Angora ferrets are some of the newest breeds of ferrets. They were introduced just across the last 2 decades and are steadily gaining popularity. They have a significantly higher amount of fur compared to the typical shorthaired ferrets. The length of the coat of Angora ferrets ranges from 2-8 inches.
Male angora ferrets weigh between 2-4 pounds. If good living conditions are maintained (plus proper care), an angora ferret can live at least 5 years and could even last as long as 10 years. Their cages should be spacious to accommodate the adventurous nature of these ferrets. Also, try to brush their teeth at least twice a month to keep them healthy.
Angora ferrets need premium care being delicate and adorable breeds of ferrets. You need to know their optimal diet, how to exercise them, how regularly you should groom them and bath them. You also need to know some of their common health problems so you can better take care of them. All these and more, we will be learning in this guide.
How Much is an Angora Ferret?
With the increasing popularity of angora ferrets, their prices have been pushing up. In most cases, the price is dependent on the breeder you are buying your angora ferret from, the gender of the ferret and its color as well. Overall, you can budget anywhere from $65-250 to purchase a healthy angora ferret. Let us break this cost down.
Full angora can cost between £180-£225. Semi angora (also known as the ¾ angora) has fluffy fur that is remarkably soft. Semi angora is more grown than the half angora. You can buy a semi angora ferret for anywhere within £65-£180.
Half angora ferrets are usually derived from mating a standard ferret with a full angora ferret. Yes, they have fluffy fur but not as soft as that of the semi angora. There isn’t much separating a half angora ferret from the standard ferret. You can expect to buy half angora ferrets for around £65-£90.
Aside from the cost of acquisition, additional costs come down the line just as is typical for owning other pets like dogs. Your angora ferrets will need to be vaccinated against health conditions like rabies and protected from parasite infestation.
Therefore additional costs like neutering and spraying will be factored in. Vaccinating your angora ferret can cost you as much as $150.
Angora Ferret Size
The gender of your angora greatly determines the size it would grow up to. Generally, a fully grown angora ferret weighs 1-4 pounds. Such fully grown ferrets usually have a length of 18-24 inches.
Male angora ferrets are known to grow heavier and longer than female angora ferrets. Therefore, while you can see a male angora ferret weigh between 2-4 pounds (when fully grown), a fully grown female angora ferret weighs 1-2.5 pounds.
Female angora ferrets can be as long as 18 inches (from their tail tip to their nose), while the male angora ferret can be 24 inches in the same measurement.
Angora Ferret Colors
Angora ferrets have a variety of colors. There are notable angora ferrets colors like chocolate, saber, and albino colors. Agreed, chocolate angora ferrets are the predominant color and can even have darker shades. Chocolate angora ferrets have brown eyes or dark burgundy eyes.
They have warm milk chocolate brown for guard hairs. Intriguingly, their undercoat can be a bit of golden hue or pure white. Chocolate angora ferrets commonly have beige or pink noses. In some areas, there are “diluted” chocolate angora ferrets. This sort of resembles a champagne color.
This type has eyes that can be of blackish-red or purplish-red color with creamy undercoat. Their guard hairs are commonly light brown. Their noses are still beige and pink.
Angora Ferret Lifespan
The lifespan of an angora ferret depends on its living conditions. Angora ferrets don’t live shorter or longer than the typical ferret. If you bought a healthy angora ferret from a reputable breeder or pet store, you could expect it to live anywhere from 6-10 years.
As regards lifespan, we recommend that you buy your angora from a breeder instead of a pet store. This is because lifespan data have revealed that angora ferrets acquired from breeders tend to live longer.
Angora Ferret Difference from Regular Ferrets
Compared to your regular ferret, angora ferrets are rarer and more of the exotic breed. While they exhibit notable physical characteristics that differentiate them from the standard ferret, there is not much difference behaviorally between a standard ferret and an angora ferret.
When you talk about the physical features, the primary differentiator between standard ferrets and angora is the style of the fur. This mainly refers to the length of the coat. If you maintain the length of the fur of an angora ferret properly, it can grow up to 4 inches.
This increased length of furs makes angora ferrets much more attractive. Interestingly, angora ferrets don’t shed as much as standard ferrets. Another distinguishing feature between angora ferrets and the standard variety is the nose type.
Most angora ferrets have beige or pink noses. This noise has a slight upwards tilt and has a small patch of hair on it.
You can also tell an angora ferret from a standard ferret by the weight and the color of its eyes. Angora ferrets can weigh up to 5 pounds. Angora ferrets are known to be more sociable and energetic than most ferret breeds.
They are very playful and can even be naughty, requiring more dedicated training. Having a well-trained angora ferret mentor a naughty young one can be particularly helpful in grooming positive habits in the younger ferrets.
Just like your regular ferrets, angora ferrets have a natural curiosity; hence they are always exploring. This makes them bubbling pets with more vibe and enthusiasm. This explains why their cages should be accommodating enough to give enough space for venturing around.
Angora Ferret Food
Angora ferrets eat almost the same thing as the standard ferrets. By nature, ferrets are carnivorous, preferring to dine on meat. It is not advisable to feed your ferrets plant food as their body systems are designed in such a manner that they would struggle to digest it.
The healthier your angora eats, the healthier it is generally. Therefore, it is essential to have the right nutrient composition in the food you feed your ferret.
Ferrets can eat meat like chicken, duck, or turkey. Their diet should be formulated such that protein takes up 40-60% of the meal you feed your angora ferret. Fats should make up 20%, while fiber can take about 5%.
Your angora ferrets need a regular supply of pellets all round the clock. This is because ferrets eat a lot throughout the day, being that they don’t have long digestive tracts. You can also enhance the diet of your angora ferret with supplements to make the food more enticing to it.
Angora Ferret Health Problems
Just like any other pet, angora ferrets also have health problems they are liable to. The chances of succumbing to these health problems can be greatly reduced if you maintain hygienic living conditions around your angora, appropriately vaccinate it, and feed it well.
Nonetheless, once you notice these health problems in your angora ferret, we urge you to seek the services of a veterinarian promptly. This can significantly avoid the chances of the predicament going overblown and possibly costing the life of your angora ferret.
Diarrhea
Angora ferrets can fall to diarrhea. Most times, this condition results from inappropriate feeding. Aside from food poisoning, angora ferrets can suffer diarrhea as a result of parasite attacks, bacterial infections, and general metabolic issues.
If your angora ferret’s diarrhea is caused by ingesting something inappropriate, the condition will clear off on its own. But if parasites and bacterial infections cause it, it is essential to seek specialized medical intervention.
The veterinary officer may choose to rehydrate your angora ferret. This involves replacing electrolytes and fluids. After this, medication (particularly anti-parasitic, antifungal, and antibiotics) can be administered on the ferret by the vet.
Alopecia
This is a condition that your ferret loses hair excessively. In most cases, this exceeds the standard shedding pattern. Various issues may be underlying the loss of hair in your angora ferret.
These issues can include immunity problems, parasitic infestation, allergic reaction, bacterial infection, and even poor feeding.
Aside from these conditions, age can contribute to the hair loss of your ferret. If your angora is aging already, it is natural for its to loss fur excessively.
Also, If you have sprayed or neutered your angora ferret, it could lose hair rampantly too. Notably, there is a higher susceptibility to hair loss to angora ferrets between 3-7 years of age.
Vomiting
Angora ferrets vomit too. This could be bile, which is typically a yellowish fluid being ejected from their mouths. In the case where the food being vomited is digested, the vomit could come out in the form of mucus. There are also cases where your ferret could vomit and defecate black stool simultaneously.
A lot of factors can be responsible for your angora ferret vomiting. Paramount attention should be paid to the food they are fed before the vomiting. Ferrets vomit most times when they eat something out of the normal. It could be that there could be bacteria in the meat.
This is why we advocate that you carefully cook the meat you feed them with to destroy any foreign object. There are other situations where the vomiting could be a reaction to the administration of a vaccine or even stress.
It is also worth mentioning that ferrets can vomit if they experience changes in their food menu. The vomiting could be them acclimatizing to the new food you are introducing them to.
An angora ferret could vomit from nausea. This is typified by an excessive volume of saliva pouring from its mouth or the ferret licking its lips. If your angora ferret vomits continuously, it would be advisable to visit the vet to check the ferret up.
The vet may require you to give further details on the frequency and characteristics of the vomiting. Frequent vomiting could trigger severe weight loss in the ferret and also hamper its mood.
Nonetheless, if your ferret just vomits incidentally (say once in a long while), there is no need to consult a vet.
Angora Ferret Care
The manner and expertise of the care you give your ferret determines its health, lifespan, and mood. There are some major aspects of angora ferret care you should know importantly.
Cage
We have already stated that angora ferrets have a natural curiosity, which makes them pretty adventurous. This necessitates procuring a cage for them that caters to their bubbling and energetic nature. This cage should be comfortable and strong. You may be curious about what this cage needs.
Size is core when constructing cages for angora ferrets. Angora ferrets do better in bigger cages, which allow them sufficient room to express themselves in the form of playing around, running around, and conveniently sleeping when tired out.
Aside from the ferret, larger cages do you more good as the owner as you can better furnish the cage with accessories like toys when the cage is bigger. We all agree that a bigger cage is easier to keep tidy compared to a stuffed cage which is prone to clutter.
Ferrets are very sociable pets. We recommend that you keep them in clusters if you have more than one. Therefore, your cage should be big enough to hold at least two ferrets. Ideally, we advocate that you get a 3×3 cage with several floors. This should give them enough space to exercise.
Build your cage with safe and durable materials. The cage should have solid floors so that the ferret can confidently walk or run on them. If you spend well in providing your ferret with excellent cages, you can be reasonably sure of happy and healthy ferrets.
Properly Feed
Angora ferrets are as healthy as the food they eat. Ferrets exhibit the same feeding characteristics with cat. This explains why some ferret owners are comfortable feeding their angora ferrets with cat food. It is essential the core of the food you feed your angora is proteinaceous.
Angora ferrets do better with turkey and chicken. There are instances where this core protein diet can be supplemented with pellets. Despite being carnivorous like dogs, it is a huge abomination to feed your angora ferrets typical dog food.
This is because of the differences in the digestive systems of dogs and ferrets. There are dog meals that your ferret will terribly struggle to digest. This includes the likes of grains and veggies.
The regularity at which you feed your angora ferret is another worthy consideration. Bearing in mind that angora ferrets have a quick metabolic rate and being energetic too, it is unsurprising that they eat a lot. Your angora ferret can eat even more than 7 times in a day. However, each of these would be small meals.
Being this kind of erratic eaters, we advise that you furnish your angora ferrets with a 24/7 supply of food so they can access their food just anytime they want it across the day. The total volume of food you should your ferret depends on their weight.
When you have ascertained this daily feed volume, you can divide this volume into 7 or more rations if you want to feed your angora ferret in routines. As well as dog food (including veggies), don’t ever make the mistake of feeding your angora ferret milk or chocolate.
Milk is almost sure to trigger diarrhea in your ferret, while chocolate can even kill it. You can also feed your angora ferrets with fruits. But it should be very minimal.
Give Your Ferret the Attention
Just as we have stated, angora ferrets are very sociable, active, and playful. As typical of pets, angora ferrets enjoy it when you lavish them with attention, love, and tolerance. Of course, they return the love back as they can be animated and energetic when you are around them.
The good news is that you wouldn’t have to babysit your angora ferret all day. Angora ferrets sleep a lot and can even sleep more than half of the day. Therefore, you would only need to fend for them for the little time they are awake.
If you have more than one ferret, you needn’t bother much about playing with them. Two angora ferrets can entertain themselves all day.
Exercise an Angora Ferret
Exercise is vital for the health of your angora ferret. In a day, we recommend that your angora ferret plays at least 100-110 minutes.
However, you don’t need to walk them around (as you would for dogs) or unleash them into the neighborhood to exercise.
An angora ferret could be pretty content playing with a toy. Just like cats, ferrets are happy playing around with balls, yarns, or even a toy you attached to a string. As said, when you have more than one ferret, getting them toys isn’t a necessity as they can play with each other all day.
We always advocate that you get durable toys for your ferret. When in play mode, ferrets can be quite unrelenting. They would tear at their toys and attempt to rip them apart.
Groom
A community of angora ferrets would groom themselves. When you have a cluster of ferrets together, grooming is a social tradition carried out among them. But you can’t totally abandon the grooming to be done by their fellow ferrets.
Once in a while, get a comb or brush and groom your angora ferret. Such grooming goes a long way in enhancing the radiance of their coat and appropriately spreading their natural oils.
You should check their claws every day. The same keenness should be applied to checking their mouths, eyes, noses, ears, and bottoms. This makes your ferrets look smarter and healthier.
You don’t need to brush the fur of your ferret as frequently as you would brush the coat of your dog or cat. This is because ferrets don’t shed as much as cats and dogs. If you can brush the fur of your ferret once in 7 days, that would be excellent. Otherwise, you can brush their coat once in 14 days.
It makes sense to brush your ferrets outside your home, so you don’t scatter the fur around indoors. Any hairbrush can get the job done if you can’t get specialized brushes for ferret fur.
Brushing Teeth
It is essential to clean the teeth of your ferret periodically. You can use a very soft brush (preferably baby toothbrush) with very tender spindles. This should help you touch the whole teeth surface area of your ferret.
If you can’t get such a soft brush, feel free to use the specialized brush you have been using for dogs or cats. That type of brush whose handle is notably long. In a situation where you are feeding your angora ferrets a blend of hard and soft food, it would be helpful if you can brush their teeth once every 2 weeks or twice in a month. Next is the toothpaste you will use.
Ideally, we recommend that you buy specialized ferret toothpaste. This can be readily bought online or your pet store. If you can’t get this designated toothpaste, you can still make do with the toothpaste with which you have been brushing the teeth of your cat.
We severely discourage the use of dog toothpaste for brushing the teeth of your ferret with your regular toothpaste. This is because such kinds of toothpaste can be toxic to your angora ferrets. If you don’t have cat toothpaste (and can’t get ferret toothpaste), you can resort to brushing the teeth of your ferrets with salty water.
Ferrets aren’t fans of having their teeth washed. They would naturally resist you and make the teeth brushing process harder for you. You have to be tolerant and maintain your gentility in the face of this deliberate resistance from your angora ferret.
We also advise that you build positive habits in your ferret that make them more welcoming to teeth brushing. It will help if you give them a delicious treat when you are done brushing their teeth.
Once they learn the routine that such treat comes after teeth brushing, they would be more comfortable with you brushing their teeth.
Ear Cleaning
It is important to clean the ears of your ferrets. These ears can end up being stacked with fleas if you don’t clean them regularly. The ears of your ferrets are a preferred destination for many parasites.
There is enough to feast on there. You should thoroughly check the ears and clean them at least once in 4 weeks. What would you use?
You can deploy a q-tip for this ear cleaning exercise. We advise that you don’t clean too deep into the ears. The rule is to clean up to where you can see. To make things faster, you can apply baby oil to make the ears easier to clean.
If you don’t have baby oil (or you feel the quality of the baby oil is questionable), you can just use water. Also, remember to clean the wider area of the interior of the ferret’s ear. If the dirt you clean out from the ear is brown, then you can be at peace that all is well.
However, if you clean black matter from the ear, the chances are high that the ear could already have been infested with fleas. This black matter, which is usually in the form of very small pellets, could be the poop of these fleas harbored in the ear.
Bathing
You don’t need to bathe your angora ferrets frequently. Caged ferrets don’t have the avenue to splatter dirt all across their coat say by rolling in sand outdoors or mud.
Ferrets also inherently clean themselves by licking their fur. Therefore, it is fine if you can only afford to bathe your angora ferret once in 4 weeks.
We don’t recommend that you use cold water in bathing your angora ferrets as this can be unhealthy. Ferrets typically have a body temperature of 103 degrees. It suits them better to bathe them with warm water. It could be a bit hotter than what humans bathe with.
Of course, you would need to massage the body of your ferret while you bathe it. It is best to use ferret shampoo for this. Remember that shampoo can irritate if it gets into the eyes of your ferret. Therefore, you should be careful when you bathe the head area.
If you can’t get specialized ferret shampoo, you can use baby shampoo so long it is gentle enough. Baby shampoos can be really nice for the scent that they will give your ferrets.
In the case where your ferret is also infested with fleas, you can add dishwashing soap if it is gentle enough. Normal pet shampoo is also fine since they are way cheaper.
We always advocate you go for “tearless” shampoo if you are not buying specialized ferret shampoo. Such a tearless qualification must be satisfied for any type of shampoo you choose – whether it is a generic pet shampoo or a dog or cat shampoo. Tearless shampoos are well safer for your ferret.
Ensure you keep your ferrets comfortable when bathing them to reduce the resistance. After rinsing them, you can towel dry their coat. If you want to remove all the moisture from the bath totally, you can use hair dryers.
It is quite natural that ferrets will roll on the floor to expel the remaining moisture from the fur after a bath. You agree that this could be frustrating as turning on the ground can get the ferret messed up with dirt quickly again.
This ugly scenario can be prevented by furnishing an area of your ferret cage with a clean carpet. Keep the ferret in this region of the cage for say 40-50 minutes after you bath them. Rolling on this carpet will reduce the amount of dirt their bodies should pick up.