Marc Morrone: Ferrets may look like rodents, but they are not. This is my favorite splash and is probably the most famous ferret in the world. And splash and all his ferret friend make great pets. I'm Marc Morrone and welcome to the pet shop.

Now when people look at a ferret like chi what is that well I just I had it wasn't rodent because the people say well is it a wild animal. I have heard about black footed ferrets living out in the Western part of the United States. And no they are not wild animals at all. A ferret is a domesticated animal. It is domesticated as a dog or a cat in other words we control its gene by selected breathing and captivity.

The ferret is a domesticated form of the European polecat. Many thousands of years ago people began keeping European polecats. Now why they were keeping them no one really knows for sure what prompt some one start keeping a polecat, but after while they become hunting part as with people. People would take the domesticated from the polecat the ferret and they put it on a rabbit hole or rat hole and the ferret which chase the rabbits or the rats out.

So by keeping it and breeding it for this purpose ferrets began to change. They are much larger than the European polecats they are different colors in the European polecat. They are naturally friendly they are fairly domesticated animal. People found out that ferrets can get apparent style living perfectly, because they are quiet they are almost mew they hardly make any noise at all. They sleep a lot they sleep like 18 hours a day and it's certainly like an on off switch and when we want to play with the ferret he wants to play. All the baby ferrets are squashed they want to play they are playing with the toys; they are playing with the either all over the place.

But all the sudden when they are tired of playing, they have an on off and they just snug off and they are totally asleep and they will stay that will until we wake them up again. So ferrets really are a modern day pet. They have been kept for thousands of years by man but it as far as being a pet and a loving companion that's only being with the last 50 years.

So if you are going to get a ferret, you have to think about where you are going to keep it. And you have to have certain accommodations in your house. First of all, ferrets need a large cage. Look it splash inside this cage look at them you just have an ball in there. So the cage has to be big enough were the ferret can have a good time in and has to be a cage that has to be fit on the floor and have a little door way so that ferret can climb out of the cage to come out and play with you in the house.

Now the ferrets can be house trained like a cat, but only to a certain extend. They will naturally go to the bathroom in one corner they are indenting animal just like the cat. So when the ferret is use to go to the bathroom in the one corner of its cage, you will put a litter box in the cage with high size that will fit in that corner and splashes kind of uses as litter box now. Don't use cat litter, use a litter made specially for ferret, because you'll see how splash goading around in there. There is no dust in the litter then and that's go hurt its nose and second of these if you does scratch around like that that litter is much heavier than the cat litter and he is not going to scatter it out of the cage.

The ferret cage should also have a shelf for the ferret to climb up on like that. I like to put the food on the shelf because that were ferret can scatter any litter or bedding inside the cage itself. And a water bottle that locks on to the side so he can pull it off. Ferrets are great of that and first you need a bed, ferrets don't like to sleep on the floor in the cage they are very, very clean animals they want to be above the floor. And that's how we have these hammocks inside the ferret cage.

Now you'll notice what I have on the bottom here. This is called care fresh bedding. Ferrets are not rodents, you don't use point shadings or shadings like that in their bedding. Actually most people have those indoor, outdoor carpet squares or may be a grass mat put on the bottom of the cage like what you have in front of your front door, but splash loves to dig and he loves the roof proofing. I like to have a bedding like this in his cage. And he won't go to the bathroom at all he only uses his litter box but he does like to dig and you can play in it.

Female Speaker: Hey Marc sometimes my ferret is out of its cage and won't go back and use the litter box, what should I do?

Marc Morrone: When your ferrets out of a cage it doesn't always go back into the cage and use the litter box, well you have to understand. I would tell people to look at the world from the pet's point of view. Now ferrets are very, very small animals. Okay look how far of the floor this baby ferrets eyes are they are two inches off the floor. Okay so if this ferret is more than 5 or 6 feet away from the cage and it has to go to the bathroom, it doesn't they may not even know were the cage is. The little along begin able to hole the day long enough to get back into the cage to use the litter box.

So it's your responsibility as a ferret owner when your ferret is out often cage keep you eye on it. If you see your ferret stop playing and start the back up and look for the corner quick pick it up and bring it back to the cage to use the litter box inside the cage. So now that we got the ferret cage set up. Now we are going to have a ferret and nowadays most pet shops do so baby ferrets. And these ferrets that you see here are about 8 weeks old now. And ferrets are produced in the United Statues on about three major forums and so small private breeders.

Now on these forums the ferrets are spade, when they are about six weeks old. And from there they go to the pet store. Spaying and neutering a ferret is very, very important if you don't spay a female ferret and you don't breed her. She is going to develop all sorts of problems. A male at least not castrated these going to smell. If you want you ferret many cut short you don't have to worry about this all ferrets are the sold in pets.

Those are already spay they are already neutered they come with little guarantee card that states that. They've also had one with the first two vaccination were as the vaccination is just like dogs and cats too.

So I think we got a baby ferret, we got to care it up and we have to feed it. Now years ago we use to feed ferrets carefully, but ferrets have a much higher and fast metabolism than cats and they need more fat in their diet. And so the farms who raise the ferrets have come up with different types of formulas for ferrets. And they are sold in pet shops just as ferret foods. Now ferrets can subsist on the cat food wee they really need foods made specifically for ferrets. Mainly because they eat a higher protein content and a higher fat content.

And ferrets like this are eating like so they can crunch that dry food down without a problem. The other thing with the ferret is they are having very, very fast metabolism. They eat they goof like half an hour later they go to sleep they wake up they eat again. They go right through in, so you have to have food in front of them all the time.

Ferrets need to be well fed they need to notch like that all day long. In addition to having fresh water to drink all the time that's real important to because they eat the dry food they get dehydrate right away. When a ferret dehydrates sometimes they cannot and when you are taking a baby ferret home that's a common problem.

If you watch ferrets playing with each other they tend to nip each other and play rough like this. So he is playing with me like that, but we don't want a ferret to play like that with our fingers. Now it's hard to distract the ferret because they don't hear very well and they don't see very well. So the best way to teach a ferret not to nip is to by bitter apple spray it is old in our pet stores. What you do is we spray a little bitter apple on your fingers okay, let the ferret smell the bitter apple on your fingers he just it he doesn't like the way that taste. So he lick of my finger right away, say it doesn't like that at all.

So, therefore, instead of telling the ferret that not to play with the us rough by putting the bitter apple spray on our fingers and that the ferret experience our fingers he decide he doesn't want to play with fingers. He would rather play with his toy or with another ferret.

Now ferrets do need some grooming aspects they all are in the floor a lot. So because they are on the floor let they do get dirty a lot. They go on to the rugs under the bed and they will get dirty. So you'll have to wash your ferret using special shampoo's made for ferrets because we don't want to take oil out of the skin. Ferrets have a glossy coat that need that skin oil and don't wash your ferret too often. If you keep the ferret's cage clean you shouldn't have to wash your ferret once in a month or so.

In addition to that you have to clean your ferret's ears; you have to brush your ferret's teeth. Ferrets have a big problem with their teeth so you have to brush your ferret's teeth periodically and you are going to cut your ferrets nails, when ferrets are walking around on the smooth floor their nails over grow really easily. Unfortunately the nails are very, very easy to cut because they have a clear space and it's all you need is they nail cutter are specifically for ferrets. Now you saw splash didn't like me cutting his nails like that.

And these are nice ferret, but they are all nutritional supplements called ferrets that are usually a paste. That has a lot of vitamins in it and it has a paste ferrets love the way that taste so we put a little bit of this paste on splash's belly. Hey splash what do you think of this. Okay, when splash that's eating that he just goes into a trans and then I can just snick up to him and I can cut his nails on at a time. Without any issue because he is so intend on licking the vitamin paste of his belly seeing and I can do the back nails he is just holding them up. I mean what better save as in that would you like a pedicure what color would you like your toes nails painting.

Female Speaker: Did ferrets get along with other animals.

Marc Morrone: Do ferrets get along with other animals. Well I think it depend on the ferret. My ferret splash he does get along with any animal and I bring him on TV with me mixed with all my other animals all the time, but not every ferret is like splash. A black and white answer is no. Ferrets get along just fine with dogs and cats, but when it comes with rabbits and guinea pigs and especially bird's ferrets can hurt those animals. So it's important that if you have especially a bird you don't let your bird in to mingle with your ferret just because you see me doing it, it doesn't mean that you can also do that.

Ferrets need veterinary care and veterinary care is expensive. Ferrets can get sick just like dogs and cats can and because they are not expensive animal's people tend to think okay well this is a low maintenance pet that doesn't need to take much finance, but that's wrong ferrets are very, very high maintenance they live eight years are so. So they are almost as much maintenance as a dog or a cat but makes their advantages over dogs or cat. Is that you can keep them in the areas that you could normally keep a dog or a cat, but you still need a set of side funs and cares your ferret goes with that.

When ferrets get sick, they don't get better without veterinary care, so that's something very important to keep in mind and splash here is 8 years old now, which is pretty old for a ferret, he is still growing strong, and if you take care of your ferret like I got splash here hopefully he will be a pet for you and give as much pleasure as they have given for me.

I'm Marc Morrone and to learn more about your pet check out the pet shop and remember always look at the world from your pets point of view and makes life better for both you and your pet.