Ferrets make great pets, according to Mannon

Jun 30, 2021

For Mannon Tracey, her pet ferret Noodle is a source of constant entertainment.

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The Shepparton resident got Noodle in December after her housemate at the time brought him home to her as a pet.

Mannon had been watching YouTube clips about ferrets and thought they were cute.

Having her own as a pet is even better than she had hoped.

“It changed my life,” she said.

“He’s my best friend.

“I’m so emotionally attached to him. It’s crazy.”

As well as Noodle, the 21-year-old also has a cat named Marshmallow which she got about a week after the ferret.

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The pair had grown together and played together, Mannon said.

While most people with ferrets use them for rabbit hunting, Mannon said they also made amazing pets.

Noodle spends most of his days in a large cage in the backyard, but when Mannon is home she lets him run free in the house.

At night time Noodle is put in a smaller cage inside so he can stay warm.

While Mannon said she could pick up Noodle and hold him, he was not very cuddly as he was still young and full of energy and just wants to run around all the time.

Noodle has his own toys to play with, and his favourites are animals that squeak.

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However, he also has a fascination with socks — and did not worry about whether people were wearing them at the time or not, Mannon said.

“He doesn’t care if there’s toes in it (the sock),” she said.

“I ended up the other week with only one pair of socks left.

“He stores them, but I don’t know where.”

Mannon said the best thing about Noodle was his “weird personality”, with antics including repeatedly unsuccessfully trying to jump from her bed to the television.

“He’s so funny,” she said.

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Noodle has also just learned his name and will look at Mannon and “flick his hair” when she says it.

“He’s just sassy,” Mannon said.

She is hoping Noodle will soon learn to come when she calls him.

Despite being a male ferret, Mannon still said Noodle was her “spoilt princess”.

Noodle exists on an all meat diet and Mannon feeds him mainly diced casserole steak once a day.

According to his owner, Noodle has a tendency to store his food in his bedding to eat when he is hungry.

“When I clean out his cage there is meat falling on the ground everywhere,” Mannon said.

She thinks Noodle is seven or eight months old now, and said ferrets had a life expectancy of seven or eight years.

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Mannon believes that getting Noodle and cat Marshmallow so close together has meant the two of them are close and it has helped develop their relationship.

“It was good for him (Noodle) to grow up with someone,” Mannon said.

Marshmallow is two years old and Mannon got her from a pet shop which re-homes shelter animals.

In her previous life, Marshmallow was used for breeding.

“She was very much an impulse buy,” Mannon said of Marshmallow.

“It made me sad (she was used for breeding). I thought `I can give her a home'.”

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Marshmallow has certainly landed on her feet in her new home and loves having cuddles with her new owner.

“She’s spoilt,” Mannon said.

“She sits on my chest. There is no personal space. She’s always there.”

Mannon said the best thing about Marshmallow was how much love Marshmallow had for her.

“She knows my car and meets me at the door (when I come home), Mannon said.

“I come in, give her pets and a cuddle and she sits on me.”