Gone During the Day...

Question
QUESTION: im going to be getting 2 ferrets and was wondering if i went to school from 6-2 during the day woudl they be able to entertain eachother until i got home?

ANSWER: Hi Austen:

Two ferrets should be just FINE as long as they have a nice comfy cage that keeps them safe from other family pets; have plenty of fresh food, fresh water twice a day and some cozy beds and/or blankies to snuggle down into in their cage while you're gone.   

Ferrets need to be out to play with their person for at least three hours every day - they usually don't care WHEN they have this time; they are great for adapting to whatever schedule you need so they can spend time with you.

Be sure to get two ferrets who know each other and get along. If you go to a shelter, ask for a 'bonded pair'...ferrets who are already bonded and love each other. That's the easiest for a new ferret owner to deal with.

I always recommend that new ferret owners also get OLDER ferrets instead of kits (babies).  Ferret kits are very energetic, can be very destructive, hard to handle for a couple of months, and can stay awake for 20 hours a day instead of sleeping for 20 hours a day like an adult ferret will.  Adult ferrets are just SO much easier to deal with for a person just starting.

Here is a great website that tells all about ferret ownership.  I hope you'll read a lot BEFORE you get your ferrets. You'll be surprised how little time you have once you have them!  Having a ferret in the house is somewhat like having a two year old in the house! :-)

http://www.cypresskeep.com/ferretarticles.htm

Your ferrets will be ready to romp and play by the time you get home.  Be SURE to ferretproof the area of your home where you will let them play BEFORE you get them, okay?  It will make your life a lot easier, even tho it's always necessary to continually move items or REmove items from the area your ferrets play in.  At least you could have the basics down before bringing them home.

Best of luck with your new little ones!  Ferrets are one of those pets that you either LOVE or decide pretty quickly are not for you.  They require a LOT of DAILY care, out of the cage play time, fresh food, water, litterbox cleaning DAILY.  The time and effort you put into caring for them is returned to you about 10 times in joy and love....they are always so very grateful for a loving home!

Just in case you are unaware of ferret shelters in your area, here are some lists of shelters - hopefully one is near you!

SHELTERS - CANADA, GERMANY, NEW ZEALAND
 * http://www.ferretfacts.com/ferret-shelter-directory-international-ferret-shelter

SHELTERS/RESCUES - UK (ENGLAND)
* http://www.everythingferret.com/ferret_shelters.htm
* http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ferreter/ferretrescues.htm
* http://www.ferretfacts.com/ferret-shelter-directory-international-ferret-shelter

SHELTERS/RESCUES - U.S.
* http://www.ferret.org/links/shelters.shtm
* http://www.everythingferret.com/ferret_shelters.htm
* http://groups.msn.com/Ferret/yourwebpage5.msnw
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-products.html
* http://www.ferretfacts.com/ferret-shelter-directory-us-ferret-shelters.html

A shelter is the best for new ferret owners because the shelter operator knows the ferrets personalities and can fit one (or two in your case :-) to what you are looking for (some ferrets are cuddly, some or ornery, etc.). You certainly wouldn't be disappointed working with a shelter.
I hope you will give them a try!

ENJOY!!

Jacquie Rodgers

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: since my ferret ran away from a home and she hasnt been wanting to play do u think she could be home sick?

ANSWER: Hi Austen:

Gosh, you keep 'kind of' asking this question, but each and every time you have not given me very important information.  It's important that you give me all the information you know so I can help you best.  I assume this is the same ferret that you said had been inactive and not wanting to play....now you say that she was a runaway...and you found her?  That changes a LOT of what I would give you for advice.  I can only help you if you tell me these things, because they DO make a big difference.

I will *assume* that you have found a ferret and taken her in.  I am concerned, wondering if you have attempted to find her real home?  If you have not, PLEASE try everything you know to find her real home. Make posters and staple them to telephone poles, ask children all around the neighborhood you found her in, call the Humane Society or ASPCA and see if she has been reported missing, and usually newspapers will run a "FOUND" ad for free to try to help get her back home.  If she is used to having other ferrets to play with, that may well be what is wron with her. Ferrets get very attached to their owners and their home and she may be grieving terribly.  PLEASE, try everything possible to find her owner - and know that she *may* die if you don't find them.

On the other hand, THANK YOU for taking her in. Believe it or not, sometimes people who decide they don't want ferrets anymore will just turn them out on the street; so you *may* have saved her life by taking her in! It's very important that you keep her and take good care of her while you at least search for her owner....ideally getting her back to her own home (IF it's a good home) is best for her.  Again, tho, IF someone dumped her, she is much much better off with you than roaming the streets alone and probably dying from starvation or being killed by a dog or a car.

Since you don't have experience as a ferret owner, the best thing to do is to try to find a ferret shelter in your area and contact them and see if they will help you make sure she is eating right, that she isn't sick, etc. A shelter owner should be helpful - tell them that you want to keep the ferret while searching for her home, but you are a new ferret owner and could use some help making sure you are taking proper care of her.  Check your phone book for any vet who advertises that they specialize in "exotics" - that's the best vet for her; if there are none in your area, then call any vet and ask who takes care of ferrets in your area. They should direct you to a vet with at least some ferret experience.

The most important thing we worry about when a ferret is grieving, in a new home or possibly ill is that is is eating and drinking.  Ferrets can die in less than 24 hours without food or water (another reason they die when running loose on the streets).  Since you have no way of knowing what she was eating before, the best thing is to go to your pet store and buy Totally Ferret dry food in a bag. *Most* ferrerts like this and will eat it.  Another thing you can do is get some Hill's A/D Feline canned food - this is a special food for sick ferrets (and cats) that is chicken and really easily digested. Since her tummy is probably upset with all the new things around, it's really important that she gets some "soup" down.

Here's how to make some 'soup' for her.  Take a big tablespoonful of Hill's A/D and put in a small dish; add a few tablespoons of water and warm in the microwave oven for about 10-15 seconds; stir really well and it should be the thickness of gravy (like you have on your mashed potatoes).  Stick your little finger in it and make sure it's warm but not hot to burn her mouth.  

Sit down and put the ferret on your lap. Dip your finger into the little bowl of 'soup', then touch it inside the side of her mouth. Hopefully she will lick it off your finger. Once she starts licking, lower your finger into the bowl so she keeps eating  and now from the bowl.  You may have to "introduce" her to the A/D 'soup' several times before she eats on her own, but keep trying - she MUST eat and this is absolutely the best thing for her to eat. It will soothe her tummy, give her energy and nutrition so she can feel better. When she feels better, she will feel more like playing.

Let her eat as much as she can - make more if you need to. She should eat as much of this 'soup' as she will FOUR TIMES A DAY.  

If you absolutely cannot get her to eat, you are going to HAVE to take her to the vet.  She will lose weight fast and a ferret can go from healthy to dead in 24 hours without proper food.

Ferrets are "obligate carnivores", which means they are MEAT eaters ONLY - NO fruits, vegetables, candy, milk, etc. A ferret is not like a cat, dog or hamster - they MUST eat meat (or ferret kibble, which is made of meat).

It is very very important that she gets nutrition down right away.  Also, keep a bowl of water where she can get to it at any time. She will also need some soft blankies (or a sweatshirt of yours) to snuggle down into so she feels safe and at home.  Whether you have her for a day or end up keeping her for years, you must do these things or she won't live, k?

There is a possibility that she ate something while she was running loose that has made her sick.  If she throws up, be SURE to get her to the vet right away - that's an emergency for ferrets, unlike other pets. If she paws at the roof of her mouth or drools, she feels sick to her stomsch and needs to see the vet also.

She needs to be kept indoors, in a room NEVER warmer than 80 degrees, so be careful of that. This time of year lots of folks have fireplaces they use and if your ferret's cage is too close to the fireplace, the ferret can overheat and die in a matter of minutes, so don't forget to check her often and/or move her to a cooler part of the room.  She will want to be in whatever room in your home that has people in it the most often - ferrets are very social and need to know they are part of a family...so please don't lock her off in a bedroom or away from where the 'action' is in the family (family room, livingroom, kitchen are best).   HOWEVER, do watch when she is out loose and people are coming and going in and out the doors - ferrets CAN sneak out without being noticed, especially this time of year when everyone is busy and maybe not paying attention.  

Hopefully wherever you are planning to let her play has been 'ferretproofed'.  Here's a website that tells how to ferretproof a room/house.

http://www.ferretcentral.org/faq/part2.html#ferretproofing

If she should happen to get ahold of something as simple as a rubberband, a peanut, a piece of styrofoam and many other little items that ferrets seem to be attracted to - they will cause intestinal blockages and kill her (and many other items too, so be SURE to read carefully and ferretproof thoroughly - her life depends on it).

Because she *may* have gotten ahold of something while she was running loose and may have an intestinal obstruction now - MAYBE that's why she is not eating. IF SHE WILL NOT EAT - please get her to a vet immediately. He can xray her and make sure she does not have a blockage; and can also show you how to syringe feed if that's necessary to get her eating again.  Again, Hill's A/D (you get it ONLY at a vet's office, as it's a special food only vets sell) is the best thing to get her started eating.  Once she is eating, you can make sure she has Totally Ferret kibble in a bowl in her cage and she should start eating it IF SHE IS NOT SICK.  If she IS sick, she MUST see a vet.

I gave you links to other websites that are great for new ferret owners - things you MUST do to keep her safe....whether you have her for a few days or years.

Best of luck - again, thanks for picking up this little one and keeping her safe.  Please do try to locate her real family.  If they didn't 'dump' her, they will likely give you a reward for saving her, in addition to being extremely relieved and happy that she is alive and well. As a ferret owner, I can assure you that they are probably at their wit's end and looking for her.  If not, then hopefully you can keep her and take better care of her than her last home.  SHE will know which is the truth and if you give her a good home, she will definitely reward you by loving you, dancing at your feet to please you, and being your best buddy.  But, you must get her thru these first few days/weeks so she lives long enough to get thru this difficult time.

IF someone claims they lost a ferret, make sure they identify her (and you will notice if you let them see her - IF it's her owner, she will go crazy with excitement if it was a good home).  But, you MUST try to find them. It would be so sad for her to die because you didn't find her mom and dad that love her dearly. She is truly at your mercy at this point. Please treat it as you would want your ferret treated if she got out accidentally and you were heartbroken, k?

If I can help, don't hesitate to write again, I will help any way I can....but please remember to give me all the information you have so I can help you better the first time.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: i got another ferret thats 8 months old and i immediatelly put her in the cage with my other ferret that i already ahd and they seem to get along just fine.they play with there toys together and play chase and they dont bite eachother at all.they also lick eachother,but wats weird is that they never seen eachother in there lives and they r acting like they have been together there whole life. so why do people say to give them a couple weeks to get to know eachother?

austen

Answer
Hi Austen:

They say to wait a few weeks before putting them together because there are diseases that *some* ferrets have that are very very contagious.  They can sometimes not even look sick, but when you put the two ferrets together, suddenly you realize that the new ferret has diarrhea...and now your old ferret has diarrhea....and now instead of having hundreds of dollars of vet bills for ONE ferret, you have thousands of dollars of vet bills cuz it's two ferrets that are sick.  The quarantine time is for HEALTH REASONS.  Hopefully you did get this second ferret from a SHELTER and the shelter operator has had the ferret long enough to know it's health condition.  You keep asking questions, but you don't respond whatsoever whether you listen to any advice given.  I will just hope and pray that the reason you are still asking is that you ARE taking some of the suggestions I have made.  I promise I won't lead you wrong, but you can't rely fully on someone else - you really MUST do some reading on your own. Trust me, you *don't* know about ferrets - they are unlike any other pet. A ferret owner who doesn't get educated quickly, usually gets educated either expensively or sadly (lots of vet bills or a dead ferret).

Sometimes ferrets get along well together from the beginning and sometimes it does take a while for them to warm up to each other.  Obviously the first ferret was very very lonesome and the companion is exactly what she was needing...and the new ferret obviously was very open to having a best friend in her life too.  You are very lucky to have two ferrets now that get along.  Please...don't EVER separate them. Once they get used to being together (and it sounds like they already have), if you separate them, it is very very likely that one or both of them will die. If not die, then become very very stressed and then illness follows.

I would really encourage you to do some serious reading about ferrets, Austen.  You've been lucky up until now, apparently...but your luck won't last. Ferrets are very very different than any other pet.  Here's a great website you can *start* reading:

http://www.ferretcentral.org

Click on FAQ's and start reading everything. Especially pay attention to food requirements - don't feed a cat food; use a premium ferret food. BUT if they are eating something else, you will need to change them over slowly or they could get IBS or other internal problems.  Also, make sure you read about FERRETPROOFING their play area and what toys are safe and unsafe. If they happen to eat something they shouldn't have, it won't just ruin whatever they got into, but it can cost thousands in vet bills and lots of time nursing them back to health.  PLEASE, for the sake of your ferrets - READ???   They are depending on you to know these things. They are like little babies who depend on YOU for everything...I hope you won't let them down.

There's a great book called FERRETS FOR DUMMIES by Kim Schilling. There are actually TWO - Vol I and Vol II - if you read BOTH of them, and do as they say, you will be an awesome ferret dad.  If you don't and continue to do things on your own without being aware of the consequences, you will end up with either huge vet bills or dead ferrets - trust me on that.  I would hate to see either....

Happy Holidays - Hope Santa brings you FERRETS FOR DUMMIES, VOL I and VOl II.  :-))

Jacquie Rodgers