Ferrets are the new popular family pet
Last updated at 10:28, Saturday, 05 July 2008
For Carlisle pet-owners, dogs have had their day. That’s according to Judith Nicholson, manager of Nu Pets in Lowther Street.
Since she started stocking ferrets a year ago, they have become her best-selling small pet.
She said: “People are buying them as a family pet, instead of cats or dogs. It used to be just for hunting.”
Ferret breeder Judith owns 20 of the creatures, selling 40 in the last two months.
She recently paid £250 for a studio photograph of her own favourite, a ferret called Mitch.
“They enjoy going for walks, they’ll play with chew toys and they’ll chase you,” she said.
“While you’re at work they can stay in a cage, then when you get home they can go for a bomb round the house.”
To tackle the distinctive ferret smell, she gives hers regular baths and douses them in deodorant. However, other traits are trickier to deal with.
She said: “They can be a bit vicious when you first get them, and they don’t think they can trust you. You just have to teach them who’s boss!”
Like all good pets, ferrets can come with a range of accessories. As well as leads, harnesses and tracking devices, Judith owns various tiny jumpers and bandanas.
She added: “I used to be terrified of them. I was off work for eight weeks, and when I came back, there they were.”
First published at 09:19, Saturday, 05 July 2008
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
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You should not bathe your ferret unless it gets very dirty.Bathing only encourages the oil secreting glands to give out more of the oil.
To stop your ferrets smelling they should be neutered and their bedding changed weekly.
Do not put deodorants on ferrets as some of these contain oils and alcohols which are harmful to ferrets.
Ferrets can be nippy when young as this is their way of playing with other ferrets and they have very thick skin so they rarely harm each other.
Do not try to teach a ferret that you are the boss, how would you do that, by hitting them?
Treat them gently so they learn that you arn't going to hurt them. use suitable treats such as bits of meat (never, never anything containing sugar unless you want a sick ferret.later in its life),
Buy a book to learn about ferrets, a good one is "Ferrets for Dummys"
Posted by Tony Clarke on 6 July 2008 at 23:57