Bonnie & Clyde

I adopted two ferret siblings in February 2018. They were five months old at the time and I thought they would make great companions for my older son whose cat, Darwin, had unexpectedly passed away a month earlier.

They were the only two left at the pet store and they were just about to put a sign on them that they were half priced because they had been there for awhile. In my mind it just seemed meant to be. I had ferrets when I was a kid, but I didn’t remember what went into taking care of them. I figured I could learn as I go. I’m great with animals and I have along history with all types of animal care. I could do this. I asked them to just hold them for me cause I had to call my mom. We decided to split the cost of the ferrets and all the basic supplies I would need for them. I’m a really impulsive person at times and this was one of those times, but I will say for anyone considering getting ferrets do your research. They are expensive and need lots of attention. They really should never be bought on impulse...ever.

I got them home and got them settled in. I couldn’t wait for my son to get home. I just knew he would be excited. Heck I was really excited and I couldn’t wait to name them. Well once he got home he was less than excited and I was disappointed that he wasn’t more excited, but that’s just kind of his personality. He let me name them and so I named them Bonnie and Clyde.

Clyde loves everyone. He’s definitely a lover not a fighter. He gives kisses and all in all just a really gentle ferret. He will even groom the cats. He’s pretty much my buddy. I carry him around a lot. I have a sweatshirt that he sleeps in the pouch while I do stuff around the house. We bonded pretty quickly. He does enjoy climbing into the garbage can and stealing the insoles out of shoes that Bonnie steals. They are after all a team.

Bonnie on the other hand was slower to trust. She’s very cautious when it comes to certain things. She opposite of Clyde. When he gives kisses Bonnie bites. Not hard or anything. Just nips to get your attention. She tackles the cats all the time. She’s maybe three pounds, but she will take down my giant sixteen pound cat and alligator roll him. She tiny, but she’s scrappy. I would never underestimate her. She’s usually just trying to get that particular cat to play with her. He will bat her around (he keeps his claws in when playing with her) and she absolutely loves that. Once she takes him down he will just lay there and bat her as she hops around. She loves to play rough. Once I figured that out she warmed up to me. But her favorite person is my youngest son. She has definitely chosen him. And he absolutely adores her.

I love coming home to the ferrets. After a bad day at work they always make it a bit better just by watching them play or snuggling with them on the couch. My older son pretty much thinks they are evil because they taunt him all the time. They do it because they like the reaction they get from him. They think it’s a game. Everything is a game to them in all honesty.

They get free reign of the house from the time I get up in the morning until bedtime. Unless no one is home, but the boys are home all day every other week due to virtual learning right now and weekends I’m always home. On the weeks the boys aren’t home they run around a few hours before I go to work and again for a few hours when I get home until bedtime. They need lots of time outside their cage because they are little balls of energy. They do sleep a lot, but they also play pretty hard. I found that if they don’t have enough time outside their cage during the day they claw at their cage all night or Bonnie will break out since she figured out how and she can squeeze between the bars. Clyde hasn’t ever done it and will stay inside the cage, but he’s a lot bigger than Bonnie I’m not sure he could squeeze out. He’s pretty laid back and Bonnie is kind of a rebel.

I know I originally adopted these two to help my older son, but they have brought so much joy to our family. Yes, even tho my older son says he doesn’t like them he still plays with them. He even built their coop in the backyard so they could play safely outside while we were out there. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.