Cage

How many Ferrets is to many?

Basically My question is how many ferrets is to many? I read in 'Ferrets For Dummies' that no more than a average litter (8) or do you think I could smuggle a few more in the 'pack'? if I had to I could set up two different 'packs' in separate cages. I don't have quite that many ferrets but I plan on building up a bigger 'gang' over time. I can care for them financially and I can give them care and attention, so on those grounds I can have loads, but how many would be to many that the ferrets would be unhappy or uncomfortable? The question isn't how many Ferrets can comfortable fit into the cages but how many ferrets can co-inhabitate without it becoming distressful to them?

Public Comments

1. 8 things would be normal 9 some ferrets may get anxious 10 ferrets may feel jealous and fight 11 to many
2. its to many when you cant take care of them
3. Ferrets for Dummies told you exactly what I was going to tell you. You could definitely pull off a few more than 8, but be prepared that some may not get along, and maybe sometime down the road someone will have enough guts to challenge the alpha and slaughter the totem pole, and you may have to split them up. (Since you said you could if you had to, then that's not a problem.) See, ferrets are social in the way where they don't like to be alone, and they like to party together, but keep in mind that they originated from the polecat which is a VERY solitary animal. Ferrets sometimes still have a touch of that polecat gene in them, so it is possible to have too many in a group. I can think of a few people with over 8 ferrets, and they all have at least two play groups or a few that squabble at times and aren't stable. (Stable as in they can be let out together, but cannot be trusted in the cage.)