i will one day own a ferret.
[{"role": "system", "content": "The ferret (\"Mustela putorius furo\") is the domesticated form of the European polecat, a mammal belonging to the same genus as the weasel, Mustela of the family Mustelidae. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur. They have an average length of including a tail, weigh about , and have a natural lifespan of 7 to 10\u00a0years. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. Several other Mustelids also have the word \"ferret\" in their common names, including an endangered species, the black-footed ferret. The history of the ferret's domestication is uncertain, like that of most other domestic animals, but it is likely that ferrets have been domesticated for at least 2,500\u00a0years. They are still used for hunting rabbits in some parts of the world, but increasingly, they are kept only as pets. Being so closely related to polecats, ferrets easily hybridize with them, and this has occasionally resulted in feral colonies of polecat-ferret hybrids that have caused damage to native fauna, especially in New Zealand. As a result, some parts of the world have imposed restrictions on the keeping of ferrets. The name \"ferret\" is derived from the Latin \"furittus\", meaning \"little thief\", a likely reference to the common ferret penchant for secreting away small items.\n"}, {"role": "assistant", "content": "I have always wanted to get a ferret for a pet They are the domesticated form of the European polecat."}, {"role": "user", "content": "They are pretty popular as pets, so they must adapt fairly well to humans and domestication"}, {"role": "assistant", "content": "Yes, they usually have brown, black, white, and mixed fur. I would probably want a white one."}, {"role": "user", "content": "Some parts of the world have restrictions on keeping them, especially New Zealand. They have some feral ones there."}, {"role": "assistant", "content": "Wow, I didn't know that. They normally live between 7 and 10 years. Males are larger than the females."}, {"role": "user", "content": "And they are small too. I think they go about one and a half up to four pounds . "}, {"role": "assistant", "content": "Yes, that is true. The name \"ferret\" derives from \"furittus\", which means \"little thief\". Ferrets are notorious for secreting small items."}, {"role": "user", "content": "They have up to three litters a year, so you would have to be careful about that too."}, {"role": "assistant", "content": "I first read about ferrets in Brian Jacques' \"Redwall\" novels where ferrets are usually villainous."}, {"role": "user", "content": "Haven't heard of it. They like to be active at dawn and dusk , so that might be a problem sometimes. "}]