Adopt a ferret or ferrets adoptions assist these
animals that have been surrendered
for one reason or the other. Usually because the owners decided to move to a no pet
residence or someone mysteriously develops an allergy Ferrets or the ferret has
an ailment that the current owners do not wish to pay a vet. to repair the
problem.
All we seek is to have a happy
marriage or interaction between the ferret or ferrets and the owner or
owners of the third most popular interactive pet in America. Which means we
allow a 30 day window in which you can "exchange" a ferret for another or if
a ferret does not fit into your lifestyle we will give you all or a partial
refund of your adoption fee.
Article by Ron Hines DVM
PhD 9/27/03
Pet ferrets are domesticated European
polecats. They have been kept as hunters and pets for over one thousand
years. The scientific name for a ferret is Mustela putorius furo. Other
Mustela to which they are related are mink, skunks, otters, weasels and
badgers. All animals in this group have a distinctly strong odor emanating
from glands below the base of their tail. In olden times, ferrets were used
to flush rabbits out of their burrows. Today, they are generally kept as
pets and as scientific research subjects.
The natural color of ferrets is “fitch”
or sable, brown with a dark mask and tail, but they can be obtained in many
colors. Boy ferrets are called “hobs” while female ferrets are called
“jills” Male ferrets weigh approximately two-thirds more than females. Their
babies are referred to as kits. The lifespan of ferrets is 8-11 years.
Ferrets are able to breed when they are 5- 6 month of age. Ferrets are quite
nearsighted but their sense of hearing and smell are quite acute. Wild
ferrets live on a diet consisting primarily of rodents. Although they will
accept a varied diet in captivity, they are strict carnivores.
In the United States, almost all pet
ferrets are neutered. This is generally done while the pets are very young
(4-6 weeks of age). The largest producer of pet ferrets in the United States
is Marshall Laboratories (http://www.marshallpet.com/).
In 1939, The Marshall family began raising ferrets in the backyard of their family
farm. Mr. Marshall vigorously marketed these animals for research studies
within the scientific community. One of his selling points was the ferret’s
susceptibility to human influenza. When sales did not meet expectations, the
Company began marketing their animals as pets. Their selling points were
their predictable mellow temperaments, small size, cleanliness and
intelligence as well as their ability to be litter box trained. Their
drawbacks include a rather pronounced musk odor present even when the
animals have been de-scented and the high number of pets that die early due
to cancers. Because ferrets are not territorial and are masterful escape
artists, they often wander off and become lost.
Ferrets tend to be highly animated for
short periods of play activity and then lapse into a deep sleep. At play
they love to seek out objects and rollick about but while asleep they are
difficult to disturb or rouse. They do well in pairs and triplets either
confined to a large ferret habitat with tubes, tunnels and bedding or
allowed to roam loose in the house but be very careful when walking so you
do not injure your pet. Ferrets will probe every conceivable nook and cranny
over and over again so ferret-proofing a house or room is quite a challenge.
Generally, if a ferret got into a space unassisted it is able to get out
unassisted. They do not do well out of doors unless they are on a leash plus
they are cold weather animals and do not do well in the heat. They are
active both in the daytime and at night. Small toys and rope-like objects
especially made from rubber are best kept out of reach because young ferrets
often eat them. Ferrets train quite easily to use litter boxes. Silica or
bentonite clay-containing cat litter will often cause ferrets to sneeze. I
prefer to use cellulose products or aspen pellets at under $4.00 per 50
pounds is a great deal and can be purchased in the seasonal department at
Lowe's or Home Depot in the winter time only.
Ferrets should have food and water
available at all time since they love to snack. They do well on dry kitten
or ferret chow providing 30-40% crude protein and 15-20% fat. Although they
enjoy eating them, they do not digest carbohydrates or roughage well. Ferret
vitamin supplements are available but are not required. Feeding foods that
they are not accustomed to often results in diarrhea. The diet of older or
frail ferrets can be supplemented with cooked eggs and beef liver as well as
Gerber #2 Turkey baby food (which is sometimes the only food a ferret with
IBD can process). Older or sick ferrets seem to also benefit from
high energy pastes such as Nutrical. Do not feed them products
containing refined sugar.
Ferrets that have been handled when
they are young are usually docile and gentle when handled. They rarely bite.
An exception are ferrets that did not receive human contact early in life.
These individuals will often snap and lock on to fingers and hands.
A small number of diseases account for
the majority of ferret illness. Young ferrets often become obstructed with
objects that they eat. String, foam rubber, insulation, acorns and pot
scrubbing pads are some of the objects I have surgically removed from
ferrets. Beginning quite early in life (4 years) ferrets frequently develop
adrenal gland
disease,
pancreatic tumors (insulinomas) and tumors of the blood (lymphomas). The
latest ferret related disease id
ADV
(Aleutian's Disease) Vitamin E and vitamin C have been found to
retard the aging process but nothing is good for you in excess. Because of
this, I give it to all ferrets. I vaccinate ferrets annually with Merial’s
imrab3 rabies vaccine and every one or two years with Merial’s canine
distemper vaccine. I no longer use Fervac-D because of the high number of
vaccine reactions it caused. Ferrets can develop canine heartworm disease.
If ferrets are housed out of doors or in unscreened areas I suggest they
receive monthly heartworm preventative. Most of these tumors (adrenal and
insulinoma islets) can be surgically removed and can buy years of trouble
free health but you must be prepared to spend about $500 for the surgery
which is an integral part of ferret ownership.
If you are still interested in adopting
some ferrets our hours are from 7 to 11 AM weekdays and 11 to 3 on
Saturdays, please use the following link to find our
adoption form that can be downloaded and
emailed, snail mail or faxed to us or the new online
adoption form and
visit us at 59 Berlin
Road in Gibbsboro, NJ 08026. If you do not wish to adopt a ferret at
this time but you want to help a non profit no kill animal shelter please go
here
or
and thanks!
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