[ingenue]

I'm thinking about getting a pet ferret (I love dogs/cats, but it isn't fair for them to be cooped up in my little apartment!)...a friend of mine in Australia has two, and absolutely loves them.

Does anybody here have ferrets, and if so, can I ask the following -

(a) Where did you get yours? If in HK, how much did it cost?
(b) How accessible is the vet, and how much is a general check-up?
(c) What does having a ferret cost you (approx.) monthly?

Thanks much!

[jayinhongkong]

heh, that's pretty cool. is that even legal here?

[ingenue]

yup pretty sure it's legal!

[goodkarma]

I've seen them in action on shows like Animal planet. They look just fantastic and loving.

Keep us posted if you get more iinfo please.

[koue]

Just wanted to bump this topic.

Anyone know if you can buy a ferret and the necessary supplies in HK? I've seen on the web you can only bring them in to HK if you already own one and you are moving here.

[Boris]

Have you ever kept a ferret? I had them in UK for many years and we used them for rabbit hunting. Great fun.
We where even given a Feral Polecat who proceed to rape my female at the first opportunity who then in turn went nutty BUT did produce some brilliant hunting stock.

Before you consider it you have to think about various problems and I suggest you have your mate send you a couple of books on their upkeep. They make fantastic " chuckle sounds " when happy and can be very " addictive ". To keep them happy you CANNOT keep them caged up all day. They need ( in a perfect world ) large enclosures of pipes and netting with cover, so as to exercise their adventurous tendencies. I expect your mate has a garden for them to explore and dig holes.

For apartment living it has been successful from what I have read in some US authored publications. One person related how he trained them to use the toilet and I have read that's possible with cats also. They did that so they could have the run of the apartment during the day.

Here though its a different matter due mainly to the heat. Ferrets are not heat tolerant in my experience. In a UK summer they would search out cool places to sleep. We never hunted with them in summer because they would inevitable choose a cool hole to snooze in !

I also have not mentioned SMELL. They are VERY SMELLY and to even bring it down to a reasonable level you would have to change the cage every two days and wash them. Washing ferrets IS NOT EASY . They will bite and the teeth ARE razor sharp.

Should you still decide to do then good luck. They can be brilliant fun BUT hard work does not even come close to describing the sort of experience in keeping them happy and your apartment smell free !!

FYI - They LOVE milk soaked bread with sugar as a treat once a week. DO not feed them processed tinned food but meat with the skin and bone still on/in. NOT Pork. All this stuff gives them the runs and you REALLY don't want that !!!

[koue]

Thanks for the info man. I've been doing a lot of reading about it. At the moment, my job is too crazy to permit a pet like a ferret. But that might change. Just how smelly are they? I hear varying reports.

[sunkissed]

I had 2 ferrets in the United States for about 8 years each. They are fabulous pets and each have very unique personalities! I think they are great pets. I had the both of mine running around in my apartment. Of course I also had one of those ferret mansion cages too. They both went in litter boxes. As for the smell, I did not mind it. Mine were neutered so their smell was not as strong as those that are not. As for biting, I think that depends on training, how they are treated, how well socialized, etc. I even walked mine with harnesses! I would love to have them again someday...