![]() | This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | Archive 2 |
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)
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)
"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)
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)
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)
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!
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.
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).
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 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)
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)
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)
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.
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?
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!)
What is the typical life span of a ferret? Funkyj 00:06, 2005 Jun 8 (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)
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
I know one movie one appears in: Kindergarden Cop.-- HistoricalPisces 18:07, 3 September 2005 (UTC)
Ferrets were also seen in "Along Came Polly" & "The Beast Master".
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)
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?
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)
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)
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.
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)
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)
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)
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
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)
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)
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)
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.
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)
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 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)
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)
"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.
"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)
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)
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) --
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)
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)
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)
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)
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'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
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)
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).
Most of the present external links look to me like they should be removed WP:EL -- -- Eric 19:15, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
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)
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)
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)
I have proposed the creation of Wikiproject Pocket pets, if interested, please visit the proposal page. thanks! VanTucky 05:13, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
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,
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)
"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)
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.
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Excellent! What are your initial thoughts on how this article could usefully be restructured? -- Malleus Fatuarum 00:19, 22 September 2007 (UTC)
![]() | This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | Archive 2 |
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)
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)
"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)
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)
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)
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!
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.
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).
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 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)
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)
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)
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.
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?
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!)
What is the typical life span of a ferret? Funkyj 00:06, 2005 Jun 8 (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)
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
I know one movie one appears in: Kindergarden Cop.-- HistoricalPisces 18:07, 3 September 2005 (UTC)
Ferrets were also seen in "Along Came Polly" & "The Beast Master".
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)
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?
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)
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)
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.
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)
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)
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)
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
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)
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)
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)
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.
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)
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 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)
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)
"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.
"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)
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)
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) --
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)
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)
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)
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)
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'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
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)
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).
Most of the present external links look to me like they should be removed WP:EL -- -- Eric 19:15, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
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)
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)
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)
I have proposed the creation of Wikiproject Pocket pets, if interested, please visit the proposal page. thanks! VanTucky 05:13, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
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,
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)
"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)
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.
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Excellent! What are your initial thoughts on how this article could usefully be restructured? -- Malleus Fatuarum 00:19, 22 September 2007 (UTC)