Post by JAMFuzzies on Jun 3, 2008 0:41:11 GMT -5
Found a wonderfull write up on ferrets so I just had to copy paste it. Alot of what this person said, I have found to be completly true with my experience with ferrets. Because this is so Long, Ill try to break it up into sections...
"The name Ferret is derived from the Latin word, furonem, which means 'thief'. This is a very appropriate name. Any ferret owner can tell you these little buggers will take anything and everything and hide it in their little hidey holes. Cleaning out under my bed I’ve discovered many missing items, hah.
Ferrets come from the family Mustelidae. Mustela is the Latin word for weasel so that’s how they got their name.
Ferrets are carnivores. They do have anal scent glands {like Skunks do) which they will use if they are threatened, though most ferrets are descented. Some Other members of the Mustelidae family include- Badgers, Wolverines, Sea otters, Weasels, and Polecats. They are very closely related to the European polecat. If you look them up you can see the similarities are great. Ferrets are often mistaken as being from the rodent family. Which they definitely are not. You can tell just by their carnivorous teeth alone. They are strictly meat-eaters, while rodents are not.
In fact, ferrets do not have cecums or ileocolic valves, which makes them physically unable to digest fruits and vegetables. (The proof is in the poop.) This also means they’re getting no nutritional value out of pelleted food that is not animal based.
They were used once in a sport called 'ferreting' where the Ferrets would hunt rabbits and rats.
Ferrets have been domesticated longer than cats, but have had the hunting and survival instincts bred out of them. They depend on us for survival. A friend of my sisters actually asked her to get him a baby Ferret if mine ever had kits (which is impossible since theyre spayed and neutered) so he could set them free in the wild. I dont think so buddy! Its pretty amazing that people actually think Ferrets are capable of adapting in the wild, becoming vicious creatures, forming their own colonies, even after theyve been domesticated for thousands of years."
"The name Ferret is derived from the Latin word, furonem, which means 'thief'. This is a very appropriate name. Any ferret owner can tell you these little buggers will take anything and everything and hide it in their little hidey holes. Cleaning out under my bed I’ve discovered many missing items, hah.
Ferrets come from the family Mustelidae. Mustela is the Latin word for weasel so that’s how they got their name.
Ferrets are carnivores. They do have anal scent glands {like Skunks do) which they will use if they are threatened, though most ferrets are descented. Some Other members of the Mustelidae family include- Badgers, Wolverines, Sea otters, Weasels, and Polecats. They are very closely related to the European polecat. If you look them up you can see the similarities are great. Ferrets are often mistaken as being from the rodent family. Which they definitely are not. You can tell just by their carnivorous teeth alone. They are strictly meat-eaters, while rodents are not.
In fact, ferrets do not have cecums or ileocolic valves, which makes them physically unable to digest fruits and vegetables. (The proof is in the poop.) This also means they’re getting no nutritional value out of pelleted food that is not animal based.
They were used once in a sport called 'ferreting' where the Ferrets would hunt rabbits and rats.
Ferrets have been domesticated longer than cats, but have had the hunting and survival instincts bred out of them. They depend on us for survival. A friend of my sisters actually asked her to get him a baby Ferret if mine ever had kits (which is impossible since theyre spayed and neutered) so he could set them free in the wild. I dont think so buddy! Its pretty amazing that people actually think Ferrets are capable of adapting in the wild, becoming vicious creatures, forming their own colonies, even after theyve been domesticated for thousands of years."