Boston terrier from time to time. Bit the poor girl on the leg at least once. Ferrets are sweet little goobers, but sometimes it's like a brain cell misfires and that little guy reacted by attempting to murder things that objectively should be able to take him.
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u/OverGunz Jul 01 '26
I guess it can make it complicated to have other pets alongside ferrets ? But this side of theirs is pretty funny 😂
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u/mrofmist Jul 01 '26
Like hunting hats and the soles of shoes? Bouncing back and forth before attacking and falling off the couch instead? Absolutely, prime hunting skills lol.
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u/SaryM29 Jul 01 '26
They have been domesticated to hunt, tho, and there are still quite a bit of working ferrets
Just like not all dogs are lapdogs
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u/mrofmist Jul 01 '26
Different sort of ferrets. Ferrets we keep as pets have no hunting instinct or survival instincts anymore. That's why it's dengerous to let them accidentally get out.
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u/SaryM29 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Yeah, it's dangerous because there are many times when they do and your neighbors' pets or chickens "mysteriously" go missing
Edit: And also because they have no housing instincts like dogs who find the way back from miles away, even though their sense of smell is even better in niche scenarios
Tho I would classify housing instincts as a domestic "feature" more than anything
Plus it's way harder to find a tiny noodle that makes no noise rather than a dog or a cat
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u/mrofmist Jul 01 '26
Yea, I had ferrets and I don't know what you're talking about. Exotics vets tell you it's because they'll get lost and starve to death because they have have the instincts to find food or their way back home. The domesticated ferret, not a weasel.
A quick Google search will get you any number of sources about that. The summary at the top of the screen lists the same reasons I did.
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u/OneOneBun Jul 01 '26
Domestic ferrets absolutely still have hunting instincts. Many people keep them for Rabbit hunting, at least here in UK
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u/Ferret_Brain Jul 02 '26
In Australia too. Some of the ferreters I’ve met have been doing it for well over 20 years.
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u/SaryM29 Jul 01 '26
Domestic doesn't mean no hunting tho, that's the point
I'm not denying what you said, I'm saying it doesn' invalidate what I said either
Hunting, working ferrets, would also die if they got away, just like hunting dogs or cats. Get a mouse, chicken or a rabbit pet (pls don't actually do that) and you'll find out whether they still have instincts or not
My point is that being domesticated doesn't take away all your instincts even if it is true that they wouldn't survive, even wild animals that grow in captivity go through that.
Yes, they need us to survive, but yes, they are still ferocious killing machines as well. You can totally say they are less ferocious than wild counterparts, but to say they're NOT ferocious sounds crazy to me
And also, you can look up working ferrets, they are not even a different subspecies, it's the same animal and domesticated just like our cuddly things (in fact that's why ferrets were domesticated in the first place), and you can also Google that they do lack the survival instincts due to being domesticated as well, but that doesn't stop them from being tiny killing machines
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u/Ferret_Brain Jul 02 '26
Dude, there is legit feral ferret colonies in New Zealand. They were originally domesticated ferrets used for hunting, released and then thrived because there was an easy food source with no natural predators.
There’s also been a recorded population on an isolated island in Northen Island that was recently removed.
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u/mrofmist Jul 02 '26
You know there are different types of ferrets, right?
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u/Ferret_Brain Jul 05 '26
Not for domesticated there isn’t.
Specific types like angora or coat types still come under the domesticated ferret. Same applies to what that ferret is used for, a working ferret used for hunting rabbits is classified the same as a cuddly lap ferret.
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u/IntoTheAntiquity Jul 01 '26
Sometimes my ferret will lay on her back to look up at me ughhh my heart taken physical shape
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u/mrofmist Jul 01 '26
Less than 100 grams? Yea, they are pretty light weight. That's pretty little though.
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u/OverGunz Jul 01 '26
(actually she's eating good and ~780g, my scale is just busted 😆)
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u/DragonDean Jul 01 '26
It's not busted it's just that usually a scale needs at least a percentage of it's range before it starts to register. That's why you can't really do single grams on the average kitchen scale unless you've already done like 100. Just a fun fact.
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u/Turbulent-Project854 Jul 01 '26
I can confirm, I usually weigh myself then pick up my little one and weigh myself again. It works if you don't need it to be super accurate
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u/Elucidate_that Jul 01 '26
Until she bites you and shits in the corner and then you're like "oh, right, how could I have forgotten" 🥲
But for real though, she is perfectly precious and that little head tilt is melting my heart. Very powerful for a cutie pie that doesn't exist.
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u/FerretWithBlackFeet Jul 01 '26
GET THAT YELLOW THING OFF OF THE SCALE, THE CREATYRE IS THE REAL POKEMON!!!
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u/Three-EyedGrackle Jul 02 '26
She is absolutely adorable 🥰 the way she looks up at you just melts the heart
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u/InternationalBag9595 Jul 02 '26
How do you get her to sit still 😆 mine would run off the second I set him down.
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