First, 'dem 19 facts as seen by someone who is obsessive over ferrets.
#1: The hide and seek thing is actually a legit burrowing instinct. In the wild they live in
burrows. They're extremely agile thanks to their slinky-shape, which means they're extremely good at hunting rabbits and prairie dogs, their main food source.
#2: If by "helpful" you mean "will turn your garden into several feet of intricate but destructive tunnels", then yes. Quite helpful.
#3: Fun fact: They sleep together like that because they go into deep sleeps. When they do, their bodily temperature drops. Meaning by cuddling, they stay warmer.
#4: If a ferret sleeps on you, that means they trust you. A lot.
#5: They literally can't handle peanut butter, don't let them eat it. (They will try to eat it.)
#6: They're actually great with any animal that aren't birds, mice, or small reptiles. They can even learn to live with rabbits, though it takes some rehabilitation time to teach them that rabbit = friend, not food. If they trust you, and you show care towards another animal, after curiously investigating it they'll adopt it into their family structure and do things they'd normally do with other ferrets. (Like cuddle to keep it warm.) Just beware big pets like huskies, whilst they're both energetic, huskies are about 150x the weight of a ferret and the ferret is too dumb to realize that if the husky falls on them...
#7: They actually tend not to like swimming much. They'll do it here or there (especially if the weather is hot and humid), but they prefer dry land. Don't believe me? Drop one into a swimming pool. Nine times out of ten they will immediately dog paddle their way to the edge.
#8: Cutest
everything ever.
#9: That little guy is tired, you can tell by the way his eyes are drooping. Normally in a car he would be investigating every single tiny space to see if he can start making a burrow.
#10: Like any other animal, they put up with it for you, they don't actually enjoy this.
#11: Damns right they are. Ferrets have crazy berserk fast metabolisms. Snack time is all the time!
#12: They're handy in the kitchen... At devouring snacks.
#13: That facepalm is hilarious, though he's probably cleaning himself.
#14: No. No they don't. They hate bathes the first few times you clean them. They tend to get over it though.
#15: Again, any animal they wouldn't consider natural food they can love. Not just cats.
#16: Hahahaha more than likely the ferret would just drag that stuff to its "den". They're kleptomaniacs.
#17: They don't really do this, that's a nicely timed photo though.
#18: They fucking love grass. They also fucking love snow and
will dig burrows into it.
#19: Yes. Yes they are.
She's underaged, so no.
And in Hawaii, Washington, D.C., and New York City. For mainly idiotic reasons. (ex: In New York, they're banned because they are, quote, "a potentially dangerous wild animal". Ferrets. Animals we've domesticated for at least three thousand years. Right. Sure.)
I agree. They clearly are. After all, ferrets hunt stuff
their own size. However,
I do admit the fact they carry babies around like this is pretty freaking adorable. That one has lost a couple of its babies though. :(
Anything tastes good if you cook it, though I'd argue that if you wanted to hunt something, a ferret is too skinny and bony to be worth it. Go hunt a pig or something.
I just have to catch that little shit before he gets himself killed.
A cat is an acceptable pet, but a ferret will snuggle up against you for warmth. They also won't destroy your drapes.
Reason 26: They won't mind having little pieces of Razilin's corpse in their kibble.
Only if you suck at cleaning and don't understand the magic of operations. Do the following.
#1: Get your ferret descented. It's a harmless operation if you do it while they're young, as it removes their anal sacs which produce the worst offenders.
#2: Get them desexed (also known as "Sprites" (desexed females) and "Gibs" (desexed males)) as females will have health complications and males will mark territory should they be unable to find an appropriate member of their own species to mate with.
#3: Bath them anywhere between once a week to once a month. Don't bath them too often or their bodies will start to mass produce the oils that make them smell as a response.
Do those three things and they smell no worse than a cat. As a bonus, they're
hypoallergenic, meaning that if you have cat or dog allergies, a ferret cannot and will not set them off. Ferrets 1, Cats 0. Eat your heart out, Toellner.
Ferrets would actually smell
more after being marinated. You're a doctor, you should understand the basics of corpses and their smells!
They are legit illegal, it's just not enforced much in California. It's not worth the cost of enforcement for the little furry fiends.
Long story short is after the ferret craze in the 80's and 90's, some escaped out and started wreaking havoc with the natural habitat. That's why they're banned in Cali--they're banned under the
Fish and Game Code. Meaning technically, so long as nobody calls you out on it, you're totally allowed to keep one as a pet so long as it doesn't cause any trouble.
Now in Cali, they aren't really destructive at all, so it's illogical to keep them on there. EXCEPT WAIT! RARELY DO LAWS WORK ON GODDAMN LOGIC! The main reason why ferrets are still banned in Washington DC, New York City, California, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, as well as several counties, is because of the
rabies scare. Yep. The rabies scare. From over two decades ago. That's still a thing.
I hate fear mongering.
Since Fish & Game are the ones regulating why it can't be a pet, you can obtain a permit that allows you to keep one as a pet like as a wild animal rather than a domesticated animal. This essentially means that any damage the ferret does is completely and utterly your responsibility and if it gets away from you, California is simply going to put it down instead of return it to you.
Which would be sad, so if you do this, keep your ferret safe. :(