The ferret (Mustela putorius furo) is a domesticated animal belonging to a subspecies of the wild European polecat (Mustela putorious). The word ferret comes from the Latin word furo and means “thief or one who takes things and hides them”.
The ferret was used for hunting rabbits from Roman times until the Middle Ages, when it began to be kept as a companion animal, especially among the noble classes.
Until the early 20th century, ferrets were used to control rodent, rat and mouse pests in warehouses and buildings as a means of controlling and eradicating the Black Death in Europe and North America.
They are currently the third most popular pet in the U.S. and Australia after dogs and cats due to their friendly and playful personality and low care needs.
It is a small butcher mammal that measures from head to tail:
– Males about 38 cm and weigh between 1000 – 2000 g.
– Females about 35 cm and weigh between 600 – 900 g.
They are agile and very flexible animals and their four limbs have five toes each and their nails are not retractable, and can be considered plantigrade.
They have a high metabolism and their life expectancy is estimated between 6 and 11 years.
Ferrets lack sweat glands so their ability to regulate temperature is limited, as they are only able to eliminate heat through panting. Normal temperature varies between 37.8ºC and 39.5ºC (average 38.8ºC).
They reach sexual maturity between 6 and 12 months of age, depending on the time of year in which they are born.
Gestation in females ranges between 41 and 43 days and they can have a litter of between one puppy and eighteen (average of eight). These puppies are born weighing between 6 and 12 grams and open their eyes at around 32 days of age.
The perianal glands are very odorous but they are only squeezed out in high stress situations so this reason should not be used to remove them.
Ferrets are very curious but they are also somewhat nearsighted and do not see well from a distance so they are not able to assess the height of the surfaces they are standing on. For this reason, falls from windows, cabinets, tables or even buildings/terraces are frequent. They are able to distinguish colors in the red and blue range.
Being a very sociable and curious animal, it is able to live with children of a certain age but they must always be under parental control to avoid being treated as a “stuffed animal” and the animal responds by scratching or in more extreme cases biting. They spend about 18 hours a day sleeping, getting up to eat or to browse and hide in any type of hole, tube, furniture, etc., that they find, so using a harness with this type of animal is highly advisable.
