Q: I'm getting some ferrets from my friend who breeds them, but I'm not sure what combination to get. I know about the females needing to be mated when in season, so I'm looking for the best and cheapest option. I'm going to get two, so wondered what you recommend. If I have two males, will I have to get them castrated? Or can I keep an intact female and neuter the male? If the females are spayed, do they still need to be mated? Ideally I'd like a male and a female. What do you think?
A: I have owned many male and female ferrets, and any combination of the pairs can be kept. Females must be spayed and can only be kept intact if you are willing to breed them, so keeping two intact females together or an intact female and a castrated male is not going to help.
It’s possible to keep males intact, but two intact males may fight, and intact males are extremely oily and emit a very strong, musky odor.
No matter which option you choose, I don’t recommend that either male or female ferrets be left intact.
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