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Here's the basics to being
owned by ferrets...
Ferrets are obligate
carnivores. They need high protein and fat, no carbs, so they
must be fed a good quality ferret food. There are several on
the market that are good including: Totally Ferret, Mazuri,
Eagle Pack, Marshal Farms, and Natural Gold. Our rescue sells
Mazuri and Eagle Pack at $10/bag which is a $7/bag savings if
you buy them in the store. Do not feed ferrets anything that
has sugar in it, including raisins, bananas, Yogi's, ect... A
good treat would be Turkey or Chicken and Gravy baby food (Delmonte
or Gerber's). Also, Foamy Fries are good too and Ferret N-Bone
Chew Treat (great for their teeth).
Ferrets can not
tolerate the Texas heat. They must be kept inside and when not
attended, they should be caged. They will get into things that
you can't possibly imagine. One of mine jumped up onto the
kitchen chair, then tried to go through the slats at the opening
at the top back to a shelf. He didn't jump far enough and ended
up sliding down through the slats and getting stuck half way.
Luckily it squeezed him below the ribs and I was here to hear
him scream. He had no long term injuries, but had I not been
here it would have been much, much worse. Also, you should keep
ferrets caged when you have visitor's. One, the visitor may not
be used to small animals at their feet and they probably won't
watch the door when they come and go. Ferrets will hide at the
door waiting for an opportunity to explore new areas. They
don't come back on their own.
Your house should be ferret
proofed which is more intense that child proofing. You need to
look for small holes. Anything the size of 1 square inch or
larger is a hazard to a ferret. Run you hand along the
underside of all you kick boards of your cabinets. My first
ferret found holes at the connection points. I managed to get
him before he got all the way in. I duck-taped it closed,
thankfully no one can see it. Make sure a ferret can not get
behind the refrigerator/stove/dishwasher/washing machine and
dryer. And, make sure they are not stuck inside one of these
machines. They don't come out the same way they went in...
*shudder* They can go under doors that have a half inch space
and if they think they can make a hole big enough, they will dig
through your carpet to give them extra space. They are not 100%
litter box trainable. Some do really well, but others are never
on target.
It's easy to trim their
nails, just put a few drops of Ferretone on their bellies and
they will lick it up while you trim. Our shelter director will
show you, just remember to remind her if she forgets. Cleaning
their ears is not easy but only needs to be done when they look
dirty. Do not give your ferret a bath unless it's gotten into
something that can't be brushed off. The more you bathe them,
the more they stink cause you bathing dries out their fur,
causing them to produce more of their body oils (musk) to try to
keep the dryness from bothering them. You can safely bathe them
once every 3-4 months without any negative side effects. If
their smell gets strong, wash their hammocks and change their
litter. I wash all ferret laundry once a week and completely
change their litter every other day. I scoop solids from their
litter boxes daily.
Ferrets need A LOT of
ATTENTION! They love their humans and want to play with them.
My guys love to ride on a towel as I drag it down the hall way.
They also like it when I flap the towel gently in the air, a
little above the floor. They will jump to attack it then tunnel
under it when it lands. Ferrets should be allowed out of their
cage at least 4 hours each and every day, longer if possible.
This can be broken down into 2 hour intervals if needed. If
they are caged, day in and day out, they will get bored and
become destructive. They can develop a bad habit of biting when
they get out, they dump their food, water and litter all over
the cage. They soil their blankets and hammocks. And if that
doesn't work to get your attention, they will get depressed,
stop eating, and die.
All in all, ferrets are
great pets, for the right person. If you can't handle little
presents in your corners or sometimes in the middle of the
hallway or can't handle a warm, musky smell around the house or
can't commit to a ferret life time of fun, then they are not the
right pet for you. As for me, I keep paper towel handy, litter
boxes in every corner and make sure I have lots of Downy for my
laundry, cause to me, they are worth it. I love my ferrets.
They are one of the greatest joys in my life.
If you are still interested,
and I hope you are, then, when you download the application,
save it to file, then attach the file to an email and send it to
this email address:
apps@txferretrescue.org.
It may take a day or two for your application to be verified.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or call
214-492-3961. I'll be glad to help any way I can.
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