Ferret News
Pet Ferret Care Tips
and Information
By Mary R. Shefferman & Eric Shefferman - along with Gabby, the ferret
www.ferretnews.com

Ferret News #72: The Importance of Socializing Ferrets - Descenting
July 20, 2004

by Mary R. Shefferman and Eric Shefferman
along with Gabrielle (the lone ferret)

contact: marymodernferret.com

Teach Your Ferrets Well:
The Importance of Socializing Ferrets

By Mary R. Shefferman

  It’s not news: Ferrets are domesticated animals. Pampered house pets. Creatures of comfort. They don’t survive in the wild; indeed, most will die within a few days if they escape the house. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have so-called survival traits. Like other house pets, a ferret’s survival traits are dependent upon his or her level of socialization. That said, one of the best gifts you can give your ferrets is teaching them good behavior.

  Socializing a ferret is usually not a Herculean task, though some ferrets may present a challenge. An animal that bites has a hard time making human friends. Yet we know that ferrets, like all animals, use their mouths like hands. Sometimes we allow our pets more leeway with mouthing than maybe we should. We figure it’s all right since we’re the only ones who will be caring for our pets. But what if something happens to us? Are our ferrets equipped for survival in someone else’s home?

  Ferrets are cute. They win our hearts and, having done so, test the limits of our love. That’s what intelligent animals do. Intelligent animals also have the capacity to learn to get along with humans on terms acceptable to both the animal and the human. However, intelligent animals are not always intelligent enough to figure out what is and is not acceptable behavior when dealing with humans. It’s the human’s responsibility to teach proper behavior.

  When Balthazar decided to try to get my attention by nipping my ankle, I shouted at him. He and I had a very close bond, and my shouting upset him. He understood that this method of getting my attention didn’t get him the kind of attention he wanted. But it is not enough to deter unacceptable behavior; we need to provide our ferrets with an alternative. The alternative I chose was to respond immediately and positively whenever Balthazar (or any ferret) stood up against my leg. Thus, our ferrets knew that they didn’t need to nip ankles to get our attention; all they had to do is “tap” us on the leg.

  What about play? Many ferrets get wound up and forget their manners while engaged in a game of rough-and-tumble. Some can nip hard, even though they don’t break skin. Can these ferrets be taught to remember gentleness? I believe most, if not all, can be taught to “play nice” with humans. Ferrets will play to the level of the weakest member of the group. That weakest member is almost always us humans. The more we expect of our ferrets, the more they will rise to our expectations.

  Koosh was one of the most energetic and enthusiastically playful ferrets in our family. Sometimes he would get carried away and use his jaws a little more powerfully than I liked (but never breaking the skin). He wanted to play, so if I would immediately withdraw from the play situation, Koosh was left a bit stunned and disappointed. Over time, he came to associate the abrupt end of a play session with his rough behavior. He learned that when I said, “gentle,” it meant that he was playing too rough with me, and he would immediately begin licking my hand. But Koosh knew the difference between people and ferrets; the "gentle" command seemed to have no effect when Koosh was playing a little too roughly with other ferrets.

  Although Koosh was among the more intelligent of ferrets I’ve encountered, he was not so far above the ferret learning curve that he was a genius. Any ferret taught consistently will learn. It’s when a human reinforces good behavior only occasionally or when one deters bad behavior on less than all occasions that the ferret will fail to become properly socialized. It’s all about consistent and uniform training.

  In the end, the effort you make to teach your ferrets good human interaction will help them survive. It sounds a little implausible, doesn’t it? But think of how much more thoroughly your veterinarian will be able to examine your ferret if your ferret has stellar behavior. A wriggling or nipping ferret makes a proper veterinary examination difficult. A ferret recovering from surgery will get more positive attention from veterinary assistants if he or she is a well-behaved ferret. Of course any animal will get the basics, but a friendly animal will likely get more TLC from veterinary staff. That kind of “therapy” after surgery can have a strong effect on the ferret’s recovery -- especially if the ferret has to spend several days at the vet hospital or if you can’t get to visit the ferret every day.

  What if something happens to you, or your circumstances change dramatically, and your ferrets need to find a new home? Well socialized ferrets will endear themselves to people quickly and will probably find a new “forever home” in a short time. This is not only better for the ferrets, but it helps lift the burden of care from already stressed ferret shelters. Finding a new loving home quickly helps keep ferrets healthy. In short, a well behaved ferret has a better chance of survival, better health, and happiness.

  If you find yourself allowing certain less-than-perfect behaviors from your ferrets, now is the time to work on better socialization. Don't assume that your two- or three-year-old ferret is beyond hope. Ferrets can be trained and socialized at any age. Give your ferrets the best chance of survival without you -- socialize them.

Did You Know That...

  Descenting is basically an unnecessary operation. What makes ferrets smell stronger is their sex hormones, not the anal scent glands. Thus, neutering (spay or castration) is the important surgery with regard to odor.

  A ferret who has his anal scent glands may "poof" (express the scent glands) when he is frightened or feels threatened. Although the smell from this is very strong and unpleasant, it goes away after about 5 or 10 minutes.

  We've had two ferrets who were neutered, but still had their anal scent glands: Cauliflower and Koosh. Cauliflower would poof fairly often (even in his sleep), but Koosh only poofed two or three times in his whole life. For the most part, a ferret who is living in a loving home should have little reason to poof, though some ferrets poof more than others.

  If your ferret is already descented (as most ferrets in the US purchased in a pet shop are), it's not a problem. But if you get a ferret from a small-scale breeder, you should consider only neutering the ferret (preferably after 6 months of age). Another thing to consider is that as a ferret gets older, the descenting surgery becomes more difficult. There's no reason to put your ferret at unnecessary risk. Of course, if there is a problem with your ferret's anal scent glands, they may need to be removed. But healthy scent glands should pose no problems for you or your ferret.

Order Your Ferret Food Online!

  Thanks for reading. We hope your fuzzies enjoy the digging box (Newsletter #38). We'll be back with another newsletter soon.

--Mary, Eric & Gabby

  Stay tuned for more. You can always get updates by reading my blog (a blog is an online journal). I keep it sporadically and it usually runs to the more personal stuff. But you might like it. It's at

http://www.modernferretblog.com/mary

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