Here you can find some interesting facts about ferrets.
- Ferrets sleep for about 17-20 hours a day. Moreover, they can sleep so deeply that they cannot be woken up even when picked up and jostled. Because of this, owners may mistakenly think they are dead.
- An unspayed female ferret is called a jill while a spayed female is a sprite. An intact male is a hob and a neutered male is called a gib. Baby ferrets are called kits.
- A group of ferrets is called a "business of ferrets."
- All ferret kits have white fur when they are born. They start to get their adult colour at about 3 weeks of age.
- Ferrets are born deaf and blind. They start hearing and open their eyes at around 34 days.
- After 5-8 weeks of age (weaning period), ferrets make very few sounds.
- Ferrets have been domesticated for thousands of years. On the walls of some Egyptian tombs, there are pictures of ferret-like creatures on leashes. The same can be found on some old paintings and tapestries. Nonetheless, in some places they are still not recognized as a domestic animal.
- A newborn ferret can fit in the palm of a 2-year old child!
- Ferrets have no inherent fear of humans.
- The domestic ferret is sometimes also confused with its wild cousin, the black footed ferret.
- Ferrets like to sleep in small dark places.
- Ferrets come from the same family ("Mustelidae") as badgers, wolverines, otters, mink, weasels, black footed ferrets and polecats.
- The word "ferret" comes from the Latin word "furonem", and it means a "thief".
- A small ferret may squeeze through a hole just over an inch in diameter.
- Ferrets have weak vision, but their senses of smell and hearing are very strong.
- Ferrets have a reputation of smelly pets. However, it is not quite so. They do have a distinctly musky odour, but it is neither offensive nor overpowering. Frequent bathing doesn't help reduce this smell. It can, actually, make it even worse. Occasional bathing should cause no problems.
- Ferret owners have come up with a variety of fun nicknames for ferrets, such as ferts, fuzzies, carpet sharks, and furballs.
- While the average lifespan of ferrets is 5 to 8 years, some individuals can live up to 10 years and even longer.
- The normal heart rate of a healthy ferret is 200-250 beats/min!
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