The smallest expense that will be incurred by the owner of a ferret is the purchase price, whether the ferret is acquired as a baby from a pet shop or private breeder, or as an adult from a shelter. Responsible pet ownership does not depend on the monetary value of the animal, measured by the purchase price. It is fulfillment of an unwritten contract you enter when you decide to own a living creature that will depend entirely on you for its well-being. This is true of any pet.
Your responsibility includes providing adequate housing, food, exercise, and veterinary care, and making sure the animal is physically protected from infectious diseases.
The purchase price of a ferret can range between $75 and $200, but owners must keep in mind these additional lifelong costs when considering a ferret as a pet:
• Food: Feeding ferrets is not a large expense, but they require good quality food for health, and this should not be an area to save money. Generic cat foods cause several kinds of health problems, and ferrets will die in a short time if fed only dog food. The best ferret foods will be available in pet shops.
• Neutering: Like cats and dogs, pet ferrets need to be spayed or neutered.
• Housing and environment: Special toys and elaborate cages can add to the ferret's comfort and psychological well-being. Regardless of cage size, a ferret should be allowed out to play for several hours every day. The minimum cage size recommended for one ferret measures at least 36 inches long, 25 inches wide and 63 inches high. A bi-level cage offers a ferret different areas for bathroom use, sleep and play. Fancy sleeping tubes and hammocks are not required, but may provide much comfort to the ferret and satisfaction to the owner.
Left to choose for themselves, ferrets will select very small simple nests such as a winter hat or a paper bag. Many ferrets prefer an old sweatshirt to a relatively inexpensive sleeping tube. If you keep your pets in a prominent place in your living area, it is desirable to have professionally built ferret cages and equipment.
• Veterinary expenses: Pet ferret owners must be prepared for veterinary expenses. Ferrets do not suffer from many serious diseases early in life, but canine distemper is deadly. Ferrets require yearly vaccination. Unvaccinated ferrets may die if infected with canine distemper virus. Rabies vaccination is mandated by law and necessary to protect your family as well as your ferret.
Older ferrets become susceptible to several types of cancer that may be treatable by surgical and/or medical means, although these can be expensive. The life span of the ferret is only 6 or 7 years, but people become devoted to their pet in a short time and are usually willing to provide the necessary care, whatever the cost may be. Someone who owns several ferrets over 5 years old may have sizeable veterinary bills.
• Licenses: Some states and municipal areas require licenses for ferrets kept as pets. Although there is an effective rabies vaccine for ferrets, public health departments may not recognize the ferret as a domestic animal. In many municipalities, if a vaccinated ferret bites or scratches someone who makes a complaint or seeks medical attention, the animal is killed and tested for rabies, the same as a wild animal.