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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