What to know about whole hobs?

[nancyl]

I don't mind hobstink and never have. They are greasy and yes, you will want to wash your hands after you've handled one. They also leave that greasy smear on everything they touch. Some slime, some don't. Having one slime your pillow is not a pleasant experience. Mine have usually confined it to my shoes. Poof does vary from animal to animal. I've had some who could clear a room and others you could barely smell. Onyx poofed a bit ago while I was giving him scritches. It was a WTF did you do that for?? but not unbearable and was gone in less than a minute. I will tell straight up that if you go with a breeder ferret you will be ahead of the game to go with a hob for your first. They are almost always easier going than the girls and often less intelligent. Whether you choose to neuter or use an implant or leave him whole is up to you. A jill will be a whole new ballgame entirely and one you may find you're not really ready for. As has been said before, Joan will not place a jill with someone who has only owned early neuters. There is a very good reason for that.

[Cynde]

Are you going to breed your ferret? If not do yourself a favor and get your baby nutered. Do a late nuter, after a rut.
I have always had PV and Marshall's, so I had no idea about rut until I got Hercules. Hercs was not too bad, but he slimed everyting, humped all the pillows, and was not the cute adorable ferret I had before he came in rut. When they say a male in rut has one thing on there mind they are right. Don't forget they stink to high heaven. After rut they still smell more than a nutered ferret. But not that bad. Hercs was a late nuter. It is an additional expense. I would never get a female that was not spayed, unless breeding her. Pandora was spayed when I got her. Herc and her share a cage. Herc is very much the loner. If Pande gets cold and tries to climb in bed with him. They squabble and the Poofing begins. I can usually tell which one it is. Any disagreement no matter how small and one or the other will poof. I actually think it is to get my attention. It works. Usually someone's ego needs soothed. Pandora teases Herc, by taking his favorite snake. Ricki Tiki Snake. He stamps his feet and poofs. Herc has settled down quite a bit his is almost 9 yrs now. (Both Pandora and Hercules are ferrets from a private breeder).

Thor is a whole different amimal. Literally. He is much larger, much stronger, and more determined even more so than the angoras. He has more energy. While he is very gentle with me. He can be very territorial. Not with the other ferrets but with people too. I have a friend (Male) who really likes Thor. Everytime he comes into the house he makes a point of visiting Thor's cage (in the dinning room). He can open the door and pet him, and Thor is OK. One day we thought it would be OK if he held Thor. (My friend is very cautious, may be a bit afraid of Thor). Well he pick up Thor and was carrying him around the house. When Thor suddenly with out notice. Poofed him. I mean really Poofed him. He was going out line dancing that night...there was a change of plans (and clothes). My friend was talking to me when Thor poofed him. Hubby and laughed our heads off. My husband thinks Thor was Jealous, everything was OK until I came along. He is a momma's boy. Thor was 8 lbs when he came into rut, he is very strong. (both physically and oder wise). I never knew what stink was until he came into rut. I do not minde the musky smell of a male, but stink, I was embarassed to have any one come in my house. Between his smell and poofing, not to mention changing the cage because of the sliming stench. I expeced some odor. I love Thor, but he is a handful of sheer determination. He is just now starting to calm down. He stalks Pandora, goes to the bedroom where the cage is and lays on my pillow and just waits for her to come out of her cubby. Sometimes he falls asleep. (it is so cute). He is starting to climb. He gets on the sofa and comes over on my lap. A few pats and kisses. He is starting to explore more. He is going to be a great pet. He is nutered. Fur is still waxy and he still stinks it will take a while.
I do not think it is fair to keep a hob a hob, they are miserable when they are in rut. Like a 16 year old boy. In a little while I am going to try to reintroduce him to Pandora. Hercules is not going to be around much longer and I do not want to maintain 2 cages, but want to be sure Thor doesn't hurt her she is only 1 1/2 Lbs. He is down to 5 1/2 - 6.

[Deleted]

Thank you everyone for your replies! You've given me a lot of amazing information that I didn't know prior to posting here. I had thrown the option of keeping him whole only because I thought neutering was inadvisable. I have absolutely no intention of ever breeding ferrets, so if neutering is safe I would like to do that. Does late altering still have adrenal risks? And from a breeder standpoint (for those that are breeders), what method do you generally advise your adopters to consider? Also, does a late neuter change anything in a male? Personality, stink etc or is it all about the same?

[Heather]

Yes....if you neuter (surgically) you will face adrenal, eventually. Now, your ferret may die of some other disease before that time but if given enough time he will become adrenal. It's just how it works. Odin was my first intact and I was not prepared to deal with him as a hob. I would have kept him intact now without a thought. He was a dream really. He ran with the business even while in full season. He was rather passionate about Lady "B" and she thought he was a royal pain. I altered him at age 5yrs. This year my beautiful Odin passed on from adrenal related issues and lymphomas. He was 11 yrs old. After altering, he settled down within the week and was stink free in a month or so. Now, one thing I did note was that being an albino he continued to get the horrible eye make-up every spring and he smelled a bit more than my alters during the spring and summer. As far as smell once altered he no longer smelled "hob". Now on thing to note as well, once the season is over they no longer smell any more than my farm ferrets. They do smell different. We tried a sniff test one time at a ferret meet I was at. What it was people wanted to see if a fully loaded ferret smelled more than a descented ferret. It had nothing to do with hob vs gibb. What was amusing was that a couple of people managed to find the adrenal ferret by sniffing.
As Nancy mentioned hobs come with a variety of attitudes. I've got both extremes. The 'bino brats are wonderful. Friendly, snuggly....but hobbish in odor. Now, Bacchus doesn't smell as bad as Enigma and I don't know if that's just him or if it's because he's a hoblet. They smell, they do mark a bit...usually my feet * but they're not greasy. I took them with me for a ferret information session and they were wonderful. Enjoying the outing. Tico is a happy boy with a bit of a snarky disposition when in full season. He's nippy and a bit tempermental. He loves the snuggle but seems to get nippy when being scratched. He's happy, playful and a solo (unfortunately he got really snarky when he came into season with his brother and was separated...I had no one he could play with so he was kept solo). He smells but not as strong as he did in the spring. His coat is sticky and rather greasy, whereas the 'binos' coats are not greasy to the touch. You do get the smell on your hands and clothes.
ciao

[Deleted]

Thats another thing I was worried about when keeping a whole hob...I want a second ferret to make sure Javik has a buddy, but if he gets too hob noxious and needs to become a solo then I'll be back to Javik being lonely again :/ now, is that an issue I'd only face with an intact hob or is it likely to happen whether I alter or not?

[Heather]

If you raise them together then you may be able to leave them together. Look at Finn
ciao

[Deleted]

If I remember correctly, Finn had to be separated from Fenton during his first rut and was a solo until Mikey took Rosco in. Would I have a better chance of Javik and a new kit getting along if they're so close to the same age? Javik is coming up on 7 months old and if I get one of Nancy's kits they'd only be 5-6 months younger. Would a DES help control his rut enough to prevent too much aggression?

[Sherry]

As for how they get along it's going to depend purely on their personalities. With a des implant it will take him completely out of rut.

[Deleted]

Does it take him out of rut, or completely prevent a rut? DES is a once a year implant, correct? Does it get implanted before a rut begins, or after signs start to show? Sorry for all the newbish questions, but whole ferrets are entirely new to me and I really wanted to know everything i can about all methods available before I make a decision (including the decision on whether I want a male or female).

[Sherry]

Here is a link to the des forum Nancy started: ferretdes.proboards.com/

[Deleted]

Thanks! Unfortunately I will have to wait for approval before I can take a look and read around.
I feel so impatient today lol, I just wanna take in all the information I can right now

Oh, back to the light cycle question... how many hours of light should ferrets be getting, or does that depend on the season? I know their cycle is supposed to be based on dusk and dawn hours but I don't really know much more than that.

[Sherry]

It depends entirely on the season. Check your sunrise and sunset and that amount of time is the total of light they can have for that day. And that includes artificial lighting.

[Deleted]

Alright, thanks!

[Heather]

It depends on the season. Just look up the hrs of daylight on your weather channel and that's the number they should get total. So, if you're going to have them out playing in the evening with you, you should not have them out in light any longer (daylight plus artificial lighting)than they would during that season. My understanding with the DES as a chemical alter is that it can be given any time and it will take them out or prevent it. Some have found it to work for a year some for 18 months to 2 yrs. You could leave it until he comes into season to redo the implant. Chat with Nancy, she's got a lot of information that might be able to help you. Chat with the breeder as well. She knows her stock and she may be able to set you up with a wee hob who is more soft and will get along with your wee boy. Always use your chosen breeder as a source of information.
ciao

[Deleted]

Nancy (Park) would be my breeder, if she approves of me. She's my #1 choice for a breeder ATM, I sent her an email (and a friend request on FB lol), and signed up for her DES website that Sherry just listed, but have yet to get a reply from her. She probably thinks I'm a crazy stalker lol, I just really want one of her babies is all! Haha, when/if I get a reply I will ask her what method she prefers her kits to receive, which I'm assuming will be the DES.

Does anyone know her personally and know what she considers a proper adopting family? What kind of requirements she looks for in a potential home?