Although there is only one species of ferret, it comes in a variety of colors because of human intervention. As a mustelid, people often mistake the ferret for a stoat or a mink, but these animals are different.
The ferret is officially called the Mustela furo. It is a domesticated animal, which means many people keep them as pets.
What You Will Learn show
What Colors Can Ferrers Be?
1. Albino
The albino ferret is white with cream tones. It is not a natural albino but rather the product of breeding for specific white color. Like a real albino animal, the albino ferret has pink eyes and nose.
An albino ferret can also be a real albino. If the albinism is a product of selective breeding, it is not a pure one and is therefore not a rare specimen.
2. Black
The black ferret is a true black with a white undercoat. The eyes are also black, along with the nose. Some black ferrets have white fur on their face.
A black ferret is reminiscent of the famous cartoon character, Pepe Le Pew. However, Pepe is not exactly a ferret but a skunk.
3. Black Sable
A black sable has black fur with a brownish tinge. On some breeds, it has dark ash and warm black tones. The undercoat can be white or cream.
The nose is either black or brown. The nose color can be speckled. On some occasions, the nose can be pure black or brown.
4. Champagne
The champagne is somewhat chocolatey in color, but then the darkness of the brown hue is in its diluted form. Like the other color variants, the undercoat is white or cream.
A champagne ferret may have a tinge of brown in the middle of the body, not its entirety. But, compared to other animals, it is like a Siamese cat.
The champagne ferret is common; one can discern this type by its nose. Usually, the nose is pinkish or light brown.
5. Chocolate
The chocolate ferret has a light brown color, and people often describe it as milk chocolate. Like most color types, the undercoat is white.
A chocolate ferret’s eyes are dark burgundy, but some variants have brown eyes. The nose is pink with a light outline of the letter “T”.
6. Cinnamon
This is one of the rarest colors of a ferret. It has a reddish-brown combination with a golden hue in its white or cream undercoat. The nose is mostly brick.
7. White with Dark Eyes
This ferret’s color is pure white. It has a whitecoat, and its undercoat is also white. Their eyes can either be black or burgundy.
The white ferret’s nose is pink. It is a really common variant or color, as many people like its clean look. As such, it is the most common ferret that people breed.
8. Sable
The sable has a deep brown coat. Although its undercoat is commonly white or cream, some may have a light gold undercoat.
The eyes of this variant are brown. Some may be dark brown that one person would think that the eyes are black.
Its nose is light brown. Some of them come in full-color brown, while some have speckled noses. There is also a distinguishable “T outline on the ferret’s nose.
Other Ferret Colors
The eight colors are the basic ones, but breeders also produce other variants. The rarer that pattern, the more beautiful the ferret is.
Below are some of the most common patterns:
- Bib – this ferret has white patches under the neck, which look like a child’s bib.
- Mitt – the feet are white, but then the white fur stops at the ankle. If a ferret has a color combination on the feet, it is not a mitt.
- Roaning – the roaning is a complicated mix.The body color has a scattered look, which gives it a kind of salt and pepper profile.
- Stocking – these are ferrets whose feet color are different from the rest of the body. The feet color extends up to the leg.
Apart from the colors and patterns, breeders of ferrets also have something they call patterns. One of the most common is the standard pattern, which is also commonly referred to as the full pattern.
In a standard pattern, the solid band color is present around the eyes. Then there is the T-pattern, or T-bar. In a T-bar ferret, there is a distinct color that looks like a letter T at the head.
One of the most common patterns is “blaze.” In this pattern, the coat color can be anything. However, white is an exception. White patterns do not belong to blaze.
In ablaze, the white color is a distinct characteristic. For example, the ferret is all brown, then there is a white blaze from the head down to the back of the neck.
Blazes do not have any specific eye color, but the preferred ones arethose that have brown eyes. The nose must also be pink.
Blazes must also have knee patches, and all feet must be mitt. What it means is that the feet color must top at the ankle.
Lastly, the tail of a blaze must have a white tip. If not, then the blaze is not perfect and may not fetch a good price in the market.
What is the Rarest Ferret Color?
Cinnamon is the rarest ferret color, which also makes it one of the most expensive. Unlike the champagne one, a cinnamon ferret has tan fur and a combined cream and white undercoat. It also has a bold reddish hue, which gives it its cinnamon color.
Conclusion
Ferrets are domesticated animals, and many surmise that they must have come from European ferrets. The domesticated ferret is illegal to own in Hawaii and California.
One must not mistake the domesticated ferret with the black-footed one, as the black-footed ferret is rather a polecat.
Domesticated ferrets are available in many places. They are sold at Petco, and one can easily acquire them as a pet. However, one can only find rare ferret colors from a breeder, and these are expensive.
