I have some general questions about ferrets

1. Do not listen to the first poster, Marshalls is a terrible food. All of the foods the other posters have mentioned r good, though. Personally, I use a mix of 8 in 1 Ultimate & Solid Gold.

2. The gestation period of a ferret is about six weeks.

3. In the US, only about 6 - 8 years. In other countries, because they r fed more natural (raw) diets & r not farm bred, more like 8 -10

4. I heard of one who lived to be 14, but that is EXTREMELY rare.

5. Anything that the ferret can not bite a part off of & swallow, because they r extremely susceptible to intestinal blockages. They LOVE having tubes to run through. Hard plastic balls r good. Mine r very fond of those dangling cat toys, though u should not let them play with them unattended as they often do have pieces they can bite off. They also love it if u put them on a towel & drag them across the floor on it.

5. The best ferret cage, hands down, no question, if the Ferret Nation. I could not even bring myself to suggest any other one.

Hi,
I have had four of my own ferrets for near two years now so i am pretty new but i have learned a TON. I also do some small rescue & i have rescued five other ferrets.

1. What is the best diet for a ferret? Ferrets r oblic(sp) carnivorse. They need a high protien high fat diet. Ferrets can also be picky. What i have learned is that a mix of foods is best so if they decied they do not like one or a maker changes or stops making their brand u have others to fall back on. Marshall farms diet though pet stores will tell u is good it will do but really is not the best as it was invented for minks. I use a mix of zupreem, totaly ferret, 8 & 1 Ultimate, (NOT Ultra), & maximum kitten food. One of the best though expencive foods in Natural gold. BTW Ferret stuff can be expencive because they r concidered exotic.

2. How long r ferrets pregnant?
[I do not have a pregnant ferret, I am just curious.] I do not know thugh i know it is not too long.

3. What is the general lifespan of a ferret? 6 to 8 years

4. What is the longest you've known a ferret to live? 11 or 12 years

5. What r some appropriate toys for a ferret? The baby department is a good place to buy toys. most baby approved is good for a ferret. Another good toy is to make a dig box as ferret r burrowers. To make a dig box use any box with a lid or top, i use a rubber made one, fill it about half full with long grain rice, uncooked, or beans, or disolveable packing peanuts, or balls, or the plastic easter eggs. They will love it.

6. What is a good size cage for 1 to 2 ferrets? You need to make sure there is enough room for each ferret to have a hammy & a blanket. Though they will likely sleep together if they need or want to be alone they need the space. I have four ferrets in a three story ferret nation cage. It is HUGE! It is also very important that though they sleep 18 to 20 hours a day they also need stimulation so a minimum of 4 hours a day of out of cage time is a MUST

Personally I use ZooPreme. There r a number of commercial diets available that r all about the same.
2. I do not remember, best guess about 2 months.
3. average is 6-8 years. anything over 10 years is ancient.'=
4. Since all my ferrets have been rescues I usually do not know exactly how old they are. A friend had one that lived to about 13.
5. Ferret tubes - make them out of the legs of old bluejeans, medium Kong toys - they love real rubber but will bite chunks out of anything less tough than a Kong, Golf balls - they push them around with their noses but can not bite chunks out, a box of packing beans - they must be the dissolving kind - ferrets love to dig & they can dig up a storm without making too much of a mess, small toys of cloth or knitted that they can carry in their mouth & hide under their bedding.
6 I have a cat cage that is 3 feet tall about 4 feet long & 2 1/2 feet deep. It has several levels that overlap each other & lots of hanging beds & hammocks. The bottom has 2 littter boxes - rabbit size- & their food dishes & water bottles r on the upper levels. I have housed three ferrets in this cage for a short time & 2 have lived happily in it for years. A lot depends on how much time they get to spend out of the cage. If ur house is ferret proof & they can spend most of the day out then u do not need such a big cage.

1. Marshall Ferret Farms Diet

2. No idea. Sorry my love.

3. 8-10 years. Remember, nearly 1/2 of ferrets die from adrenaline disease or cancer. :(

4. 12 years. But thats just from my personal second-hand experience.

5. Anything that is ferret proof. I do not suggest cat toys mainly because they are too.flimsy.for a ferret to be trusted with. Some of the puppy toys are great for them though.

6. I suggest a pretty large one.