Talk:Ferret/Archive 1

Archive 1

Archive 2

Review conservation status

The article currently classifies ferrets as extinct. I would correct this myself except that I don't know what the status should be. Can someone fix this? Dmercer (talk) 07:04, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Ferret Intelligence and Ferret Tricks

My last post was taken down. But these are important subjects. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.85.160.89 (talk) 03:29, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Ferret Attacks

"In most parts of the world, however, ferrets are simply kept as pets. They are sometimes accused of being dangerous to small children but ferret attacks on children are much less common than cat or dog attacks—possibly less becauses of their nature than simply because ferrets are much less common than cats and dogs.".

That's not true - even proportionally, ferrets are much less dangerous than dogs or cats.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Alex S 10:44, 8 June 2003 (talk • contribs)

Do you have any data to support this? This seems like a hard thing to measure objectively and I wonder if it's colored by anecdotal experience with individual ferrets, cats, dogs, at various extremes of temperment; my experiences with ferrets are limited but I've observed extreme variations in aggressiveness, etc., among individual cats & dogs based in part of their history of interaction with people, and I would expect the same to be true of ferrets. As an example: I know someone who was been hospitalized by an infected cat bite; the bite was the result of utter stupidity in handling a cat who didn't like being handled and only came after claws didn't get the cat's "leave me alone" message across; on the other hand, one of my cats has a "doglike" personality and will roll on his back and solicit belly scratches which "normal" cats dislike. --Sommerfeld 20:48, 2005 Feb 9 (UTC)

Hmm...A ferret is smaller than most dogs or cats but they have vicious teeth and a vicious nature. They can also spray musk (unless the scent glands have been removed).61.230.72.211 12:02, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

"they have vicious teeth and a vicious nature"-No. They have meat-eater's teeth-just like cats and dogs do. As far as their "vicious nature" that is 100% BS. JeffStickney

I can see where someone who wasn't comfortable around ferrets or very familiar with them would mistake it for "viciousness". They can act pretty ferocious - but it's play, it's acting. So long as you train them well and handle them well, they don't even bite hard enough to break skin. As with dogs, you have to teach some of them the appropriate behavior, though - our current ferret is a bit of a brat, and we're having to train her away from trying to bite fingers when picked up. The way this is best done is to say NO very firmly and sternly when they bite, and then immediately put them back in their cage, leaving them alone for at least 10-15 minutes. Eventually, they associate biting too hard with being put back; since most of their mental focus is centered on play, this convinces them that it's better to be gentle with fingers.

As for the musk, first off, most domestic ferret farms DO remove the gland, second, that has nothing to do with biting or "attacks", let alone being dangerous; they don't "attack" with it, it's something they occasionally release when scared, or when trying to find a mate. Coincidentally, even a skunk's spray isn't especially "dangerous", just really awful-smelling (unless you're allergic, but then, that applies to most things, really). And skunks have a scent gland infinitely stronger than ferrets'.

Additionally, the key word here is "dangerous". That's way too loaded and vague a word. "Dangerous" in what way? If you mean "can bite hard enough to draw a small amount of blood", then yes, if the ferret is not properly handled and socialized, that can happen, especially if the ferret is a kit. But this "dangerous" word makes it sound as if they can kill them (as many species of dogs are technically able to do), or seriously damage them in other ways, which I sincerely doubt is true. Ferrets are simply too small and their teeth too small to do lethal damage very easily, if at all, unlike many canine and even domesticated feline species; and ferrets aren't really capable, as far as I know, of tearing off very large swaths of human skin (as dogs can), nor would they try to, since when they bite, it's out of A.) Fear, which means they're trying to get a quick, sharp, painful bite off to distract with, or B.) play, which means that though they may draw a small amount of blood, they won't be actively trying to a kill a person. On levels of danger, I would say cats and dogs are much higher than ferrets, even though even there, if properly trained, such attacks are already relatively rare.

Now, I would still not suggest having very small children playing with ferrets, as they can easily either hurt the ferret or get bitten and get disturbed and upset. Not a good idea, in my opinion. Any child old enough to control their aggression and old enough to learn how to "not play too rough" (ie, hurt the ferret, which can also cause it to freak out and try to bite, as most toothed animals would when feeling threatened), should be fine with a ferret if taught how to play gently and appropriatley with it, especially if the ferret is an older ferret who has been raised properly by humans and handled a lot and taught not too bite too hard. Runa27 02:39, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, I should have said "sharp" teeth, not "vicious" teeth. And I'm not not comfortable around ferrets, don't make silly assumpsions without looking it through, silly. I know they remove the scent glands, it's just a bit of trival information for goodness sake, I can't see why I can't add it. Also, you're underestimating skunks. If you're sprayed, you can be temporarily (sp?) blinded. You could have a stomachache. It doesn't just smell bad. Yes, and I know ferrets can't kill people, but they can hurt people, and NEVER EVER underestimate a small animal, which a lot of people do too often. 61.230.78.158 09:39, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Just a quick note. In England, where our ferrets hunt, it is not unknwn for a ferret to badly bite the hand of it's owner. I have seen ferrets hanging off both mine and others hands. To remove an attached ferret either squeeze the sides of the ferrets jaws or flick the area between the nose and the eyes with the same action you use to flick bits of paper. Never flick the ferret full on the nose as this can lead to a damaged ferret. Treat them with respect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.92.168.170, 21:44, 18 September 2006 (talk • contribs)

A pet ferrret will need a great deal of attention to be socialized with humans; if this isn't explained to the owner when the ferret is purchased (or otherwise obtained), it should be. I spent at least a month flicking my ferret's snout and saying loudly, "Don't bite!" before he stopped. He still makes a motion to do so at times, but stops as soon as I look at him or say "don't bite"; at other times, he very gently places his teeth on my finger and looks up at me to see if it's okay for him to do so. It's not—and I quickly say "Don't bite!" and he stops. (I think teaching a ferret the difference between biting hard and biting gently would be too difficult; it's easier to teach them not to bite at all, with whatever pressure.) I think I was saying "Don't bite!" in my sleep at times, but I have an extremely well-socialized ferret. He lets anyone hold him and just explores them—sniffing at their clothing, stretching up to inspect their face—in other words, being a curious ferret. I wouldn't own a dog or cat that bites; I'm not going to make an exception for a ferret when it's possible to train him not to do so.

It's important to say something specific about the behavior you want to change—saying "No!" for a variety of activities that you're trying to correct is confusing to the ferret. Hence, say "Don't bite!" (or something similar) for this particular discipline, but keep any command short and something you can remember—I doubt your ferret will understand human speech, but ferrets seem able to connect different sounds with different situations. If using "Don't" for additional commands makes a command too long, try substituting "No....!" instead: "No desk!" is better than "Don't get on my desk!"; this has reduced Rascal's invasion of my computer desk. (I didn't add flicking, which may account for his lack of obedience at times.) I can live with a ferret who goes exploring—it's an integral part of what ferrets do; sometimes I have to say to myself, "He's just being a ferret".

If you're not comfortable flicking your ferret, try saying the command loudly and returning him to his cage (or perhaps better yet, put him in his carrier—it's a much smaller space and he won't have access to his food or water for the 15 minutes or so that you leave him there). Don't leave him for more than 15 minutes or so, though, and if you're forgetful, set a timer!

These are suggestions from my own experience and the advice of other ferret owners—not "gospel". Obviously, this probably wouldn't work for hunting ferrets.—Chidom ^talk  18:36, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Could/should some information be added to the page to "de-bunk" the ferret attack stories? Jrbart 21:39, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

I own ferrets in Australia and so I wish to add I understand why America de-scents their ferrets (infection and smell) has nothing to do with a ferrets temperament. It is however not required, as my ferrets have never ever got infections or smell bad. So go figure. If you got the chance to actually have a ferret that wasn't done you would agree with me that ferrets really don't need it done! If they ever ever did get an infection I would take them to the vet for treatment.

Also I wish to state a ferret CAN kill a human baby. I don't care how nice your pets are, they can still hurt a baby that can not move away from a ferret. Ferrets don't do things like this to be visious, they just don't understand that a human baby can't defend himself. I would never leave my ferrets with a baby!

NO ANIMAL SHOULD BE KEPT UNSUPERVISED AROUND A BABY. Not a dog, cat, bird, or guinea pig. Nothing. Plus, a ferret wouldn't hurt anyone when he bites (which is only during play) any more than a tiny puppy may nibble a finger (without drawing blood) when he's teething. (Note: I would know since I have a ferret and many friends of mine do as well. I have come into contact with tons of different ferrets, and I have yet to have a negative experience.) - hmwithtalk 20:03, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

I understand that. I have them too. One of mine was from working stock and did bite me a few times before she knew better. However you can't tell me a ferret that was kind as pie wouldn't hurt a human baby. It would. My ferrets let you kiss their nose and wave fingers in front of them, and I still know they would attack a baby. Have yours ever been near a baby's face? If unfortunately one had been you'd know exactly what damage it could do. A guinea pig or rabbit could not harm a baby like a ferret could. They are predators and will cite a baby's face.

I think the bit about the ferret mauling the baby's face should be removed. Yes it is smart to advise people that ferrets have the potential to be bitey and possibly violent, but so do any other pet if they are not properly trained and cared for. The story in the citation has far too little information and just simply says that the ferret mauled the baby. Ferrets WILL NOT do such a thing unprovoked unless it was neglected, abused, or being attacked just like a dog or cat. Having that citation there and the negative wording just paints a very negative picture of ferrets. If you look up dog, or even golden retriever, you dont find anything past telling you to train your dog and love them so they wont attack. Its already proven that ferret attacks are few and far between and little to nothing compared to dog attacks and its not because ferrets are rare, they are the 3rd most popular pet in the US. Im also afraid that the negativity will attract the wrong type of people, the same way that the negativity surrounding pit bulls does. If someone says an animal has a violent nature, there are some people out there that want one just for that and further strengthen the bad reputation. Does anyone feel the same way? Lanaii 17:28, 26 April 2007 (UTC)Lanaii

Also to add to that I came across this which would be a much better citation: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=11&cat=1841&articleid=527

basicly it states that a young ferret, as was the one in the story. This is the fist article pertaining to the one cited: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/3024188.stm The woman only had him for 5 or 6 months and it had bitten other people. She also kept him in a cage in the bathroom. It is obvious that she didnt know how to properly care for the ferret and that is was poorly socialized and not at all trained. Being a young kit on top of that, it was most likely that it was attracted to the smell of milk since it attacked the face and nowhere else. This is a horrible example and the blame is solely on the mother and not the ferret. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Lanaii (talk • contribs) 17:40, 26 April 2007 (UTC).

Yes, I've seen many ferrets around babies' faces. We've shown our ferret to many, and he licks their faces! It's adorable! And Lanaii, you are correct about the ferret being neglected/abused situation. A ferret would be no more or less likely to attack a baby's face than would a dog or cat. If you don't properly care for a pet (or even human child, for that matter), he will act out. - hmwithtalk 20:25, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

Oh yeah, i totally agree the statement should be removed. Im just saying its obvious a ferret (even a rat and ive had both ferrets and rats) would bite a baby. And yes itd be because of the baby's smell more than anything. I LOVE my girl (ferret) but wouldn't put her near a bub as i think she could hurt a baby. i agree with you all.

I reworded it yesterday before I had to jet off to work. I hope its to everyone's approval. I think it just takes a bit of common sense (which unfortunately, too many people lack) not to leave critters unsupervised including human baby critters. Although my cat and ferrets get along great, I would never take my eye off them just in case anything actually happened. Ferrets, as any other animal, are more than capable of hurting a baby. Babies are soft skined and uncoordinated so they cant protect themselves and dont realize if theyve pet too hard or squeezed too hard. But what people dont seem to understand is that ferrets dont attack infants out of pure maliciousness, there is always a cause. It is up to us, the people who know these animals the best, to encourage people to interact with well trained and loved ferrets so they can see just how wonderful they are. 149.152.191.253 13:53, 27 April 2007 (UTC)Lanaii

I don't let my ferrets near faces of even my friends because I couldn't trust that they wouldn't bite them. My ferrets only like my face near their faces, they have nipped my sisters hands many times. But they have never nipped any strangers. I just make sure people hold them away from their faces.

A quick note from 2 people who have pet Ferrets in the UK

Just to let everyone out there know, my girlfriend and I decided to join some of the few pet ferret owners in Great Britain. We got them at about 7 1/2 weeks old and they are now about 9 weeks old. "Mitch" ( the male ) is the darker version ( Sable ). That one is mine. "Sasha" is a female albino. Being new to owning ferrets we read everything we could find on the internet, asking diferent questions to diferent people all the time. We are both responsible pet owners. My girlfriend has had many diferent pets including Cats and Rats. I myself have had dogs, cats, birds and hamsters, ( I don't think i really need to mention the stick insect ). We love our 2 rascals dearly and would both do anything for them. <a href="http://brazzlogin.wordpress.com/">brazzers accounts</a> Today for example we took them to the local vets for their first check up. The other families were there with dogs and cats and were very interested in Mitch and Sasha. Both of our hooligans i have to say behaved very, very well. Several parents looked, said ahhhhh !! asked if they and their children could say hello to them, and several of them wanted to stroke them. Sasha just sat and enjoyed all the attention, and when she had enough wanted to just walk around the floor, ( Obviously harnessed and on a lead ). And I have to say both of them love walking on their leads, along with us if only for a short distance. Mitch on the other hand slipped into my ( Large ) jacket pocket and curled up for a sleep.<a href="http://brazzerspassword.wix.com/brazzlogin">password brazzers</a> The vet told us both were well looked after, didn't smell at all, were in excellent health, well trained and said that he hadn't had many dealings with ferrets but he would enjoy learning about them with us. What a fantastic compliment to us, ( as new owners ), and to Mitch and Sasha. We all hope that the PR work that we are putting in ( unpaid, i must add !! ) wont go to waste and other people can read this and learn how lovely ferrets can be when brought up in a sensible and loving home.

By the way if anyone reading this article is thinking about owning a ferret i must add this part. Young ferrets will bite, they are very mischievious, they will search through every potted plant in the house to see what is in there, they will chew your favourite shoes. And they will most definatly test your nerves and your patience. As daft as this sounds WE wouldn't have it any other way. To watch them rolling round the house with a plastic ball, or "helping" clean out their cage, or snuggling up on your lap to fall asleep while you watch the telly, makes all the effort we put in so rewarding.

This is the same way we treat any animal, owning ferrets is much the same as owning any other animal. They need so much time and effort from you, if you can't give them this, then please don't get one !!

Neil and Kath

82.32.180.116 02:01, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Im a father to be and a proud owner of a ferret that never even bit me (I didnt raise him, he's from a shelter). It will be a cold day in HELL before I let my infant, child and "young" teenager handle him. Teenager maybe with me there, but simply put... A ferret has some really nice choppers and it being an animal I will not risk him or my child doing something stupid and getting hurt, either of them. I once took this animal in my house and its common knowledge that "kids" and "animals" will do things that are to be looked back upon with regret. This combination will simply not work. I choose to take the risk of getting my fingers bitten off when I do somethign the ferret doesnt like, and I react to it with that know-how in the back off my head. I cannot and will not expect the same from the ferret or the child who did not choose this. My child or ferret might get hurt... There will be a nice big healthy gap between infant and ferret till I say otherwise... Teenagers depending on the flavor you got might be able to handle the responsibility of handeling a ferret - but unless Im right there withing arms reach .. their will be no petting. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.161.24.149 (talk) 18:52, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Ferret Picture

Someone put up a picture of a ferret. It was a very nice blackfoot ferret, an endangered species from North America. It, unfortunately, aside from the name, has nothing to do with Mustela putorius furo, which this article is about. Stargoat 00:51, 25 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I'd move it to the page for that animal then, then. :) Runa27 02:41, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Cats vs Ferrets

Is "far more people-oriented than cats" really NPOV? I've seen people-oriented housecats and not particularly people-oriented ferrets. --Sommerfeld 21:33, 2005 Feb 8 (UTC)

That should probably be removed. I've had ferrets ranging from "totally in love with people, sweetest thing ever", to "could generally care less about people compared to shoes and the remote control." I've also had cats that were total sweethearts. My current cat, if you walk in the room, she takes one look at you, and she rolls over on her belly, ready for petting. Another cat I had until very recently was part Abysinian(sp?), and when we first saw him, he walked right up to us, purring and rubbing against our legs. If a cat is part-oriental, especially, they can be very "people-oriented." Runa27 03:12, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Diet

non of this web site is offical The recent edit that states "High-quality kitten food can suffice, if ferret-specific kibble cannot be found, but can sometimes lead to kidney stones and urinary obstruction" is a little confusing. What causes the kidney problems- the fact that you are using kitten food, or the fact that you are using low-quality brands? The editor who added that clause should have written a complete sentence such as "However low quality foods can lead to...", or "however in older ferrets, the high protein levels can lead to", rather than simply taking "but can lead to..." onto an existing sentence which already specified that the food was high-quality. It is a little ambiguous what the point was. To that editor- if you are reading this, please clarify what you were saying with a complete sentence or two.

I am concerned by the lack of research here. There is a statement that sugar causes adrenal disease. I'm not sure that this is fact. Also there is no mention of a natural diet. I am new to Wikipedia, but I would like to work to improve this article and seek out factual data. Julianne 16:55, August 18, 2005 (UTC)

The recent edits to the diet section seem to be a MAJOR NPOV violation. It seems to take the tone that everybody who feeds their ferrets commercial foods are wrong and that the only appropriate diet is raw, whole small animals. Apparently there are two competing schools of thought on how to feed ferrets. Isn't there a way to present both without forcing one single opinion into the article?

Yes, the recent change was a bit dramatic. On closer inspection, however, it doesn't seem totally unbalanced, since it accepts commercial food as an alternative: "For those who do choose commercially prepared pet food, it is important to learn to read pet food labels." Maybe it just needs a bit of the adversarial tone trimmed off it? -- Danny Yee 00:16, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

I think it's unfortunate that since the wikipedia is a common *resource* we can't seem to allow one or two linked resources concerning "natural" feeding for those interested. (I added 2 source links in External Links along with other information and links throughout the page) After all, what is "natural" feeding depends on where one live.

(

210.175.203.108 10:55, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I feed both ferret foods, kitten foods (premium of course!) and fresh meats. Someone put rats and mice. Except people feeding fresh meats feed actual meat WE eat such as game meats AND MOST OF ALL beef, lamb and chicken as well as some offal. This is usual in Australia (except someone deleted our country, thanks!)

As an owner of a ferret who just died from insulinoma and adrenal, the vet told us that inbreeding (Marshall), as well as diet, light cycles, and even possibly distemper vaccines are to blame.

life span?

What is the typical life span of a ferret? Funkyj 00:06, 2005 Jun 8 (UTC)

I have read that the maximum is 14 years. My ferret recently passed away after 13 years, but the number seems to vary widely. I will see what research I can dig up on this. Julianne 16:55, August 18, 2005 (UTC)

Typically ferrets live between 5 to 8 years though some have been reported to live up to 15 years old. That is not a typical age. Most recently heard of a 12 year olds passing & he was producing litters up to that ripe old age.

i've heard 10 from the pet store i got my ferret from and 9 from the vet i take my ferret to --Ditre 17:14, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

How about a filmography

Only because ferrets do not appear too often in films like dogs or cats i thought this could be an interesting addition?! Well i dunno, im only new here so i pass on knowing what to do correctly! Its just an idea because i know a few things todo with ferrets

andrzejtch

I know one movie one appears in: Kindergarden Cop.--HistoricalPisces 18:07, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

As it is now, the section is a perfectly good addition to the article I think, though one or two bits of trivia need to be cleaned up a bit. Runa27 03:16, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Ferrets were also seen in "Along Came Polly" & "The Beast Master".

popular culture references for discussion

Adding every popular culture reference to ferrets to this article is getting out of hand. I think we should restrict it to major roles for ferrets, or minor roles in very high profile books or films. -- Danny Yee 07:00, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

Be careful what you delete: Redwall, Get Fuzzy, et cetera are reasonably high profile, but you removed them nonetheless. I agree that minor appearances do not warrant inclusion, but major characters (or persistent "guest" characters) deserve inclusion if the source is notable enough. I haven't reverted any edits yet, but I'll go through the list to check for entries deserving deletion, and the history for entries that are notable. Nihiltres 02:38, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

It's irrelevant how high profile the works in question are, the issue is whether they are notable in the context of an article on ferrets. The Redwall article mentions ferrets only in passing; there's nothing there to suggest that ferrets are particularly prominent (qua ferrets). Think about it from the perspective of someone reading an article on ferrets. -- Danny Yee 03:01, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

We should rewrite the section so it actually says something, rather than just being a list, perhaps along the lines of the equivalent section in rabbit. Whether there's something notable that can be said about ferrets in a work - rather than just a statement of their presence - is a good criterion for a mention. -- Danny Yee 03:11, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

request- a paragraph on lymphosarcoma

It is the most common malignancy in ferrets, and this article should have a paragraph about it in the same section as the paragraphs on insulinoma and adrenal disease. Will someone who is a better writer than me please write such a paragraph?

I created an article called lymphoma in animals which has a section on ferrets. The lymphoma link in the ferret article directs there. --Joelmills 17:03, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

request - mention of canine distemper

Since canine distemper is almost always fatal to a ferret, I would like to see it mentioned in the article. Jrbart 21:48, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

Added reference on Canine Distemper. It sounds a little akward, so feel free to clean it up a bit. Jrbart 00:30, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

embedded citations

I found a source for the fact that needs one, but I'm not familiar with embedding citations, so here is the source, someone please add it to the article when you have time :)

mazuri.com "These days ferrets have become increasingly valued as house pets, ranking a close third behind dogs and cats in popularity. Carnivores by nature, ferrets share the meat eating preference of both dogs and cats...which is likely where the idea of feeding cat food to ferrets got its start. However their nutritional needs vary a great deal."

I'll try to see if I can find a second backup source as well. --Naha|^(talk) 21:00, 27 December 2005 (UTC)

Found a couple more sources:

• [1]"As a pet, ferrets rank third in the US, behind dogs and cats. Ferrets are sometimes accused of being dangerous to small children but this claim is false - proportionally, ferrets do much less harm to children than dogs or cats."

• [2] "Most of today's ferrets are with us as wonderful pets. Some estimates put ferrets as the third most popular companion mammal in the United States, right after cats and dogs." --Naha|^(talk) 21:11, 27 December 2005 (UTC)

Your citation backed up the wrong fact. The controversial "fact" that required citation was not about ferrets' popularity , but about the claim that "Of note;In 1978, a baby was killed by a ferret, and numerous children have been mauled.". Many ferret owners, myself included, find this extremely difficult to believe, particularly when a web search turned up nothing.

I'm not sure why I thought you were talking about the popularity claim which is mentioned in the same paragraph ...perhaps I need more caffine. As a long-time ferret owern myself, having had them and seen them around babies and small children for years, I am in complete agreement with you. They have never once bothered/been harmful to etc. any children while I have been present. They have, however, chased my dogs and cats and nipped (I wouldnt really even call it biting) them on several occasions because they wanted to rough-and-tumble play! One of my best friends has a 2 year old and a newborn and she also has 3 ferrets at her house. One of her ferrets thinks the 2-year-old is just the best thing in the world and they are inceperable. The other two also love to play with her and no harm has ever come about. P.S. Don't forget to sign your posts! --Naha|^(talk) 21:30, 27 December 2005 (UTC)

Please Cite that source>

A couple days ago, someone (24.72.105.78) added the sentence that "Of note;In 1978, a baby was killed by a ferret, and numerous children have been mauled." Without linking to anything that can verify that so called fact. That claim really does require verification. Those of us who know these animals have an extremely hard time believing it. If it is true, link to the source, but don't just throw away the request for citation.JeffStickney 04:11, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

I second this request. I spent a couple hours yesterday on Google trying to find something ..anything to support this claim and came up with nothing. --Naha|^(talk) 04:43, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

Looking back through the edits I finally found that it had been ascribed to a Donald Katz article in Outside magazine. A google search turned up the full text of the ridiculous article at http://www.nightly.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/10/35391.html The article is the most ridiculous thing I ever read, but the poster did, during one edit cite the source before someone edited it out of an awkwardly-worded paragraph. Wikipedia's policy is that articles be verifiable- not necessarily true. So rather than deleting the claim, I reworded it to include a link. Anyone who reads that article swill immediately put things into perspective. By comparison it makes "Reefer Madness" look like a true story. JeffStickney 05:10, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

UGH. I just read the link and it is completely rediculous. Do we REALLY have to include this utter nonsense in the article? And does the policy really say we have to include non-factual information if it is cited just because someone added it? That doesn't seem quite right to me =/ --Naha|^(talk) 21:23, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

The link no longer works; the site has been moved and the redirect doesn't go directly to the article. Dang. I needed a good laugh.—Chidom ^talk 03:23, 6 September 2006

You're right. Years ago I saw a tabloid with the headline "snake tattoo crawls up man's arm and strangles him. Leaving this garbage in would be akin to posting that "fact" in the snake and tattoo articles. The only problem is it will be re-inserted as soon as it is deleted, and the edit-revert war will be endless.JeffStickney 22:03, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

Yes, I don't want to start an edit war. Its more trouble than its worth and a waste of time. I wish we could get some sort of offical ruling on the matter though. Not sure what to ask or who to ask about that hehe. --Naha|^(talk) 22:06, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

There's nothing that says we have to include all content provided! I say we just omit the whole silly article, unless it represents a common misconception about ferrets (which seems unlikely). -- Danny Yee 08:15, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

It was already omitted :) --Naha|^(talk) 15:20, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

My name is Simone and I live in Australia. I was attacked by a ferret when I was two years old. The person who owned the ferret kept it for hunting purposes and would starve it for several days so it could supposedly hunt better. I was in the back of a car drinking a bottle of milk and fell asleep. The ferret was in a box in the car and it is believed that it went for the milk bottle and I disturbed it in the process.I partially lost my right eyelid in the attack, my eye was slightly damaged as well.User:Monie74 26 January 2006

Any animal that is abused badly enough will bite. Deliberately starving an animal to make it meaner certainly qualifies as abuse, and putting that enraged, starved animal together with a baby is asking for trouble. I have no argument with what you are saying, but those are extraordinary circumstances that really don't apply to a properly cared-for pet. The claim that was deleted came from an absolutely ridiculous article that was essentially a work of fiction.JeffStickney 23:15, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

I couldn't have said it better myself. Animal abuse leads to biting/attacking. Dogs, cats, humans etc. who are abused have issues as well. But I dare say that this is such a small percentage of the population it should not be stated as though it is the nature of the animal, because it is not. --Naha|^(talk) 23:42, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

In most of ferret forums this matter is described: young ferrets (<1year)and kids <3 years are not advised together. The reasons are: 1)ferret is not socialized yet and it cant properly use its teeth and fangs on human and especially on such delicate skin as kids have; 2) kids which can catch and grab the ferret (<3years) cant measure they strength and can harm the ferret, what causes the counteraction; 3) ferrets are more active and manoeuvrable than dogs or cats .... so please mind my words and put precaution in your abstract, that young kids <3 and ferrets <1year are not advisable together(i have my own bad experience with kids and young ferret eermaniitis@mail.ru)

Moved Waardenburg Syndrome up to the other diseases

It was seperated by Terminology and Coloring from the other diseases.

Also expanded on the New Zealand controversy. Ransak 15:23, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

Renamed Waardenburg Syndrome as Waardenburg-Like Coloring

There are actually a number of diseases wherein hair depigmentation is associated with deafness, and Waardenburg is but one of those. (physiologically, the 'hair cells' in the cochlea of the ear is remarkably similar to the hair actually on your head, only depigmentation of cochlear cells leads to a lack of function.) However, Waardenburg denotes a specific genetic condition usually affecting the PAX3 gene. To the best of my knowledge, a ferret homolog of this specific gene has not been isolated and inspected for mutations. Thus I believe that claiming that these ferets have Waardenburg Syndrome rather then Waardenburg-Like Coloring errounsly implies that such research has in fact taken place. As a side note, it was once (also errounsly) implied that deafness in dalmations was also related to Waardenburg Syndrome, yet genetic analysis of deafened dalmations disproved this theory. Additionally, cleft palaets and cranial deformation are not noted to be components of human Waardenburg Syndrome. --Robb37 21:44, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

In fact... now that I've made that change, I can see that perhaps it would flow better into the article if I placed it back up with the coloring as is was previously? Perhaps I can get some feedback from Ransak before making this change to make sure that I'm correct about the PAX3 mutation in ferrets (which is necessary for a true association to be made with Waardenburg Syndrome) --Robb37 21:48, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

Lymphoma

The article lacks a section about Ferret lymphoma. I will ask my ferret's vet for info. Mikereichold 14:09, 18 March 2006 (UTC) It would make the article excessively long if we detailed a discription of each common ferret disease.

There is a link, in the article, to Lymphoma_in_animals#Lymphoma_in_ferrets already. --Naha|^(talk) 14:16, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

Added a subsection to the article.Mikereichold 13:44, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

While I agree that it may make it too long if we had a LONG AND DETAILED description of the disease, this article still needs the lymphoma subsection for consistancy. The section's introduction mentions 3 types of cancer, and as the other 2 cancers have subsections, lymphoma needs one as well- otherwise there would be a mismatch between the introduction and the rest of the article, giving the reader the impression that something is missing.JeffStickney 22:16, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Why illegal?

Perhaps someone could explain in the article why ferrets are illegal in California and Florida. For the life of me I cannot see why there should be a ban on these creatures.Piercetp 06:32, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

• Ferrets are FAR from illegal in Florida. I live in Florida, and my family has had three ferrets in recent years! :) Several petshops in Melbourne (a fairly sprawling but probably about average-density city, big enough to attract major retailers like Best Buy and Target, heck, big enough for multiple Starbucks, big enough to be called a city, but not nearly big enough to be a metropolis) openly sell ferrets, including the "fancy" ferrets. You don't even need a special license for one in Florida. (You do need a license for a skunk in Florida, which takes approximately two weeks to process, but skunks are not domesticated animals). Runa27 03:30, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

That is an outstanding question, and one ferret-lovers everywhere would love to know the answer to! We think it is rediculous. There have been campaigns for years to try to get them legalized nation-wide, but as far as I know, the efforts have been fruitless thus far. --Naha|^(talk) 07:05, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

I am on you side, but we cannot put in POV statements in the article, but if someone can find out what the arguments are by the opposition, it might be worth mentioning in the article.Piercetp 09:14, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

I don't think anyone was talking about putting anything about it in the article, just asking questions and making general statements. --Naha|^(talk) 01:20, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

Um, the OP there asked: Perhaps someone could explain in the article why ferrets are illegal.... That does ask for it to be addressed in the article. However, even their wording suggests to me that they merely want to make sure the article covers the original reasoning behind such bans (for instance, in parts of New Zealand and Australia, apparently they're banned because so many of them were released into the wild to control rabbits, that they eventually, after getting rid of the rabbits, started feeding on local wildlife exclusively. In other words, it's seen as a non-native animal that poses a possible environmental risk to the local ecology if it escapes). ^_^ Runa27 03:30, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

That was my indention Runa, thanks.

One thing i would add, those supporting ferret legalization (e.g. "pro-ferret" groups) maintain that domestic ferrets are not likely to live in the wild more that a few days since they lack survival instincts and will fall prey to preditors or otherwise starve. Furthermore ferrets sold commercially at pet stores are usually neutered or spayed. Its uncommon to find "breeding ferrets" unless you buy one for the purpose of breeding. Piercetp 01:51, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

i was told there are wild ferrets in Portugal, any truth in this? I don't believe so but a friend there said that is why they are illegal in the country. I do not belive this, I believe the country wants to change the laws in defence to this wrong statement by the government. Liz.

Don't forget rabbits where introduced to New Zealand with devastating effects, they solved it by introducing ferrets to solve the rabbit problem. New Zealand had 0 defense against a carnivore like the ferret, after the ferrets where done eating the rabbits the local wildlife which mostly never saw a mammal predator was next on the menu. Penguins, Kiwi and every other of flavor of meal on the island looked on sheepishly wondering what the hell it was ... and got eaten. Ferrets although (somewhat) domesticated are still able to wreck havoc if they are let loose in certain regions... even more so if they get to breed with the local inhabitants of their "species". Although some regions & countries have decided keeping a ferret is illegal for "silly" reasons... some really do fear them for good reasons.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.161.24.149 (talk) 18:38, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Video request

I've heard that ferrets are very active; I don't know much about them myself. Could someone consider uploading some video of a ferret at play? -- Creidieki 00:45, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Youtube.com seems to have several videos of ferrets playing. Just http://youtube.com/results?search=ferret+play&search_type=search_videos&search=Search search for ferrets.

error

"California, Puerto Rico and Hawaii are the only states that currently have blanket laws against ferret ownership."

Puerto Rico is not a member of the United States.

While Puerto Rico is not a state, it is still a territory of the US. BioTube 16:30, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

Um. It shouldn't be referred to as a "state" then, but a territory. For example: California and Hawaii are the only states that currently have blanket laws against ferret ownership; the territory of Puerto Rico also has a similar blanket ban on ownership of the animal. Or something like that. Runa27 03:34, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Done. BioTube 19:08, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

DISPUTED: OTHER USES OF FERRETS PARAGRAPH

"Ferrets have been used to run wires and cables through large conduits. They have been employed in this way at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and by event organizers in London. TV and sound cables were run by ferrets for both the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, and for the Millennium concert in Greenwich Park.(disputed — see talk page)"

The above paragraph is surely a pi*s-take. Were the producers of these shows instructing and directing the ferrets via an ear-piece or something? C'mon.... Bazzajf 15:13, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

No-. The ferrets simply run from one end of a conduit to another wearing a harness that pulls the wire. If the wire is too heavy, the ferret pulls a string which a human can then use to pull the wire. I found two news stories confirming the NASA use.

• [3](scroll down to the third section)
• [4]

Google search for ferrets, wires, conduit turned up far more. I have not found the royal wedding reference yet. JeffStickney 12:15, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

• [5] Millenium Concert use from BBC news

The Millenium Concert source also confirms the Royal Wedding use. I will add these sources and remove the dubious tag JeffStickney 12:55, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

Travel with ferrets spinoff article was merged into here

The "Travel with ferrets" article which began as a subsection of this article was proposed for deletion with the consensus being to merge. I renamed the subsection "Travel regulations". As it was cut and pasted from the "Travel with ferrets" article there may be some redundancy within this article. Having originally been written as a separate article, the section could probably use a little polishing to blend in with the rest of this article. JeffStickney 21:24, 29 June 2006 (UTC) --

Colors

There are more than those colorizations. I've seen a skunk colored ferret, very pretty. Punk18

I have heard the "Black-Eyed White" more often called a "Dark-Eyed White" or abbreviated "DEW" Jrbart 21:37, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

According to the American Ferret Association, http://www.ferret.org/events/colors/colorchart.shtm, the term for any solid white ferret with eye color other than red(pink) is Dark Eyed White (DEW), not Black Eyed White. This is also the term I have seen used most in ferret magazines, etc. Why does the term keep getting reverted to Black Eyed White? Jrbart 23:24, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps because too many people who don't, think that they know better. :) --Malleus Fatuarum 00:16, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Popularity

The article states that ferrets are the 3rd most popular pet in the US. This is probably from the California Domestic Ferret Association report that ferrets are the third most popular "interactive" or companion pet. This figure is disputed by the Department of Fish and Game. DFG Questors 03:16, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

Months ago the claim was removed from the article. The person who removed it cited [[6]], which is fairly reliable. The person who re-added the information recently was probably unfamiliar with this article's history- that misconception has already been addressed with the actual numbers. On the other hand, I would not consider any information from California Fish and Game to be reliable as they are actively pursuing an agenda- their "facts" tend to be one-sided propeganda aimed at perpetuating the ban. Since we have a reliable source with the actual numbers, I will edit the disputed claim out.JeffStickney 11:45, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

Sourcing information is required

Most of the statements in this article are completely unsourced, and references need to be added. I've added a few references and {{fact}} tags (which show up as {{Fact}}), but I don't have time to review the entire article and add references or mark where they are needed. According to Wikipedia policy, statements of fact have to be sourced, see Wikipedia:Verifiability. Please take some time to choose a piece of information to source, if you need help with how to cite sources, start with Wikipedia:Citation templates; these are not required, but are generally good guides to what information is needed to make a citation useful. If nothing else, just put a note on this talk page about where you got the information and someone else will follow up and put it in an appropriate form.—Chidom ^talk  20:31, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Correct Scientific Name

Mustela furo, not Mustela putorius furo is the most widely accepted and probably most correct scientific name for the ferret.

The trinomial M. putorius furo suggests that the ferret is a subspecies of the European polecat, Mustela putorius. But the article admits that the ferret could instead be a domesticated version of the Steppe polecat, Mustela eversmannii. In which case it ought to be called Mustela eversmannii furo.

So in the absence of any genetic evidence to prove conclusively whether ferrets are a domesticated form of M. putorius, M. eversmannii, or even some hybrid of the two, the name M. furo ought to be preferred. -- Eric 23:13, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

I concur, and I just asked another scientist in my office, and she uses the name Mustela furo in her research. Onco_p53 23:29, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

heres a website for the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology calling them Mustela putorius furo, i think Mustela Furo might just be a shorted version to reduce typing/writing --Ditre 18:29, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

I really don't think so. For instance, I believe that the proper name for the ferret is given as Mustela furo in Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd Edition, Wilson & Reeder 1993, Smithsonian Institution Press. M. furo is no sense an abbreviation. It would in any sense be absurd to abbreviate any animal's proper name by missing out the species identifier, it's a recognition that the ferret is not known to be a subspecies of M. putorius. -- Eric 23:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

The Overall Quality This Article

I'm a newbie to Wikipedia, so I'm not sure how to go about correcting the glaring errors in this article without someone else who thinks they know better just reverting them.

Overall the article seems to be rather poorly researched and in some places looks like an advert for a pet shop.

Just to take one example, it's not true that the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment ever had a ferret as a mascot, that was an April fool's article in Soldier magazine. And the link given to an apparently official Web site confirming the ferret's mascot status is to a commercial defence directory site, not to a British Army or MOD site.

But why bother to correct the article if some clown who hasn't taken the trouble to check with the 1st Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment will just change it back to its previous nonsense again?—Preceding unsigned comment added by Malleus Fatuarum (talk • contribs) 20:20, 22 February 2007

I for one would welcome more referencing and sourcing, and I won't argue with removal of unsourced material at all.--chris.lawson 01:25, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, I've taken the trouble to check with the 1st Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, and I'm told that Imphal and Quebec (their unofficial ferret mascots, they never had one ferret as a mascot) are both thriving, and have taken their move from the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment to the new 1st Battallion Yorkshire Regiment in their stride.

And I'm quite sure that the battalion would be very happy for pictures of Quebec and Imphal in their ceremonial uniforms to be included in the Wikipedia article.

But what's the point in changing something if it's just going to be thoughtlessly changed back again? Why should anyone take the trouble? -- Eric 01:54, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

just make sure you leave a good reason for the changes in the summary, if someone reverts without giving a better reason then yours their revert will likely be reverted --Ditre 02:45, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

hissing

are there any other reasons ferrets emit the lesser hiss other then for the war dance? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ditre (talk • contribs) 01:01, 30 March 2007 (UTC).

Your mileage may vary ... ferrets sometimes "hiss" and sometimes "dook" while wardancing. The dooking is mostly playfull and happy excitement. When a ferret opens his mouth it is mostly because of play. A ferret intending to bite won't open his mouth ... he will just grab you quickly. Mostly hissing is to be seen as a sign of irritation or negative excitement. Ferrets will often understand the "hiss" of a cat to "bugger off" *now* ... Ferrets will even "hiss" at their owners if they don't like to be picked up or handled. Its not a sign of "Extreme" aggravation ... but sooner a warning you might be overstepping your bounds. Depending on the ferret, physical means might be displayed next... your milleage may vary. Ferrets all have their own "little thing" going on afterall. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.161.24.149 (talk) 19:01, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

mine mostly hiss when they are fighting over food. we have one ferret who prefers to steal from the others rather than get her own from the dish, and she is often the target of hisses.

External links

Most of the present external links look to me like they should be removed WP:EL ---- Eric 19:15, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Ferrets and Aristophanes?

To the best of my resources, I cannot find a comedy by Aristophanes entitled The Achaeans, surviving or otherwise. Furthermore, Aristophanes' date of birth is stated ca. 446 BC in the relevant Wikipedia article) and similarly in my Greek reference publications. Might the play be The Acharnians instead, produced in 425 BC? (I have no access to the text of the play at present.) --Buglicker 08:12, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

I think you must be right. There doesn't seem to be anything by Aristophanes called The Achaeans, and certainly he mentions weasels in The Acharnians - "Happy he who shall be your possessor and embrace you so firmly at dawn, that you fart like a weasel." Looks like one of those "facts" that gets copied from Web site to Web site. ---- Eric 03:52, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

I just came across a translation of The Iliad (ca. 800 BC); "He hung his bow over his shoulder, and as an overall he wore the skin of a grey wolf, while on his head he set a cap of ferret skin." http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.10.x.html ---- Eric 04:23, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Sources for ferret information

Hi. As part of the current project to compile a list of sources, I have started a list of sources for information on ferrets. If you have any magazines or books that can be used as a source of information, please add them to the list. Thank you. Galanskov 05:19, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Legality Weak

The legality portion is still weak. There isn't a clear answer on why, for example, California (USA) has chosen to keep Ferrets banned/illegal.

--Gautam3 01:42, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

That is because there is no clear reason for the law. They are illegal now because years ago they were misclassified as wildlife, and the ferret restriction is part of a broader law that makes "wild animals" in general illegal to own. If they were to be legalized the Department of Fish and Game, would be conceding some of their power away, something NO beaurocracy would ever do without a fight, so they lobby hard (something a government agency should not have the right to do) to keep things exactly the way they are. But if we start cluttering this article with arguments (and rebuttals) from either or both sides, it would create a POV edit war that really would not be appropriate.JeffStickney 21:59, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Wikiproject

I have proposed the creation of Wikiproject Pocket pets, if interested, please visit the proposal page. thanks! VanTucky 05:13, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Wikiproject

Yes i've seen the proposal above but i think a project of higher range is needed to i made another wikiproject better suited to include ferrets.

you can find it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Council/Proposals#Weasels

i also made a little template for the project,

This article is within the scope of the Weasel WikiProject, a collaborative effort to improve Wikipedia's coverage of articles relating to Ferrets, Weasels, and other Weasel like friends. If you would like to participate, you can visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.

I hope you like it.

This wikiproject is for the superfamily of Musteloidea which currently and surprisingly does not have an article yet. This superfamily includes ferrets and weasels and all of our other furry little weasel like friends. Please put your name on it so this article could have it's very own wikiproject outside of wikiproject animals.

Not to discourage the project above, i ounced had a family of pocket mice as pets, there pretty nice mice.

Teh Ferret 19:51, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

The family Mustelidae does have an article. I don't see a problem with creating a project out of the articles, but I don't see much point either- it would just be a glorified categoryJeffStickney 22:08, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Greek mythology

"In Greek mythology, ferrets were connected to women's birthing rituals."

For the lack of any supporting evidence being provided (flagged since April), I've removed this rather unlikely statement from the history section. If it can be supported though, then it ought, of course, to go back into the article. --Malleus Fatuarum 15:15, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

cute.com?

This page is overloading with too much cuteness. Did someone intentionally just google "cute ferret" and post the pictures here? Should it be tuned down some? Maybe take an unneeded picture or two off? The captions under them are just making it worse.

Something wrong with cute? Bus stop 03:20, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

It's inappropriate for what's supposed to be an encyclopedia entry. I agree with the original comment: there are too many pictures not really illustrating any particular point. --Malleus Fatuarum 10:45, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

A fairly recent edit added a lot of them, but there's definitely been image creep happening here.  :) Judging from what I've seen on other pages, it's ok to have a "Gallery" section in a page for images which aren't used to illustrate the article. So maybe that should be done here? --Starwed 12:58, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

That's not a bad a idea, at least for those pictures that have some merit. I'm not sure that many of them are worth keeping at all though. --Malleus Fatuarum 13:44, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

Absolutely right on that. Wikipedia is supposed to be serious. Though ferrets are very cute. The characters Robear and Robert from Iggy Arbuckle are downright irresistible! Wilhelmina Will (talk) 01:47, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

My favourite one is that guy in the blanket. Simply irresistible. Looks sleepy too. Dr.K. (talk) 02:35, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

Ah yes, what I wanted to say is these critters are so cute I am basically speechless. What can I say? Take them out? I can't bring myself to do that just yet. Maybe we can find a better reason for the blanket. Something like to prevent a cold or similar. Dr.K. (talk) 03:51, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

Just FYI on all those that are reading this after 2008-01-07, I think the point has been addressed. If you look at the page now versus how it was on [July 27th] you'll note that several pictures have been culled and those that remain in the present revision do address specific points in the article. -- Greyed (talk) 19:01, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. I guess the blanket comes after the bath. Great. Dr.K. (talk) 19:18, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

To be honest I took that to be a rather colorful towel rather than a blanket. As such my mind lumped it in with the bathing section. One picture of a wet ferret, one wrapped in a towel. -- Greyed (talk) 19:27, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Perfect. Thanks. Dr.K. (talk) 21:14, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Rudy Giuliani quotation

I suggest that whoever it is that keeps altering "ferrets" to "weasels" in the Rudy Giuliani quote--"The excessive concern that you have for ferrets is a sickness that you should examine with a therapist"--might care to take the trouble to actually listen to the radio programme before changing it again. --Malleus Fatuarum 16:45, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

Mountain Dew commercial

I just thought as a ferret owner in a place where ferrets are illegal, that we should state the facts about them. There is no such record that would substantiate their claim about ferrets being more dangerous than bears or any other animal. Commercials like these will give ferrets a bad name, regardless the level of parody that was intended. PLEASE DO NOT delete my add to it!!!! Knewkreation 03:38, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

wait ferrets are illegal where you live and yet you still own one i don't think i would risk it just for the love of a ferret besides where are ferrets illegal anyways

This article is really, really poor

Wikiopedia isn't supposed to be a "How to.. " manual, it's supposed to be an encyclopedia.

“ Bedding should be washed or changed out regularly, and a ferret's litter box should be cleaned every day, or at least every other day. ”

“ Depending on the cage, it is a good idea to take it apart and hose it down every once in a while, to remove material stuck in crevices. ”

... and many, many more. Even if those opinions were sourced, which they aren't, they hardly read like an encyclopedia article.

Is there anyone else interested in trying to improve this article to some minimum standard, even GA or FA? --Malleus Fatuarum 00:10, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

• I would be interested in improving this article. To date I have only done minor edits on a few articles, so the learning curve would be steep, but almost every new task I have taken on has had a steep learning curve. Jrbart 23:31, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Excellent! What are your initial thoughts on how this article could usefully be restructured? --Malleus Fatuarum 00:19, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

• I think this article has a lot of good information but needs to be organized better. For instance, the main article should tell what is a ferret, their characteristics, and things commonly associated with them. Other information, such as the travel regulations, is very important too, and is extensive enough that it might be placed in a separate article. The common diseases and cancers associated with ferrets should remain in the main article as providing treatment for these diseases is a major consideration when taking on the responsibility of keeping a ferret as a pet (I have literally spent thousands of dollars over the 20 years I have kept ferrets as pets). I agree that this article needs a less how-to tone, but it should not be too difficult to comb through those sections and come up with information that simply describes facts about ferrets. Jrbart 15:49, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

"minimum standard"? - Pathetic. We are talking about a "pet" here and not some random insect found in the rain forest of Brazilian rain forest. Any bit of information here should help a reader about the subject at hand, that includes information about how to keep it healthy, warm and happy through out "its" life. "Minimum standard" ... Is the space this is taking up bothering you? If so GTFO quick as there is more then engough room for more information then there is now. "Ignorance is bliss" is probably the thing you go for in life. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.161.24.149 (talk) 19:18, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

This is an encyclopedia. If we include enough good sources of information, any questions about keeping ferrets healthy, warm, and happy can be found through the linked sources.Jrbart 21:24, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

As well reminding yourself of the definition of the word "encyclopedia", I would suggest that you also aquaint yourself with some of the wikipedia policies, like WP:CIVIL for instance. --Malleus Fatuarum 21:41, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

Not to be a buttinski but before saying things like this it would be good to look it up yourself to make sure what you're pointing the other person to is really what you intend them to read. For example, m-w.com's entry for [encyclopedia] says that it is "a work that contains information on all branches of knowledge or treats comprehensively a particular branch of knowledge". Which seems to support what you're saying. But then since this discussion is on Wikipedia and Wikimedia does have it's own dictionary project over at Wiktionary I decided to look what is said there. That [entry] says "A comprehensive reference work with articles on a range of topics." [comprehensive] being "Broadly or completely covering; including a large proportion of something." In the M-W case I can see some room for debate on whether such information should be presented. In the Wiktionary case one gets a strong sense it should be included when one decides to check exactly what comprehensive means and hits "completely covering".

Now, one can argue that they read poorly, granted. But, as anyone who has actually owned a ferret knows, ferrets smell. The smell is mitigated by regular cage cleaning along with less-regular thorough cage cleaning. The fact they smell is in every ferret book I have ever read and the ways to mitigate it are also in every ferret book I have ever read. I read quite a few before opening up my life to my fuzzies. Draw a circle on the ground, throw those ferret books in the air, cite whichever one lands in the circle! But please, don't call it an opinion which cannot be sourced nor information which doesn't fit under either "a work that contains information on all branches of knowledge" or "A comprehensive reference work with articles on a range of topics." -- Greyed (talk) 00:32, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

Pathetic again... why don't you start with looking up "encyclopedia" yourself ok. It kinda looks like you are confusing "encyclopedia" with "dictionary". Can't have people knowing more then the "minimum standard" right?. Again, ignorance is bliss - for some.. I guess. Still is it really so bad that people are learning/picking up more then the "minimum standard"? Well if your happy with the minimum thats your thing, but it seems that most people enjoy picking up a tad more then that. Still you seem to be committed and want some progress, but why don't you start with dog, cat and goldfish and then when you're done there you come back here and give it another go?

I suggest that you acquaint yourself with this, to get a better understanding of what wikipedia is all about. --Malleus Fatuarum 22:00, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Dog, cat and goldfish - when you are done with your little crusade there you can come back and tackle the ferret problem. Although you can link to any sort of flavor what "wikipedia" should be, and I wont debate you on that, as you're right! - Here is a newsflash, it isn't or wont ever be that. Seeing and accepting for what things are is one thing, and then even trying and making it to be best it can be is another. Something you aren't interested in it seems. While you are bible thumping your regulations and rules on others - some weirdos will continue and try to make this more then what is expected. Sorry about that, hope you can learn to live with that, some humans try keeping to do that although the rules say otherwise. But as you might of noticed, your minimum standards will one day prevail .. its in the rules.. you win... fireworks! Congratulations!! One day the wikiepedia Overlords will rise and take power and enforce the rules of minimum standards on all of us! All will be well then. Till then - wikipedia might also be a place where more is learned then the minimum standard. *gasp* The horror! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.161.24.149 (talk) 23:56, 1 November 2007 (UTC)