Bonjour Lysanne,
 
At your question about is it better to have a younger ferret I can't
answer.  I have 3 ferrets (Victor, Hugo and Adele H.) who came from
<Furet mon ami>.  Both of them were between 1.5 and 3 years old when I
adopted them.  All I can say is that I don't have any regret!  The first
one Victor lived before with 6 other ferrets, 2 cats, 2 dogs and 1
iguana.  He became aggressive when a new dog arrived in the family.  When
he began to live with us he find a quiet home with 3 humans in love with
him.  Two months after, he finally accepted a new companion, Hugo the
shy one.  Hugo was mistreated and try many homes before being adopted by
Victor.  With good care and love, Hugo is now and adorable dancing ferret
and I think that soon he will talk...  Finally, Adele was a <coup de
foudre!>.  This young white lady was abandonned by a young woman, and she
was absolutly  terrified by other ferrets.  She was used to live alone...
Now, she's the leader of the trio and she loves her two males.
 
So my point is that even if they had bad past experiences, ferrets react
quite good to a new home where they can receive the care and the love
they need.
 
How can you know how old is a ferret?  As I'm a dentist, I think that the
best approximation is tooth wear.  You can look also to the gum. If
there's a lot of calculus and the gum are bleeding easely, the ferret is
not a puppy.  But the reverse is not true as the ferret's teeth can have
been cleaned recently.
 
About the smell?  Well a ferret smell just like a dog or any other animal
smell.  My mom always say that they smell a nice light perfume, like
luxurious furs!
It was also one of my concerns.  Will my patients smell the odors of my trio?
I work so close of them that it can have been a problem.  But it's not!
I did many tests and checks without any complain!  Usually they say that
they love my perfume (I won't tell you the name, it's a secret!).
 
So I hope that it will help you in the important decision of choosing the
right pet!
 
Anne Charbonneau                 [log in to unmask]
Departement de sante buccale     Faculte de medecine dentaire
Universite de  Montreal
[Posted in FML issue 1121]