The ermine is a cute and interesting animal from the mustelid family. It tolerates captivity quite well, but before buying a live ermine, you need to learn about the peculiarities of its behavior and character, and familiarize yourself with the rules of caring for the animal.
The ermine is a representative of the mustelid family and one of the smallest predators in Russia; the body length of an adult animal from head to tail does not exceed 30 centimeters. Another 12 centimeters account for the fluffy tail. The predator's body is elongated, its legs are short, and its head is triangular with rounded ears. Despite the small size of their legs, ermines run very fast and climb trees deftly. The animal's fur is very beautiful, soft, and fluffy, changing its color depending on the season.
This is an active, curious, and playful animal that leads a diurnal lifestyle, which simplifies the process of caring for and taming the ermine. However, an ermine will only be tame if one very important condition is met: it must be kept in captivity from early childhood. Attempts to tame adult animals are useless; ermines remain wild, do not make contact with humans, and do not allow themselves to be picked up.
To make the animal comfortable in your house or apartment, when planning to buy a live ermine, you should find out as many details as possible about its keeping. An article on the website of our "Sobol Doma" cattery will help you get acquainted with the basic rules of keeping a predator at home.
Preparing a Cage for an Ermine
Before buying an animal and bringing an ermine home, you need to take care of organizing comfortable conditions for the animal. It will require a special cage with the minimum distance between the bars. If the distance between the bars is large, the dexterous animal will easily climb through them and hide somewhere in the house or apartment, and it will not be so easy to find the fugitive.
The cage for an ermine should be spacious, as it is an active animal that needs space. Inside the cage, you should place a water bottle, stumps, and snags so that the pet can hide and climb, and a litter box with wood sawdust filler. Also, the internal space of the cage should have a place for installing a house where the predator will rest and sleep.
Organizing Food for an Ermine
Ermines love to eat, and they eat a lot. An adult animal needs to eat an amount of meat daily that exceeds its own body weight by 2-3 times. You can feed your pet raw chicken or turkey, and the domestic predator will happily eat a live mouse or frog.
But feed for rodents, hamsters, and guinea pigs should not be given to ermines; such food will not benefit your animal.
Other Features of Keeping an Ermine at Home
Ermines enjoy water procedures and happily bathe in warm water at room temperature. To organize bathing for a pet, you should buy a plastic basin with a rubberized bottom in advance. You need to wash the animal in plain water, without using shampoos or other detergents.
The predator definitely needs walks outside the cage, but before letting the animal out for a promenade, you must close windows and doors and block access to cracks, otherwise the pet will escape, and you will no longer be able to catch it. Usually, ermines are silent, but if necessary, they can call their owner with a chirp, growl, or bark. Pay attention to such "calls" because this is how your pet may inform you about any of its needs or poor health.
Ermines are smart, mischievous animals, and you will never be bored with them. Their wonderful fur does not cause allergies, and the animal's cleanliness guarantees the absence of unpleasant odors in the house. Offers to buy an ermine at a price of 20,000 rubles can be found in various private ads, but we advise you to contact specialized catteries.
Our "Sobol Doma" cattery does not have ermines, but it has an equally cute and interesting animal — the sable. Our sables are well adapted to being kept at home and will be charming, friendly, and cute pets with whom you will easily find a common language!