Post by tina on Jan 7, 2007 4:19:24 GMT -8
It was a lot of work. Every day they all had to come out of their cage for playtime, and they are more active then a human 2 year old child, and just as mischievious. You have to keep a close eye on them to keep them safe. They can climb into places you could never expect. They are very smart and learn fast. They get severely depressed if they cannot spend time out of the cage and playing. So just taking them out to play is a huge responsability. Then I had to trim all their toenails once a week, and give them all a bath once every 3 days. It was like having quints and working an assembly line process to get that done lol. They had their normal diet of Mazuri ferret food, which is the absolute best for ferrets, but then they also had to have thier ferret lax in case they had eaten something they shouldn't have, and their ferret vit. I had to scoop poop daily (which was not so bad) and then we had to wheel out the cage to hose it every 3 days to keep it fresh and hair and odor free. I handmade all their hammocks and sleeping gear out of old infant receiving blankets and hooks on the sewing machine. I had to have a lot of them because they got changed and washed daily. When they got worn I had to make more. They had to have a ton of toys to play with, and when all was said and done going to the vet for shots was like " WOW couldn't you give me a discount for bringing them all in at once?" The answer I got was a giggle, but no sorry. They each had to have shots just like a pup or kitten when they where young, and once a year as they grew older. Canine parvo, feline distemper or was it feline lukemia? and rabies shots every year. I am sure I have forgotten something it has been so many years lol.
But all in all even though they where a ton of work they where great. Like having a dog and cat, and a human in one body, and they are soooo smart. They have very happy fun demeanors until you cannot spend time with them, then they get into deep depression. I would suggest to anyone considering a ferret for a pet not to get one unless they can spend quality time with them always. They can and do bite until you teach them biting is nasty. There is a trick to that.
I have not even mentioned the fact that ferrets are really prone to a lot of types of cancer and can catch the cold or flu from humans, and give it back in return. You really really have to investigate everything that goes into taking care of them first. They generally live about 7-10 years if they stay healthy.
Oh yeah I forgot to mention they cannot stand temps above 88 Degrees F either. They will die of heat stroke.
I loved having the ferrets though, they where so much like having a baby around that needed you all the time when it was not sleeping LOL. I was much younger then and could keep up with the little ones. They sleep for like 18 hours a day, but for the remaining hours they are totally wound up.
You can have them with cats and dogs, they get along with both, but I cannot stress enough getting them vaccinated because they are so prone to catching diseases from dogs, other animals and people. Parvo is the worst and it is what nearly wiped out the wild Black Footed Ferrets here in the US.
But all in all even though they where a ton of work they where great. Like having a dog and cat, and a human in one body, and they are soooo smart. They have very happy fun demeanors until you cannot spend time with them, then they get into deep depression. I would suggest to anyone considering a ferret for a pet not to get one unless they can spend quality time with them always. They can and do bite until you teach them biting is nasty. There is a trick to that.
I have not even mentioned the fact that ferrets are really prone to a lot of types of cancer and can catch the cold or flu from humans, and give it back in return. You really really have to investigate everything that goes into taking care of them first. They generally live about 7-10 years if they stay healthy.
Oh yeah I forgot to mention they cannot stand temps above 88 Degrees F either. They will die of heat stroke.
I loved having the ferrets though, they where so much like having a baby around that needed you all the time when it was not sleeping LOL. I was much younger then and could keep up with the little ones. They sleep for like 18 hours a day, but for the remaining hours they are totally wound up.
You can have them with cats and dogs, they get along with both, but I cannot stress enough getting them vaccinated because they are so prone to catching diseases from dogs, other animals and people. Parvo is the worst and it is what nearly wiped out the wild Black Footed Ferrets here in the US.
and you were such a great ferret mommie too!
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