Q: I need to know if there are different types or colors of ferrets, because i have a ferret and she is rather on the small side, but she is 2 1/2 years old. But my friend has one just 1 1/2 old and it is huge! Bigger bone structure and a rounder head, Whats going on here are there different breeds like dogs, or am i not feeding mine enough!.
Answer: There is only one “type” of ferret, but there are four basic ferret colors. The colors include Sable (including chocolate and dark), Albino, Dark Eyed White (DEW), and the silver. All the other ferret colors are a combination of these four categories.
The colors recognized by the American Ferret Association are as follows:
- Albino
- Black
- Black Sable
- Champagne
- Chocolate
- Cinnamon
- Dark-eyed White
- Sable
- Silver
- Blue
Sable Ferrets
The sable ferret has a mask like a racoon and can vary in shade. A standard sable is defined as having a warm deep brown coat, a white to cream undercoat (golden is acceptable, not yellow), brown or near black eyes and a light brown, speckled or ‘T’ outline nose. “Black” sable ferrets are sought after, getting a really dark one is good!
Silver-mitt Ferrets
Silver-mitts have white or light cream under-fur with black and white guard hairs. All feet are white and they have a white bib. Typically most roans or silvers coloring fades overtime and they become DEWS (dark eyed whites) also known as a white ferret. (not albino)
Albino or red eyed whites Ferrets
This ferret is all white (sometimes with a golden or yellow tone) and has red or pink eyes. As a results of a recessive gene, those ferrets have a real absence of pigment. Don’t get them confused with black-eyed or blue-eyed whites.
Panda Ferrets
Panda’s have dark legs, white feet, patches on the ears and circles around their eyes, with white or cream under-fur. They don’t have a mask. A panda ferret has white on their faces/chest and probably white mitts. Panda ferrets have a high rate of being deaf.
Champagne Ferrets
Lighter version of chocolate – Sometimes a Mask – Black/Burgundy eyes. It the ferret realm some people consider the champagne and cinnamon the same thing like the champagne just being a light cinnamon.
Chocolate Ferrets
Lighter brown version of sable – Mask – Black eyes. Chocolates are a medium brown color (think of the color of slightly damp dirt, sometimes a little darker or lighter, but definitely lighter than the one in your pic), whereas sables are a darker, deep brown.
Cinnamon Ferrets
A rare ferret that has white or cream under-fur with reddish brown guard hair. If he has a redish tent to him and his eyes are crimson or a deep ruby he’s a cinnamon blaze. Blazes are commonly situations deaf. It dosen’t seem to make a diffrence to them.
Black eyed white Ferrets
All white with black eyes. Also called DEW ferrets (dark-eyed white.) The most common color is the sable, but DEWs are fairly common, too. Black eyed white (or dew) start off grey as kits, but lose their grey, soft kit fur at 9 months of age.
Blaze Ferrets
Resembles silver-mitt but has a white stripe down it’s head and neck. Butterscotch White or cream under-fur, butterscotch legs, tail, mask and guard hairs. 75% of Blaze ferrets are born with waardenburg syndrome. I have met a few Blazes who hear very well and some that only have partial deafness.
Blaze is not a color, it’s a pattern. Blaze ferrets can be SABLE in color for instance, but have a light stripe down their forehead, a white bib and usually white feet.
Spotted and Striped Ferrets
Usually striped ferrets are black eyed whites with a stripe down the back and/or tail. Sometimes they may have rings around the tail like a racoon. Spotted ferrets are just that … Spotted!.
There have been a few ferrets that have dalmatian coloring over the years, but they are not something anyone reputable would breed as they seem to be like the Blazes, Pandas and Mutts in regards to having the Waardensburg gene (ie host of health issues).
Siamese Ferrets
This ferret has very light shades of colour with dark fur on the legs and tail. Sable is a colour and Siamese (Point) is a pattern. So you can have a Sable Point ferret or a Champagne Point but you could not have a Sable Champagne.
Types of Ferret Breeds
There is only one type of domestic ferret. Domestic ferrets typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur, have an average length of approximately 20 inches (51 cm) including a 5 inch (13 cm) tail, weigh about 2-4 pounds (1 kg), and have a natural lifespan of 7 to 10 years.
Ferret Body Types
There are variations in ferret body types and fur colors. Some ferrets are slender and skinny, having the “whippet” body type. Other ferrets have the “bulldog” body type and are stocky and thicker. My sable ferrets are mostly whippets and have coarser fur. On the other hand, my light colored ferrets are usually the bulldog type and have soft, thick fur.
Ferret Markings
There are also certain patterns and markings that a ferret can have with his color. For example, a sable can be a sable mitt if he has a bib and his feet are all white. That is a pattern.
Here are some common patterns:
- mitt
- badger
- blaze
- hooded
- roan
- siamese or pointed patterened
- panda
- and shetlands
A marking would be for example a sable bib, which would mean that the ferret has only a bib and no white feet, which is why he couldn’t be a sable mitt. Some common markings include white tips at the tail, bibs, white feet, and rings around the eyes.
Ferret colour names can be confusing since you usually combine together the colour and pattern/marking names to get their full name (ie. “chocolate blaze” or “silver mitt”).