We have always been passionate about animal care and animals in general. This has led us to rescue A LOT of animals, from 21 Rats to a selection of reptiles & exotics. Rescuing animals has been a sometimes difficult - but rewarding experience.
A few years ago we had someone reach out to us regarding a post on Facebook marketplace. A single ferret who was kept in poor conditions. Having rescued exotics before and being keen on owning ferrets we accepted and took in this sweet ferret. He was kept in a blank cage with only a chocolate tub full of water and a single plastic Hammock. No enrichment - not even a single blanket to snuggle in. We were eager to bring him home, and we named him Beezlebub (Bubs for short).
At first, Bubs seemed to be settling in well. But we soon realised that he had a bite. He bit, and he bit HARD. Being first-time ferret owners, we were not expecting this. After reaching out to the previous owners, we found out that Bubs had been an ex-working ferret. He had no handling or socialisation and was very clearly neglected.
We felt out of our depth. Although we had rescued countless animals and were not new to the occasional mistreatment-related behavioural difficulty, we were new ferret owners, and looking back, a young, intact, neglected, lone, and ex-working ferret (as any experienced owners will tell you) is not the ideal first choice for new ferret parents.
We continued to work with Bubs. He was moved to a massive cage with daily free roam and many toys. Although he came out of his shell and would engage in play, he would continue to fear bite. He would latch onto and shake your arms, toes, and hands. Any skin he could find. And left deep wounds in both me and my partner. He had also ripped a small hole in my foot which has now healed as a permanent dent lol.
After working with him constantly and not seeing any improvement, we were stuck. Bubs was not getting what he needed from us, and we had both now developed a phobia of latch biting and ferrets. It was an insanely challenging position to be in, we had even lined up the adoption of 2 friends for Bubs which we had to cancel due to having to work with his behavioural concerns.
With a heavy heart, we decided that Bubs needed to go to an experienced ferret rescue to help with his behavioural issues, and his esteem, and to hopefully bond him with a friend in the future. We reached out to a rescue with ample ferret experience. They happily took in Bubs and decided to keep him as a permanent resident. I remember taking him there and seeing all the ferrets. I loved ferrets so much but was so scared after being attacked multiple times.
Bubs is now bonded with lots of friends! His name was changed to Rupert and he has 4 girlfriends!
I often blamed myself after having to rehome Bubs. We rarely had to give up an animal that we couldn’t handle and it felt like being able to own ferrets would never be a possibility again. Jack was especially scared of being bitten and attacked by ferrets, due to getting the full brunt of Bubs. Towards the last few weeks, Jack had to do most of the caring for him because Bubs would ’tolerate’ him around - whereas he would lunge for me immediately. It doesn’t seem like much in words but Bubs had really - really bitten and attacked us multiple times. As new ferret owners but experienced animal rescuers, I couldn’t understand what we were doing wrong.
It took a while to get over our phobia of biting. Within that time we had lost our beloved rats of old age and illness (they were all around 4.5 years which is very old for ratties). We felt a complete emptiness in our home. I had contemplated the idea of ferrets and done countless hours of research since Bubs; I felt confident to rescue ferrets again (maybe not ex-working heavily neglected ones). Jack had also said that he felt ready to give it another go, he was actually the one to initiate it after watching videos of ferrets in macaroni boxes lol. Besides this, ferrets have always been my dream animal.
We searched for a rescue. We had set rules for owning ferrets again: to make sure we had done appropriate research and felt ready, to get a prebonded and socialised pair from a rescue, to meet the ferrets before we decided, and to make sure with 100% certainty that we felt ready and were no longer frightened of being bitten or attacked.
With all this knowledge, I looked at rescues to find one that suited us and stumbled across CFWRS - Cambridgeshire Ferret Welfare & Rescue Society. It looked perfect. It was run by knowledgeable and passionate ferret people who had a love for animal welfare - just like us! I contacted them to speak to them about the possibility of adopting a ferret, and they took me through the process.
What I love about CFWRS is that they had a long chat with you about ferrets and your experience, and then they match ferrets to you. You are put onto a waiting list and when they think they’ve got the pair that best suits you, your experience, and most importantly, suit the ferrets! They will speak to you about meeting them. All ferrets are vaccinated, temperament tested, spayed/neutered, bonded and well-socialised. I remember the day they phoned me to say they had found us a ferret pair, I was so excited!
The society sets up these shows, in which the ferrets compete in races, and members of the public can meet ferrets and learn about their care. It’s a brilliant way to raise donations for the society and squash the stigmas surrounding ferret ownership and common misconceptions.
We went to visit Boots & Toots at one of the shows and saw them race. We were so nervous meeting them for the first time. I remember talking to Jack in the car, going through 100 different possibilities and outcomes - I was SO anxious.
But B&T were sweethearts, sniffing at you and trying to get into your sleeves. We were hooked.
We fostered them for a few weeks, during which time they settled in so well. Boots specifically would chomp us sometimes but it helped us not be scared of ferret biting (he still will nip you now if you piss him off lol). After the fostering period, we decided we wanted to fully adopt them and become members of the ferret society.
And just that we did. Boots & Toots have a permanent residency at our home. We took them to their first CFWRS members show, and they won lots of shiny rosettes and trophies (Toots even won Show Champion of 2024). We have lots of shows coming up in the 2025 period and are even the newsletter writers for the CFWRS now - writing lots about ferrets! This inspired us to write this blog.
Bubs, Boots, & Toots are the reason we love ferrets. Our animal care passion has now pushed us to get our qualifications in Practical Animal Care & Management with Jack hopefully going to further specialise in Mustelid Nutrition.
I always think back to Bubs being our first encounter with a ferret. I don’t regret it one bit. Although he was a pocket rocket with razor-sharp teeth, he was the main reason we fell in love with ferret care. If it wasn’t for Bubs, we may not have had half the passion or experience we do now.
And if it wasn’t for the CFWRS, we wouldn’t have adopted our beautiful carpet sharks - Boots & Toots.
Where will our rescue journey lead next? Who knows? Maybe B&T will soon have more ferrety friends.
If you’d like more information on CFWRS then the website is in my Linktree. We hold such high praise and highly recommend them.
Boots & Toots also have a Ferret Instagram which can be found in my Linktree. To follow their ferrety journey.