Please, don't get animals if you won't be there to provide them what they need.
Some animals need almost nothing, but ferrets need a lot of time out of their cage. They are odd animals, they sleep most of the day, but when awake, they have incredible energy. If you keep them in a cage all, or even most, of the day, you are doing your pet a disservice. Think about it this way: humans can survive and be healthy in a small room, maybe put in a treadmill, and give them food. But, will they be happy? Ferrets can survive and do ok in a spacious cage, but without several hours out of a cage every day, they really won't be happy, compared to ferrets who get the free range time they need.
Ferret poop can smell pretty badly. You can add a liquid to their water that helps, but it's expensive. Don't use cat litter or atleast, clumping cat litter, as a lot of people do, it can get stuck to the ferrets and cause infection.
Ferrets are clean animals, but they have to poop pretty quickly after they get the urge. They might poop in their litterbox pretty consistently but let them play far from it, and there is accident potential. Their poop tends to be kind of soft...not fun to clean up.
My ferrets loved to roll around in their litterbox, and then you get that litterbox dust on you when you pick them up.
Ferrets aren't always destructive machines, mine weren't, but one of them would climb and explore anything, and disappear into any holes. Digging a ferret out of a couch or bathroom or kitchen cabinet isn't fun at all.
After having ferrets for a year, I decided I wasn't giving them the attention and time out of their cage that they needed and deserved. Giving them to a family who could take care of them, a family that has an entire room just for their family of ferrets, and allows them the range of the entire house, was the best decision I could ever make for them.
