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Post by molson901 on Jul 4, 2008 12:34:24 GMT -5
i saw on another forum that some ones ferret had babies...but i was told ferrets are always sold neuteured...so i was wondering how come some people's ferrets have babies?
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Post by Heather on Jul 4, 2008 12:46:34 GMT -5
Only pet store ferrets are sold altered. You can buy from private breeders, who do not sell altered furchildren. They usually have contracts that require you to alter your furbaby after a given period of time. I have had two furbabies come in to rescue unaltered. They are beautiful strong boys. One would be classified as a late alter (I think) as he was 5 when I had him altered. The other little one was about 1 yr old. I had heard that it makes for a healthier ferret if they're allowed 1 season but I don't know that for sure. Ferrets, and especially unaltered ferrets are not as common a pet up here in Canada.
Ciao
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Post by nwheather on Jul 4, 2008 15:39:27 GMT -5
Like Heather said, pet store ferrets are neutered/spayed. Late alter ferrets from private breeders are just that, altered later. Yes, they are tyrpically allowed to go through their first cycle. I have a hob (male) & a jill (female) who are 5 months old, who are both going into their first cycle. It can be quite a handful, but it all depends on what is important to you. Late alter ferrets are almost always NOT descented. Descenting does not change the smell of the ferret. Altering them & diet are the biggest factors in their smell. Ferrets that are allowed to mature fully get bigger, & IMO have less of a chance to get health problems that ferrets altered when they are tiny babies. The benefits of private bred ferrets are worth it. A good private breeder will selectively breed for a healthier ferret. Commercial breeders do not, they breed for quantity.
Probably more info than you were asking...? =)
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Jul 4, 2008 19:34:54 GMT -5
My Hydra came from a private breeder and she was unaltered until she was 11 months old. she went into heat and straight to vets to be fixed. THe boy that we are getting next week is from the same breeder and not going to come to us altered either. We had to sign a contract with her breeder that said that we would not alter Hydra before she was 8 months old(unless she came into heat before 8 months old) i am not sure what there policy is on the boys but i think it is about the same.
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Post by nwheather on Jul 6, 2008 10:50:52 GMT -5
My Hydra came from a private breeder and she was unaltered until she was 11 months old. she went into heat and straight to vets to be fixed. THe boy that we are getting next week is from the same breeder and not going to come to us altered either. We had to sign a contract with her breeder that said that we would not alter Hydra before she was 8 months old(unless she came into heat before 8 months old) i am not sure what there policy is on the boys but i think it is about the same. So she didn't go into heat before that? Lucky you. Mystic is too young to be spayed, so she will get the hormone shot, & it will cause her to have a false pregnancy. Once she's old enough, she'll get spayed, but I want to wait as long as possible. |
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Post by molson901 on Jul 6, 2008 11:25:47 GMT -5
ok so i guess ferrets can have babies pretty young then...if after 8 months theyre supposed to havetheir first cycle of w.e. just a question though. what exaclty happens during then, that makes it a handful. also do private breeders sale their ferrets less sinec they arent sp[ayed? and how much does it cost t o do that? on elast question how do you even FIND a private breeder? i live in quebec canada and ferrets arent exaclty popular over here so i dont even think i could find one near me lol
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Post by aleronferrets on Jul 6, 2008 11:42:13 GMT -5
ok so i guess ferrets can have babies pretty young then...if after 8 months theyre supposed to havetheir first cycle of w.e. just a question though. what exaclty happens during then, that makes it a handful. also do private breeders sale their ferrets less sinec they arent sp[ayed? and how much does it cost t o do that? on elast question how do you even FIND a private breeder? i live in quebec canada and ferrets arent exaclty popular over here so i dont even think i could find one near me lol My girls haven't been a handful at all. The boys can be more work since they have to separated from the group during breeding season. They also are smellier and some can be bad about marking. Privately bred ferrets tend to be more expensive than petstore ferrets. If you are bargain shopping for a ferret, privately bred ferrets aren't for you. On the other hand, you are far more likely to get a healthier ferret from a private breeder. Petstore ferrets are at extremely high risk for adrenal disease, so perhaps the cost thing evens out in the end. |
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Post by nwheather on Jul 6, 2008 14:00:38 GMT -5
ok so i guess ferrets can have babies pretty young then...if after 8 months theyre supposed to havetheir first cycle of w.e. just a question though. what exaclty happens during then, that makes it a handful. also do private breeders sale their ferrets less sinec they arent sp[ayed? and how much does it cost t o do that? on elast question how do you even FIND a private breeder? i live in quebec canada and ferrets arent exaclty popular over here so i dont even think i could find one near me lol Cycle of "w.e."? what is that? When I say thay can be a handful, there are many ferret people who do not want to go through this to have a late altered ferret. Many people like the convenience of the ferrets that are already fixed. I much prefer the private bred ferrets. I hope to breed ferrets down the road, but there's so much more that goes into ferret breeding, I want to be well imformed when I do, so in the meantime, I am researching & picking the brains of my favorite breeders. =) I believe they should be at least a year old before they are bred for the first time. It's like a young girl getting her period for the first time...she's physically able to have babies, but she is not mature enough to have babies. Does that make sense? They can go into heat for the first time, at different ages. Mystic is just over 5 months old & she is into her first cycle. Private bred ferrets are more expensive. & no, they do not give a discount because they are not fixed (not any that I know anyways). A reputable breeder will require you to have the ferret fixed at a certain time (no sooner than a certain age, & no later than a certain date). You asked what makes them a handful...this is my first experience haveing unaltered babies maturing at the same time, none the less, so I get to experience both aspects. My breeder has given me information on what exactly to expect through this. The boys, get really, REALLY stinky. Their oil glands go into overdrive, they get greasy, they pee on themselves, they start "sliming" everything, marking their territory, they can become more aggressive to other ferrets & need to be kept separate from all the others, whether the others are fixed or not. The females, if too young to spay, at a certain time in their heat cycle have to get a hormone shot, to stop the cycle. It puts them into a false pregnancy, they're not really pregnant, but the body goes through the motions as if they were. They can get really hormonal & often treat their cagemates as babies, moving there where THEY think they should be, disciplining them when they think they are being bad, etc. It's kinda funny to watch, but I feel for those cagemates. For the sanilty of the rest of the ferrets, I will most likely separate her from the others if/when she gets to that point. It depends on how it goes though. Each ferret is different, & she may be ok. We will find out.. =) In my case, I also have a recently altered hob, so I will have to keep him separate from her, as sometimes they have viable sperm for a little while after they are neutered. The cost of having a ferret fixed varies on your vet. I have paid $65 & when I called around, one wanted to charge over $200. Judging on the timing, Mystic will probably get her shot about July 15th, then I get to watch her go through her false pregnancy. I flew to NC to get my most recent babies. I have plans to have Mystic spayed when she is about 8-9 months old, & Majik will be neutered at about 10-11 months old. |
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Jul 6, 2008 15:20:37 GMT -5
my husband and i have already said that all of our future ferrets are going to come from HCF. unless of course we find one that needs a home. Our female Hydra is worth about $250 and she is not quite show ferret material. She would have been more if she was. Also to spay Hydra it cost us over $400. This is a bit on the expenisve side but i trust our vet. ( on a side note if you want to see her spaying go to youtube.com/watch?v=nYVNvlyNGJw ) The boy is about $300 too. But i would rather spend more money up front know where the ferret is comming from be able to see the parents talk to the breeder and not have problems with health issues down the road ( hopefully) Private breed ferrets are not a bargin at all if you are thinking about the cost to buy one up front. Our Crash was $120 from a pet store but has cost us more in vet bills then Hydra's cost. |
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Post by aleronferrets on Jul 6, 2008 16:39:29 GMT -5
I just have to add that I can't believe what vets are now charging to spay or neuter ferrets. $300+ is IMO ridiculous. That is double what the average is to spay a large dog. I used to be able to get my ferrets spayed for $50-80 and neutered for $40-60. Then it went up to $80 - 100 but now it is hard to find a vet willing to do it for under $200.
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Post by Heather on Jul 6, 2008 19:44:46 GMT -5
I have to agree about the costs. My vet was super awesome in that she only charged me about $150 (which is the same price they use to alter a tom cat) to alter Odin. I don't know about in Quebec but here in Ontario, finding a ferret breeder is next to impossible. I know they're out there, I got Odin and Thor but I've no idea where they came from originally. Both previous owners aquired them through give away ads.
ciao
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Jul 6, 2008 19:49:49 GMT -5
i know i went to take Hydra to the vet to drop her off to be spayed and when i asked for the estimate, we never bothered to ask before it was time other wise i would have looked at other vets, i had to ask the girl to repeat herself 3 times. when i called my hubby to tell him the amount he hung up the phone and called me back cause he though he had miss heard me and hte phone lines were messed up  |
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Post by nwheather on Jul 7, 2008 15:24:43 GMT -5
The vet that spayed Zena also works with the ferret rescue that I got a couple of mine from so it was cheaper. I don't know what it will be with my new vet. I should call her.
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Post by susan4rest on Jul 8, 2008 10:22:57 GMT -5
Say that you are not going to hate me, my girls are unaltered, not descented and cost me $55 each and I have a vet who will spay them for 100...  |
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Post by nwheather on Jul 8, 2008 12:53:54 GMT -5
Say that you are not going to hate me, my girls are unaltered, not descented and cost me $55 each and I have a vet who will spay them for 100... Those are good prices for spay. I paid $65 to spay Zena. I do not have mine descented. Many vets won't even do it. I haven't gotten a cost from my new vet, since they babies won't be done until Oct/Nov-ish. Where did you get your girls from? Do you have pictures? I think a new rule should be if you're gonna talk about them, you need to post pics....hehe...those of us who overload y'all with pics have a little leeway...but heck, ANY excuse to show off our babies...lol |
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