yes.

there fur color changes while the seasons change, they eat about half the body weight...

Ferrets eat small amounts of food regularly. They will usually eat ever 3 or 4 hours.

Yes

A. In general, late Winter to early Spring.

However, if you already own unaltered ferrets, and are asking this question, we REALLY need to talk.

Female ferrets, if not bred, can die from aplastic anemia. No kidding - DIE. But breeding them isn't the solution, because you'd have to keep breeding them, or have them fixed. (Hint: Have them fixed NOW.)

And the breeding, birth, and nursing process are very hard on the female.

If you are asking these sorts of new owner questions, I'm guessing you are probably still feeding them that "junk food" most pet stores sell as "ferret food". That isn't going to give a Jill the nutrition she needs to survive this process and remain healthy. Go read about feeding ferrets a raw diet and toss out the infamous light brown bag. At least get some Zupreem Grain Free and some canned or frozen rabbit.

Unaltered males can become extremely aggressive during breeding season. They stink like you wouldn't believe. They urinate everywhere and then roll around in it. So keeping unaltered male ferrets is generally not a good idea either. Again, go have them fixed now.

Maybe you think you'd really like to breed them. But you better do a lot of reading, because it is a process fraught with problems and expenses. What do you do when a Jill with seven working milk spigots gives birth to ten or twelve babies? And when she gets mastitis ? Have you got homes for all of those babies? You don't think you're going to make money at this, do you ? (WRONG.) Do you have ready access to a qualified ferret vet? Will they give you help at midnight when the birth is going terribly wrong?

There are many ferrets living in shelters and needing homes now because people purchase them on impulse, and then discover that they are a very demanding pet to keep. If you produce surplus ferrets, then they end up neglected in someone's basement, or, if they are lucky, being sheltered by someone like me.

(I fund sheltering ferrets out of my own pocket, and it is getting to the point I don't have room for any more ferrets. I will only take an animal now in order to save it from being destroyed, and I really HATE saying no to an animal in trouble. I also feed them raw meat, carcasses, Wysong Ferret Archetypal, and other healthy stuff - for a house full of ferrets, that costs a fortune!)

Please don't endanger the life of your pet because of a well meant but misplaced desire to have baby ferrets. Have your ferrets fixed, and love them for themselves.

BTW, if you need more convincing, those cute young ferrets will bite, and I don't mean just a little pinch. When they get scared they can latch on for the kill and be difficult to get loose. Once loose, they can inflict a new bite so quickly that you can't react in time to stop them. We are talking deep, nasty, blood dripping puncture wounds. I'm speaking from personal experience on this. In fact, I have two injured fingers from a frightened juvenile at this very moment. This behavior can be discouraged with scruffing and GENTLE shaking, but mostly this is something that they have to outgrow.

Fortunately, properly raised adults don't normally bite. But a Jill with babies can be a very protective animal. Think about this: ferrets kill rabbits. Your hands and your face are pretty much rabbit sized. Ferrets move faster than humans can react. Ferrets move in ways that are almost impossible to anticipate. They have a mouthful of pointy teeth and powerful jaw muscles. How do you think you will fare in a conflict with a Jill who thinks you might harm her kits? How about an even bigger and stronger male who is being aggressive during mating season?

Don't take my word on keeping intact ferrets and breeding them being a bad idea, take a look at:

<http://www.craftycreatures.com/forferretsonly/ferret_school/ferretschool_breeding.HTML>

<http://www.petplace.com/small-mammals/what-you-should-know-about-breeding-your-ferret/page1.aspx>

<http://www.all-about-ferrets.com/how-to-breed-ferrets.HTML>

Don't get me wrong. I love ferrets, even bite prone young ones and smelly in heat males (well, up to a point ;^) .

I've currently got a juvenile male who was given up because "we decided we didn't like what color he was". I couldn't make this up - that was the stated reason. All I can say is that he was a lucky little guy when they gave him up - those folks had no business with a pet ferret (or goldfish, for that matter). He is also the one who inflicted the latest set of bites to my fingers. (Want to bet it was the bite and not the color that they really didn't like?)

But he also rides on my shoulders, grooms me every time I pick him up, and will grow up to be an amazingly sweet and gentle pet.

Funny thing is, since I got him his coat color has changed dramatically. I guess he was willing to do whatever it took to leave where he was and move in with my bunch.

Happy Dooking.

you can not own ferrets in California, so you can not buy them there either.

Black-Footed Ferrets eats ground squirrels, mice, birds, and insects.

Not likely. Domestic ferrets imprint on their food by the time they are six months old. If they do not recognize an item as food, they generally won't touch it. So unless you regularly feed baby kittens to your ferret, the ferret won't think its food.

Ferrets and cats normally get along pretty well.

The sea mink became extinct because is was hunted to extinction for it's fur.

The stoat is currently not on an endangered animal list. The stoat is a relative of the American Prairie Dog but is slightly larger in size. Stoats were once used for their very soft fur. Stoats are found in North America and New Zealand.

In New Zealand there are feral ferrets, but they are hybrids between domestic ferrets and European polecat ferrets. Domestic ferrets have long ago lost all natural instincts and cannot survive on their own in the wild, they totally rely on humans.

Honey badgers are similar in size and build to the European badger. They are heavily built, with a broad head, small eyes, virtually no external ears, and a relatively blunt snout. The head-and-body length ranges from 60 to 102 cm, plus a tail of 16 to 30 cm. The animal's height at the shoulder can be from 23 to 30 cm. There is a considerable difference between the sizes of the male and female, with males sometimes weighing up to twice as much as females. The weight range for females is 5 to 10 kg, while males range from 9 to 14 kg.

Many long-tailed weasels die before reaching one year old. However, once they have reached adulthood they may live for several years. The lifespan of long-tailed weasels in the wild is not well known. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Mustela_frenata.html My weasel lived for 11 & a half years.But my cousins ferret lived for 3 years

fox or badger

The cousin of the weasel is the ferret. Others in the Mustelidae family are minks, ermine, otters, wolverine, fisher, and martens.

Most species of weasel seem to be doing well. We have plenty here in NC and they are rarely seen because of their nocturnal habits.

The only species of concern is the least weasel, which is decining in some areas.

The population is estimated at 700,000

== == == == Possible causes - '''Intestinal blockage (fur balls, eating soft rubber objects); heart disease; poison; internal tumor'''

Intestinal obstruction or blockage in the stomach is a common cause of premature death in ferrets. Many ferrets like to chew on soft rubber, foam rubber, sponges, rubber bands, pencil erasers and other small items and can become lodged in the intestines. Also grain-based foods (breads, cakes, cookies, cereals, noodles, etc.), nuts, or fibrous fruits and vegetables are indigestible to ferrets (lack a cecum) and can result in digestive problems, including blockages. Unless surgery is performed immediately to remove the obstruction or blockage, it will cause an agonizing, slow death. If your ferret appears bloated, loss of appetite, abnormal bowel movements, or exhibiting any abnormal behavoirs, it could be an intestinal blockage and be a medical emergency and need immediate veterinarian care. Advice from other contributors:

It could be multiple things. The best bet is to have it checked out by a vet. For suspected intestinal blockage try feeding it a couple 10ml syringes (the kind without the needle, for hand-feeding) of pumpkin pie filling (not sweetened). It is loaded with fiber and if your ferret has a hairball, as most ferrets get, this will get it to pass out faster than hairball remover and is safer than giving your ferret chemicals. My vet recommended it when my ferret had chewed an eraser up and didn't poop it out.

Many ferrets also get cancer. I had a ferret with a bloaty-belly that we rescued. She was under weight everywhere else but her belly was bloated. Suspecting an intestinal blockage she went to the vet but x-rays revealed it was cancer and she was put down. Many ferrets get cancer in different places but make sure your vet can rule this out with an xray.

Actually even if they were hypo allergenic, they still would give you allergies, just not as bad! So good luck with your ferret, if you do get one!

Ferrets can provide allergies, although not as much as a cat or a dog. My brother has allergies to cats, and he can be around ferrets for as long as he wants, with no reaction.

Well, ferrets are hypo allergenic truly and us best for cat suffers also i am a cat allergy suffer and uh i love ferrets :D

Ranch raised mink are dispatched by having an electrode inserted in their rectum. This leaves an undamaged pelt.

A stoat would win it easily, it is almost twice as heavy!

there is not really a proper way to hold a hamster, if you feel comfortable and your hamster looks fine than that is brilliant! if you don't know how to hold a hamster than a easy way is to gently scoop it up so the hamster is on your hand. Make sure your hands are flat so just in case the hamster does try to bite they don't really have much to nibble on! Now just keep putting one hand in front of the other and edge your hamster to move onto them. They should eventually start walking when you move your hands. you can then just keep them in you hand. But if you are too scared to do that you can get a toilet roll and put it into the hamsters cage, they sooner or later will go into the tube. Then when they are in pick it up and put the tube on the end of your hand so they can climb on.

Ferret cannot be trained to go outside to toilet. Ferrets cannot be outside without a leash, they eliminate every three to four hours, and would not be able to tell you that they need to go outside, plus when they need to use the litter box it's immediate - they can't hold it