A Day in the Life of a Zookeeper

A Day in the Life of a Zookeeper
Ever wonder what its like to share your world with a bunch of crazy critters? Tune in to find out!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Ferret Fun Facts


Here are some ferret fun facts:

  • An unspayed female ferret is called a jill while a spayed female is a sprite. An intact male is a hob and a neutered male is called a gib. Baby ferrets are called kits.
  • Ferrets have been domesticated for thousands of years; in fact, on the walls of some Egyptian tombs there are pictures of ferret-like creatures on leashes.
  • Ferrets have no inherent fear of humans.
  • A newborn ferret is so small that it can fit into a teaspoon!
  • All ferret kits have white fur at birth.
  • After kithood (6-8 weeks of age) ferrets make very few sounds.
  • The average ferret lives to be 6 or 7 years old.
  • Ferrets like to crawl into small dark spaces to sleep.
  • Ferrets are members of the mink family.
  • Ferrets can sleep so soundly that they cannot be woken up even when picked up and jostled.
  • A small ferret may be able to squeeze through a hole just over an inch in diameter.

Ferret Business, Minks, Weasels, Kits, Hobs, Jills
  • Ferrets, Minks and Weasels belong to the same family
  • Ferrets are not rodents
  • Ferrets sleep an average of 18-20 hours a day
  • Ferrets are the third most popular pet in the U.S.
  • The name ferret comes from the Latin "furonem" which means "thief"
  • A ferret develops their full personality in about 8 to 10 weeks
  • Baby ferrets open their eyes around 34 days of age
  • All kits are born pink and gain their color at 3 weeks of age
  • A jill can have 1 to 15 kits in a litter
  • Caesar used ferrets for hunting and Aristotle wrote about them
  • Stealing and hiding objects is part of their natural nesting instinct
  • Ferrets are often referred to as nature's clowns
  • A ferrets breeding season is from December to August
  • Ferrets less than one year old are called "Kits"
  • A family group of ferrets is a "Business"


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