Ferret vs Hamster: Which One is Better as a Pet?
For pets, hamsters and ferrets are pretty popular in people’s talk. Especially hamsters, they’ve been ideal and superb to adapt at home. Ferret doesn’t stand behind the adaptation as well.
So, in ferret vs. hamster, which one is better as a pet? A hamster is more suitable and perfect for a pet than a ferret because of their nature. Hamsters are relaxed and calm and require little to no effort to please. On the other hand, ferrets are mischievous and pranky, tough to handle most of the time.
A lot of things matter here. And considering all the factors for general human favoritism, the hamster leaps the path. Their characteristics speak for themselves. Let’s see what we can get from them.
Hamster As a Pet
Hamsters is arguably the best pet to have. They are easy to maintain, and you will have great fun raising them. You won’t need to give them much time too.
Let’s see the different aspects of hamsters grab more attention.
Raising
Hamsters are very affectionate and attention seekers. The longer it seems to be away from you, the more effort it will give to get what it wants.
You might be busy all day, but spending some minutes with your hamster would surely boost its confidence and love towards you. And just by that, you’ll be keeping its confidence and trust vital towards you.
Usual Activities
Hamsters are jungle favorable animals. Since its birth, it always tends to run or be chased by wild animals. So, the spirit is never lost when it comes to your house. It still wants to perform similar stunts; that’s its routine.
A running wheel or ball could be really beneficial under the circumstances. Because if you leave the animal in them, they’ll be able to generate the same adrenaline and performance as it has always wanted.
Food and Habitat
In the feeding and usual habitats, hamsters must be raised and follow a specific diet. Along with taking the right food in the right amount, your hamster should live in a good environment and must have a good sleep.
So, you need to fix a routine according to that. A proper balance of 3-course meals composed of nutrition, green veggies, and carbs with proper running time intervals can be suitable for your hamster.
Don’t forget to give proper medications when you find them sick or ill. If you are not familiar with the animal’s sickness, visit a vet instead.
Life Span
Hamsters can sustain for a long time if you can take care of it properly. To be precise, a hamster’s average lifespan is 2-3 years. If you can raise it better and carefully, it might live for a year more.
Ferret As a Pet
Ferret look kind of similar to hamster, but they bigger in sizeThey are just longer than a hamster and more mischievous too. Many houses have been raising ferrets as pets without any issue, whereas many states in the U.S. have restricted animals.
With many mixed reviews, ferret as a pet has unique characteristics.
Raising
Ferrets are very mischievous. The animal always tends to jump, run, and hide here and there. If you are to raise it in an open space or your house opened, you’ll have to be prepared for a lot of work then.
It doesn’t matter whether you are giving them the proper attention; the animal will always do its job. It is up to you to get its attention and verify yourself as its raiser.
But one thing is for sure; you’ll never feel bored when you are around a ferret. They tend to live in a couple or groups. So, as you set them free together, they’ll always be playing or interacting among themselves. And they hardly get tired.
Usual Activities
As a social animal, ferrets will always want to roam and play around. Whatever you do, they’ll catch it quickly. Keeping themselves busy is what they always want.
Oh yes, ferrets always want to live in groups or couples. The cage is their perfect living place. So, you’ll need sufficient space to set the thing up for a pair or group of ferrets.
Kids or visitors should stay away from the animal on their first visit. As they do their mischievous activities now and then, they become dangerous sometimes. Their nails and biting capability are ferocious.
But once they get to know you, their behavior changes. Otherwise, they might end up causing severe injury or mark on your hands or legs by biting or scratching.
For a place with regular interaction of people, ferrets might not be a suitable animal to pet.
Food and Habitat
You already know that you need to raise the ferret in a cage. So, the cage has to be firm enough to deal with the nature of the ferret. The door should be firm and strong enough to resist any force from the animal there.
For food, ferrets are pretty different from hamsters. They can eat everything. Everything you can consider meat, vegetables, and fruits. High carbs and fruits are their favorite meals. You can provide rice to them as well.
If you fail to provide the right food at the right time to the animal, it becomes excited and does unusual activities inside. Sometimes, it loses control and becomes ferocious. You have to maintain and clean the cage of ferret from time to time also.
This is not a friendly or regular go-to pet animal. Many regions have restricted to raise the animal. If you want to take the challenge of petting a particular animal, only then this can be a choice.
Life Span
Ferrets lives longer than hamsters and that’s a big advantage. If you can raise the ferret properly, it will live up to 5-10 years. That’s nearly four times than the life span of hamsters. Its just that, the ferret’s exciting nature and physicality enables them to live that much of time.
Ferret vs. Hamster: Which One to Pet?
Considering all the characteristics of the animals, our vouch goes towards hamsters because hamsters are easy to manipulate and raise in-house. In contrast, you need to spend a reasonable amount of time and effort to gain ferrets’ attention.
The nature of the animals is what keeps them apart from the agenda. Ferrets are fierce and harsh animals, whereas are hamsters are relaxed and calm. You would never want your family or kids to have a fierce animal in the house, right? A hamster could be the perfect choice for the purpose.
By the way, let’s sum up the facts about both by comparing them in the following table.
| No. | Aspects | Hamsters | Ferrets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nature | Mischievous | Calm |
| 2 | Biting | Doesn’t Bite | Bites |
| 3 | Friendly Towards Visitors | Yes | No |
| 4 | Scratches People | No | Yes |
| 5 | Space | Doesn’t need much space | Needs much space |
| 6 | Selective Diet | Doesn’t require | Requires |
| 7 | Restrictions on Petting | No restrictions | Restricted in some areas |
FAQs
To sum up your perception, here you have some questions that could clarify your confusion or dilemma on the topic.
1. Are ferret poop toxic?
Ferret poop is toxic because it carries parasites and bacteria like salmonella, cryptosporidia, campylobacter, and giardia. They are viral bacteria and cause diseases in humans.
2. Can you get hurt if ferrets bite?
If ferrets bite humans, it hurts. Their teeth are sharp enough to settle on the skin and hurt. But them biting each other won’t cause them serious injury among themselves.
3. Should you take children around ferrets?
You should never take children around ferrets. Ferrets are mischievous, and that could be dangerous for children.
4. Can hamster bite?
A hamster can bite and if it does, you will feel hurt. But a hamsters biting each other if kept together is okay, that won’t hurt them.
Final Words
In a battle of ferret vs. hamster in terms of petting, you can pick hamster over ferret. That would be beneficial not only for you but also for the hamster, owing to its requirement and habitat.
Ferrets are okay, but you need to be extra careful with them. It’s just that hamsters never hurt you, but ferrets tend to do so. Also, that doesn’t mean you can just take hamsters for granted; you need to be attentive toward them.
Now, it’s up to you who you want to pick. Whichever goes in your bucket, you better be careful with them.
