I have four ferrets (3 males and a female) that play together great in their playpen, but I am going to be adding four chinchillas to our family soon (two males and two females). Will they get along or will I have to keep their playtimes separate? Any information you have will be great. Thanks.
anonymous answered:
No, they cannot play together. Ferrets are mousers and will most likely go after the chinchilla and could possibly kill it. A chinchilla can also do damage to a ferret, but will most likely lose the battle. It's ok to have both, but never let them together.
I had both at one time and one of the ferrets and one of the chins got out together (chin cage wasn't latched right) and there was a little rumble. The ferret got a bite on the nose and a mouthful of the chinchilla's hair. If I hadn't been right there, both could have been seriously injured and one could have even died. Do not let any type of rodent out to play with a ferret.
Gems answered:
Ferrets are predators! They are hunters of rodents! Chinchillas are prey animals... and guess what they are...RODENTS. It would be a very BAD idea to let your ferrets play with your chinchillas, while they may not kill the chins purposefully a ferrets rough play could easily kill or instinct could take over... not to mention the panic a chinchilla would go through if they were placed in an unprotected area with a predator.
ifixrex2 answered:
Ferrets will chew the heads off of gerbils, guinea pigs, etc. DO NOT EVER TRUST THEM TOGETHER! Something very ugly could happen.
Mommy to Princesses answered:
It would definitely not be a good idea to put them together. Ferrets are predators and chinchillas would be tasty snacks to them. Ferrets could very easily overpower and kill a chinchilla in a matter of seconds. I had a ferret a long time ago and she got into our guinea pigs cage once. Luckily someone was right there, but she got the guinea pig by the neck and could have seriously hurt it. She used to play with stuffed animals the same way; grabbing them by the neck and flipping them over. Definitely keep them separate and make sure the cages are all secure. Good Luck!
Chiappon answered:
There's a very good chance the ferrets will just fight/attack the chins. I would plan on having separate play times for them.
Star L answered:
Definitely put them in separate cages. I don't think they will get along, the ferrets may try to bite or eat the chinchillas. The only animals I know that go well with playing with ferrets are cats and dogs... chinchillas, hamsters, guinea pigs and rabbits are not good playmates for ferrets.
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I totally disagree with the comments, I have 4 ferrets, 3 rabbits, and 4 cats and they all get along swimmingly. The ferrets and cats play and sleep together, the rabbits and cats sleep together, the rabbits and ferrets sniff at each other, and one of my ferret squeezes into the rabbit cage to steal carrots (which is bad because carrots are bad for ferrets ><) and drink their water. I've had this menagerie for 3 years and have never had any problems. It is how you introduce them and how you train them. My ferrets grew up with the rabbits so that may have been a factor.
i disagree with the comments as i have a ferret that free roams my house with my dog and cat which the cat i got from a kitten and the 3 get along just fine and play together and i haave a chin which stays in his cage BUT when their out of the cage together i introduced them slowly and they play just fine the cat/dog/ferret/chin so idk i guess all arent deadly and viscious as u guys are making them out to be
It's not viciousness, it's instinct. A ferret is a predator, Chinchillas are high stress animals. It's like putting a mouse with a cat..maybe in rare cases it would work, but most of the time, the cat will eat the mouse.