To start off, I must say that they aren’t different types of ferrets. There’s only one kind of ferret, however, they come in a variety of colors. Thus, it’s only natural that you might get confused.
The American Ferret Association recognizes the following colors when describing ferrets:
- Albino
- Black
- Black Sable
- Champagne
- Chocolate
- Cinnamon
- Dark-eyed White
- Sable
- Silver
- Blue
Then, each type of ferret may have a different pattern in its fur. The main recognized patterns are:
- mitt
- badger
- blaze
- hooded
- roan
- Siamese or pointed patterned
- panda
- shetlands
Table of Contents
Types of Ferrets
Sable Ferrets
These types of ferrets have raccoon-like facial fur which can vary in shade. Normally, sable ferrets have a deep brown coat, a white to cream undercoat, and a light brown, speckled or ‘T’ outline nose.
Silver-mitt Ferrets
Silver-mitt ferrets have white or light cream under-fur with black and white guard hairs. Their feet are white and they have a white bib. Normally, the white or silver coloring fades over time and they shift to DEWS (dark-eyed whites) also known as the white ferret.
Albino Ferrets
This type of ferret is all-white with a red eyes and a pink nose. Albino ferrets are not the same as black-eyed or blue-eyed whites. Those two do not lack pigment. However, albino ferrets do lack pigment.
Panda Ferrets
Panda ferrets get their name because their color pattern is similar to the panda bear. They have dark legs, white feet, patches on the ears, and circles around their eyes, with white or cream under-fur. These ferrets have a high chance of being deaf.
Champagne Ferrets
These types of ferrets have warm, milk-chocolate brown guard hair. They have black/burgundy eyes. Some people consider them to be lighter versions of the chocolate ferret.
Chocolate Ferrets
Chocolate ferrets have a medium brown color (same color as a sable ferret but lighter). Like many other ferret species they have T outline on their nose.
Cinnamon Ferrets
These types of ferret are quite rare. They have a white or cream under-fur with reddish brown guard hair. Cinnamon ferrets have a a darker shade of reddish-brown on their legs and their noses are pink.
Black-eyed White Ferrets
These types of ferrets have all white fur and black eyes. They are also known as DEW (dark-eyed white) ferrets. They actually start off with grey fur which gradually changes color at around 9 months.
Siamese Ferrets
These types of ferrets have the same features as chocolate, cinnamon, or sable ferrets but they have darker fur on their legs. They also have a V-shaped mask that has a darker color than their tail and legs.
Siamese ferrets are also known as point ferrets. Sable is a color and Siamese (Point) is a pattern. You can have a Sable Point ferret or a Champagne Point but you cannot have a Sable Champagne.
Blaze Ferrets
Blaze ferrets have butterscotch white or cream under-fur, butterscotch legs, tail, mask and guard hairs. The blaze in their name refers to their pattern and not fur color. They can be sable in color, however, they would have a light stripe down their forehead, a white bib and white feet.
Spotted and Striped Ferrets
There’s not much to say about spotted and striped ferrets. As their name implies, they are simply ferrets with spots or stripes. Most of them are black-eyed whites.
