Ferrets

=Ferrets=

Ferrets are known as "//Mustela putorius furo"// which means "stinky little thief ' in translation. They have been domesticated for about 2,500 years and are biologically related to weasels, minks and black-footed ferrets. They are known as what's called "mustelids" which means that their anal glands secrete a strong smelling musk. About 300 years ago, the first ferret had made its way to North America from Europe. It was said that in the Egyptian tombs there were pictures of these animals tied to leashes. It probably originated from captive breeding of wild polecats that still exists in Europe and Asia today. They are able to live up to 7-10 years. (Right: Ferret posing for the camera)


 * __Basic Statistics__**
 * Genus || //mustela// ||
 * Family || Mustelidae ||
 * Order || Carnivora ||
 * Class || Mammalia ||
 * Phylum || Chordata ||
 * Kingdom || Animalia ||
 * Species || //M.Putorius// ||
 * Subspecies || **M.P.Furo** ||

Ecology
Ferrets are actually carnivores. They tend on feed on rabbits, hares, possums, birds, eggs, lizards, eels, frogs and just a bunch of invertebrates. But the actually have a diet which has to contain a lot of protein and that is low in fat. The main animals that are capable of killing these creatures are owls, falcons, foxes, bobcats, eagles and coyotes. They are all predators of ferrets. The type of environments that these creatures live in are rough grasslands and fringes of forests that averages to about to 60-70 degrees. One thing that is for certain is that they cannot manage very warm weather because they are easily capable of getting heat stroke.

(On top: 2 young ferrets poking out of their holes) (Right: Ferret returning to its home)

Physiology
There are mainly 2 specific types of colored ferrets: sable and albino. Albino ferrets have pink eyes and pure white fur. The sable ferrets look very much like the wild polecat that has a black tail and legs which has a mixture of white or yellow under fur with black or brown guard hair on their bodies. Ferrets also shed their coats in the spring and fall. they grow as heavy as 7 pounds they have tails that are about 5 inch(13cm) and weighs about 1.5-4 pounds. They exclude a musky smell, like their cousins the skunk. But even though they may smell a lot but they have cleaner litter and sleeping spots. They pretty much live in small areas like in holes and such where they are able to catch there prey that it suitable enough for them. Most ferrets are sexually mature at about 8 months even though they are able to breed as young as 6 months. Both the male and female spray urine and pulls off a very powerful odor to attract another mate. While matting, their is a lot of noise, chasing and biting. The female may scream and bleed and will need her wounds fixed too. They two couples stay together for at least 3 days to mate some more and then eventually separate. But the male plays no part in raising the young. The female is the only one that cares for the young after they are born. The young are born blind, deaf, and helpless. They usually weigh about 5-15grams. Ears and eyes develop in 20-36 days, fur appears in about 3 weeks. The Age at puberty is 250 days. At some point when the young are born, the father can tend to eat their own young.

====Ferrets As Pets ====