Black ferret?

[wolf_Q]

My boss said she has an animal living in her garage, she said it was a ferret but then she said it was all black...she thought it was probably somebody's pet they had abandoned in the field behind her house. She said it was the same size as a ferret and looked just like one (we work at a petstore so she sees ferrets every day). I've never heard of an all black ferret, just wondering if there are some or if not what other animal it would be?

[lv4dogs]

It is very rare to get an ALL black ferret. You will always have a little bit of light mask on a ferret. Although baby ferrets can be all black but change with lighter marking within a few months of age. There are ferrets out there that have a lot of black but not ALL black unless they are mixed with a polecat, thus being a hybrid.
Could it be a polecat, mink or something of the like? They are often found to be all black and look a LOT like a ferret.

[Karen]

Here's a page about polecats - they're only NATIVE to Europe, but as you can see, they look a whole lot like ferrets, and are closely related.

Polecat Info

[IRescue452]

Do you have ay sort of native weasles or mink in your area?

[wolf_Q]

Yeah there are some weasles not sure what kind though. My friend's sister saw a brown colored one when we were camping.

I was thinking a mink that was the first thing I said when she said it was all black but aren't they quite large? She acted like this one was pretty small though maybe it could be a young mink.

[lv4dogs]

Originally posted by Karen
Here's a page about polecats - they're only NATIVE to Europe, but as you can see, they look a whole lot like ferrets, and are closely related.

Polecat Info

Yes they are but they are becoming more popular here in the states. Ferret people breed them with ferrets to help get more healthy lines into them (thanks to stupid ferret farms). You'd be surprised how many polecats & hybrids that are around. It could of been one that got loose or who knows. They are very closely related to ferrets, if memory serves me right I think they are the only animals that can be bred with ferrets.

Amy, Mink are larger than ferrets, generally speaking, but not by much. Actually if you get a healthy ferret from a private breeder they are about the same size as mink. Its that ferret farms that bred porely causing bad lines. I'm trying to get ahold of my friend who has 2 mink as pets to see if I can borrow a picture to show you.

[luckies4me]

I've seen plenty of ALL black (meaning all black, and that's it) ferrets. My friend breeds the blacks, dalmations, and angoras. If you do a search online you'll see a few pictures. But, my first reaction would be mink.

Polecats are ferrets, just not domesticated ferrets. That is what ferrets originate from, so it's only obvious that ferrets and polecats would breed.

[lv4dogs]

Originally posted by luckies4me
I've seen plenty of ALL black (meaning all black, and that's it) ferrets. My friend breeds the blacks, dalmations, and angoras. If you do a search online you'll see a few pictures. But, my first reaction would be mink.

Polecats are ferrets, just not domesticated ferrets. That is what ferrets originate from, so it's only obvious that ferrets and polecats would breed.

Wow, do you know how many LONG time ferret breeders, shelter organizations & owners have been dying to get ALL black ferrets? A bunch of us only know of abuot 2-3 breeders in the US that have black ferrets that have a good possibility of staying black & they are mixed with polecats.
Does your friend have a website?
Of course we all have found tons of black baby ferrets, but they OFTEN lighten up as they age.

The dalmation gene is a mutant gene, that is not only associated with a few health problems but the color often changes as they age, which is very common with any ferret. It is not a reccognized color, thus you will can not show any dalmation colored ferret.

The angoras are also known for a lot of health problems.

Any reputable breeder will not breed any blazes or pandas on purpose, the dalmation almost always falls into one of those marking patterns. Approx. 95% of those ferrets have Waardenburg Syndrome, the main and often only health problem of ferrets with the Waardenburg Syndrome is deafness.

[xVelvet_FuzzButtx]

your friend breeds angoras and dalmations. are they real dutch angoras like parrots of the world has? or are they just ferrets like CF breeds now called ragdolls lol.

i have a black sable ferret, shes not All black, i know..but ive seen pictures and i know somone online with a beautiful black girl.

is there anyway you could trap the erm black weasel(works both ways) and find out by taking it to a ferret rescue or somthing?

[lv4dogs]

Originally posted by xVelvet_FuzzButtx
your friend breeds angoras and dalmations. are they real dutch angoras like parrots of the world has? or are they just ferrets like CF breeds now called ragdolls lol.

i have a black sable ferret, shes not All black, i know..but ive seen pictures and i know somone online with a beautiful black girl.

is there anyway you could trap the erm black weasel(works both ways) and find out by taking it to a ferret rescue or somthing?

Marc Marrone, from parrots of the world doesn't carry the angora ferrets anymore. (actually I'm not even sure if parrots of the world is still in business) He got them from a guy names Soren who got into mega trouble w/ the angoras & was forced to give them up &/or gas them all, 800 in total.
This all went down in Feb. 05.

PS, I LOVE your LOL comment on CF ferrets!!! Way to go! Kathy Jordan's a trip huh?