Best Ferret Beds

Fun Facts About Ferrets

Ferrets are an incredibly popular pet throughout the world, more so than most people think. At first glance, they are an unassuming rodent-like creature, but as you get to know them, you will find out that they have a surprising depth to their character. Have you ever wanted to know what the most exciting and titillating ferret facts are? Let's begin.

The Top 25 Most Interesting Things There Are To Know About Ferrets

It can be complicated knowing where to begin if you do not already have some familiarity with ferrets. So let's start with a definition. Ferrets are a type of domesticated animal related to the weasel and belong to the animal family Mustelidae. The exact date of their domestication is known. Mitochondrial DNA analysis indicates that they have been living domesticated among humans for a minimum of 2500 years, so quite a long time. They were extensively used throughout history for their unique set of skills that they possess, which can be incredibly useful for people.

1. What Happens When You Domesticate A European Polecat

European polecats are the wild version of the ferret. A few thousand years ago, members of the European polecat must have begun to live among humans. Whether they first started to on their own or whether some early humans found babies and reared them is not known exactly. However, looking at the characteristics of the two groups today, the biggest difference is ferrets' sociability.

2. Ferrets Are Sexually Dimorphic Creatures

Sexual dimorphism is the traits that are present in species when there are significant differences in the phenotype, or appearance, of a species based upon the sex. Humans are another species that display sexual dimorphism. Just like ferrets, humans are typically larger if they are male, and both of our species have specific features that only appear on specific genders.

3. Ferrets Have Four Different Color Combinations: Black, Brown, White, And Mixed

European polecats can present in a more wide variety of colors and then the domesticated ferret. Domesticated ferrets are naturally limited to only three different color alleles leading to four different types of color patterns.

4. Ferrets Can Naturally Live For Up To A Decade

Ferrets are naturally fairly long-lived creatures if they are living in a home. They will typically live for at least seven years, and many of them live for as long as a decade or more. European polecat can have as little as one half of the expected life expectancy of a ferret.

5. The Largest Ferrets Naturally Reach Around 5 Lbs

Even the biggest ferrets are still fairly small overall in terms of their weight. They have a fairly low-density body structure to help with their superb flexibility. That means that the largest ferrets rarely exceed 5 pounds.

6. Ferrets As Pets In The United States

Before the 1980s, ferrets were common in the United States but not as house pets. After the Civil War's conclusion until the 1980s, the most commonplace that you would find ferrets in the United States was on the farm. They were used there to help control local rodent populations and keep bunnies from destroying crops. By 19, 96/800,000 domesticated ferrets were being kept as pets in the United States.

7. Ferrets Are Obligate Carnivores

Ferrets must eat a very specific diet because they lack important enzymes necessary to digest many of the foods we can digest. Their bodies also are unable to produce key enzymes that are essential for life-sustaining processes. To survive, ferrets must eat meat from animal sources to receive all of their necessary nutrition. This is called obligate carnivorism and is the same time as diet cats must eat.

8. Ferrets Are Thought To Have Been Domesticated For Over 2000 Years

Ferrets have been around for a long time. Some rumors have suggested that the ancient Egyptians first used them; however, there has not been any conclusive archaeological evidence to support that hypothesis. It is known that, at least by the Greeks and Romans, they were fairly widespread throughout the Western world as a domesticated animal. Because those cultures kept excellent historical records, we can learn about their habits more easily than those of the ancient Egyptians.

9. Feral Colonies Of Polecat Ferret Hybrids Live Throughout New Zealand And Other Parts Of The World

European polecat's, while different phenotypically and behaviorally from ferrets, are not a different species technically. Since they can mate with ferrets, they can produce hybrid offspring. These offspring share traits than to are a mixture of the two subspecies. They are not considered separate species because the hybridized children can produce viable offspring of their own.

10. New Zealand Bands The Ownership Of Ferrets As Pets

Not all parts of the world are in love with keeping ferrets as pets. New Zealand is just one of the countries that have strict regulations barring the commercial distribution of ferrets. Most of the time, these regulations are passed because feral colonies of ferrets have become a nuisance to the local environment.

11. The Latin Root Of The Word Ferret Means Little Theif

The name parent is to live from a Latin word, furittus. In ancient Latin, that word means Little thief. This world's choice for the naming of this animal is likely related to the habits that ferrets have of squirreling away small items. The Greeks used a different word that was coined by the philosopher and playwright Aristophanes, ictis.

12. Hob And Jill Are The Terms For Male And Female Ferrets Respectively

There are specific terms for both females and males. A male ferret is known as a hob, while a female ferret is known as a Jill. If the mail has been received a vasectomy, they are called a hoblet.

13. Sprite And Give Are The Respective Terms Or A Spayed Female And A Neutered Male

Suppose you did not think that having names for males and females and neutered males were enough to get ready for this. If a female is spayed, then they are a Sprite. If a male is neutered, then they are a gib. If a bunch of ferrets is collected together as a group, you can refer to them as a ferret business.

14. Ferrets Belong To The Animal Family Mustelid

The Mustelid animal family is an animal family that contains many familiar creatures that are males. All of them are carnivorous, and in total, there are about 60 different species that belong to the family alive today. Currently, extant species include weasels, badgers, wolverines, and otters.

15. Female Ferrets Can Have 2 To 3 Litters Every Year

Female ferrets can increase the size of a ferret colony rapidly. They have incredibly short gestation periods and can have up to three litters and a year if that timing is right. Each of those litters contains multiple kids. Each of those children will then be capable of producing their children at the same pace within a year.

16. Ferrets Sleep Up To 18 Hours A Day

Ferrets and cats have more in common than you might think. Cats may sleep a little more on average than ferrets, but it is not too far apart. Ferrets can sleep for 18 hours a day, although you might not guess it based on the air frenetic activity levels when they are awake.

17. Ferrets Use The Same Defensive Mechanism As Skunks When Threatened

Skunks have annual glands within their rectum that produce secretions they use to spray things carefully when threatened. Ferrets share similar animal glands that have the secretions used defensively. If a ferret is threatened, they will spray their annual secretions to defend themselves, although thankfully, it is not quite as pungent as the spray of a skunk.

18. The Weasel War Dance Is A Recognized Behavior Of The Ferret

There is a particular type of ferret social behavior that is called the weasel war dance. As funny as that sounds, it is a well studied scientific phenomenon supported by academic science. This dance is a type of behavior they use to communicate; they are in a playful mood. It is something that many members of the weasel subfamily share. Some scientists believe that in nature, this type of behavior may be used to disorient prey when ferrets are hunting.

19. Ferrets Are Unable To Digest Most Plant Food

One of the biggest reasons that parents are obligate carnivores, and they must have me in their diet to survive is they simply are unable to digest many types of plant food. In the wild ferrets, a natural diet consists of whole prey, meaning that they are suited to digest bones, organs, meat, and more.

20. Ferret racing is a fairly popular sport in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, people place bets on it races to feature ferrets running around tracks made out of tunnels. Members of the public can freely attend these races at local fairs across the country and place wagers on the outcomes. Although it is possible to bet it is not seen as serious as other types of race betting like with horses.

21. Romans Likely Used Ferrets To Go Hunting

As far back as the ancient Romans, ferrets were hanging out with people and helping them survive. Ancient Romans would use the ferrets to help them hunt when they would go out into the wild. Ferrets are capable of adeptly maneuvering through tunnels that prey loves to hide when they are being hunted. Most ferrets are better than a hunting dog at flushing critters out of a tunnel.

22. Ferrets Are Excellent Borrowers

Ferrets entire biology is designed to help them burrow through the ground with ease. They are incredibly long, and they have the hands and feet to help them dig. They can smell very powerfully, so even in the darkness of the tunnels, they can navigate very easily.

23. Augustus Caesar Used Ferrets To Help Control The Rabbit Plagues Of Balearic Islands

even Augustus Caesar used ferrets because he recognizes the value that the tiny little creatures had. There were a series of plagues at the turn of the millennium in six BC on the Balearic Islands. The island's local rabbit population has grown so rapidly it quickly began to exhaust the resources of the island. It wasn't such an out of control problem that the population appealed to the Roman government for assistance. When presented with the problem, Augustus Caesar, the intelligent man he is, wisely decided that ferrets were the ideal solution. He is not the only famous historical figure to use ferrets to help control the rabbit population throughout history, either.

24. Ferrets Were Used To Protect Grains In The United States For American Farmers

In the United States, ferrets were not always popular as house pets, but they have a long history of domestication. For the most part, when ferrets were being used in the new world, it was to help farmers keep their crops protected from local rodents. Since ferrets are obligate carnivores, farmers do not need to worry about eating all of their food. Ferrets will track all of the potentially harmful critters and eat them.

25. In Areas Where Rabbits Are Considered A Plague Species Ferrets Are Still Commonly Used To Hunt Them

Even today, ferrets are still one of the most effective ways we have to control rabbit populations when they get out of control. There is an entire sport called ferreting that involves competitively using ferrets to Hunt rabbits. As far back as 1390 on ancient English law was written, that restricted this sport to only those of the aristocracy.