First off I want to say that SOME teens are great ferret owners.
However, some are NOT.  Just like adults.  The key is to make sure you
can MAKE THE COMMITMENT for the next 10 years.  A 15 year old is a
dependent child.  In ten years, they will be a 25 year old adult, maybe
with a family of their own.  A LOT can happen in ten years.  Personally,
I don't think that most teens can make that kind of commitment.
 
I am speaking from experience here.  My daughter was 10 years old when
she begged and begged to have a ferret to replace her beloved little pet
rat that died of cancer.  After a LOT of research, on my part and hers,
we decided to get a kit from a breeder.  Oreo was shipped to us and the
story begins......
 
We had Oreo for about a year and then decided to get him a buddy.  Along
comes Cosmo.  Everything was great for several years.  They lived in a
Midwest in her room and were given tons of attention.  Free roamed her
room whenever she was home.  She did their litterboxes, bought their food
with her allowance, did their ferrety laundry and basically loved them.
It was great.  All under my watchful eye.  As a Mom, the responsibility
for the pets is mine.  Yes, the ferrets were "hers" and she was taking
care of them.... but I was the one who took over when she slacked off.
And yes, she slacked off.
 
As the years went by, she became a teenager.  And guess what?!  Those
ferret boys started to slip in her priority list.  I became a nag.  "Did
you change their litter out?  When's the last time you did their laundry?
Have you clipped their nails lately?" She became very involved in after
school activities including competitive gymnastics and cheerleading.  And
of course, her FRIENDS became number one to her.  Now she's complaining,
"they're so much work mom!  Can you do it?!"  Lots of tension starts
building up here.  I'm doing the "YOU are responsible for them!"  She's
coming back with "I'm too busy Mom!"
 
Little by little, I see them getting less and less attention.  No, she
wasn't totally neglecting them.  But they were definitely taking a
backseat to her other commitments.  I thought about finding them another
home.  Where they'd be played with more.  But finally compromised.  They
are almost 6 years old now.  Who is going to want to take on a pair of
elderly boys?  So they are living out their life here with us.  Is it
fair to them?!  Probably not.
 
How often is this story repeated?!  ALL THE TIME.  The bottom line is
that FEW teens are prepared to take on a commitment like the one that
comes with taking care of ferrets for the rest of their lives.  They
are a huge responsibility.  If the Mom isn't in FULL AGREEMENT with the
acquisition of adding to the family, then I believe the arrangement has a
good chance of failing.  It may not be for a year or a couple or years,
but with the circumstances in my own family..... I have seen that as
children grow up, pets slip down in the priority list.  Especially high
maintenance pets like we know ferrets are.
 
If you are a teen considering a ferret for a pet... think LONG AND HARD
about the HUGE commitment of time, money, and personal sacrifice that a
ferret will require.  And please make sure that your parents are willing
and able to pick up the slack.  Because they will probably have to.
 
Just my two cents.
[Posted in FML issue 4253]