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Ferrets and children
Child with ferretsFerrets can make good pets for children. However, like all
other domesticated animals, they should not be allowed unsupervised near infants
or very young children. There have been cases where ferrets have severely
injured babies but in nearly all cases there are the same reasons: neglect,
abuse, or roughhousing that the ferret perceives as an attack and retaliates out
of self defense. In the particular case of infants, young ferrets are attracted
to the smell of milk on the baby's breath. Given that young children and ferrets
can both be excitable and prone to rough play, interaction between ferrets and
young children must always be closely supervised -- for the protection of both
the children and the ferrets.
It is important to note that this danger is often overstated. In comparison,
dogs account for 800,000 bites annually that require medical attention in the US
and 20 deaths per year.
Social nature
Ferrets at playFerrets are extremely social animals, and most enjoy playing and
interacting with other ferrets. Many ferret owners recommend owning two or three
ferrets for this reason, but there is nothing wrong with owning one ferret,
provided that it receives lots of play time and attention. Ferrets frequently
bond emotionally with their owners as well as to other ferrets and bonded pairs
are often observed to die just a few days apart from each other.
Ferrets have been known to play with household cats and non-aggressive dogs.
However, great care must be taken when introducing ferrets to any new animal,
particularly terriers and other breeds with instincts for catching ferret-sized
prey. Ferrets will normally not get along with rabbits, birds, rodents,
chinchillas, and small reptiles—some of which would have comprised part of the
diet of their wild ancestors—and may attack them given the opportunity.
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