| New ferret owner - I am in love! - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| MartiP |
Hi all! Just introducing myself and my ferret. I've only had him for 5
days, he is my first ferret, and I am in love already. :-) I'm glad
I got the giant three-level cage, as I can already tell that I probably
won't stop with one! :-O I bought him at a petstore, and have been
online researching madly ever since. (I did do enough research online
beforehand to know that I wanted one.)
Here is a link to a pic of my sweet woozle, Jabberwocky:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/MartiP
|
|
|
| biscayneSix |
Wooo!! I am happy for you. I am a double ferret owner myself...
I highly recommend you purchase a second one, especially if your cage
has room for the two of them.
My first ferret was depressed when I bought the second, unwilling to
share the attention. Less than a month later they are best friends, and
now years later they could not live without eachother.
Happy ferreting!!
|
|
|
| Celtic Ferret |
Good luck with your new boy. What is his name?
Have you gotten Ferrets for Dummies by Kim Schilling? It's the best
book on the market. Online the best website for ferrets faqs is Ferret
Central. There is tons of other stuff online and in this newsgroup.
I have 14 ferrets, 1 dog and 2 mink.
Everyone has their favorite kind of cage. Mine is the Midwest cat cage
with a ferret retrofit kit from Kritter Koncepts.
KG
|
|
|
| MartiP |
Thanks for the encouragement, Celtic ferret and biscaynesix.
I named him Jabberwocky, from the nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll. There
is a part in there that goes:
"The jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood
And burbled as it came!"
LOL! That reminded me of his dooking as he explores. My cage is the
Midwest 24X34X48, so I think it's big enough for more than one. I have
always been a pet person, but can honestly say this little guy
is.....different. Or at least, my response to and devotion to him is on
another level entirely. I have to pay the dogs extra attention, because
I feel so guilty spending ALL my time playing with or just watching
Jabber.
He goes to the vet for his first visit tomorrow. (He's had one
distemper shot, that's all.)
I don't have Ferrets for Dummies yet, as none of the bookstores here
have it. It's on order. So I'm gleaning from online. I have decided to
change him from the Marshall's food they gave me. I thought I'd choose
one of the high-rated ones from the Northern Ohio Ferret chart - Does
that seem right to you guys?
Sorry for going on about him, but I am seriously in love. :-) I'm
making mental lists of all the fun stuff I can do to make his life
wonderful. I think a rice box is next.
|
|
|
| jumpingmouse |
Sounds to me like he's quite the lucky little one!! Only suggestion I
would have is to have the vet pre-treat before any vaccinations with
benadryl AND don't ever get the rabies and distemper at the same time.
Having had a ferret who had a reaction, just consider the above measures an
'insurance policy' on your little one's good health. A completely healthy
ferret can be dead in just minutes from a reaction. I *really* don't mean
to frighten you unrealistically, because reactions aren't all that common,
but it does seem they have been pretty common this year for some reason and
once they happen, there's nothing you can do - so a little preparation
ahead of time just help make sure your little one isn't a
statistic..........also stay at the vet's office after the shot and watch
for things like pads of feet, mouth, etc turning deep red, vomiting,
diarrhea (pretty much in that order as the reaction progresses)......but go
with the intention of NOT having a reaction. Take a few toys and one more
suggestion...........keep him on your lap and don' t let him run around on
the floor of the vet's office because they *can* pick up things like
giarrdia and coccidia (intestinal parasites) and a few other things in a
vets office. Hate to be a worry wart......really I'm not....am I????? LOL
Anyway, now you know *every* precaution I'd take tomorrow and in future vet
visits just to be sure your little one enjoys a LONG happy life with you.
I've seen it said "A dog or cat steals your heart; a ferret steals your
soul" and I thoroughly subscribe to that line of thinking, as obviously you
do also ;-)
jumpingmouse, kylie & gilbert
"MartiP" <bonesgirl@mac.com> wrote in message
news:1102636915.180131.277810@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Thanks for the encouragement, Celtic ferret and biscaynesix.
>
> I named him Jabberwocky, from the nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll. There
> is a part in there that goes:
>
> "The jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
> Came whiffling through the tulgey wood
> And burbled as it came!"
>
> LOL! That reminded me of his dooking as he explores. My cage is the
> Midwest 24X34X48, so I think it's big enough for more than one. I have
> always been a pet person, but can honestly say this little guy
> is.....different. Or at least, my response to and devotion to him is on
> another level entirely. I have to pay the dogs extra attention, because
> I feel so guilty spending ALL my time playing with or just watching
> Jabber.
> He goes to the vet for his first visit tomorrow. (He's had one
> distemper shot, that's all.)
>
> I don't have Ferrets for Dummies yet, as none of the bookstores here
> have it. It's on order. So I'm gleaning from online. I have decided to
> change him from the Marshall's food they gave me. I thought I'd choose
> one of the high-rated ones from the Northern Ohio Ferret chart - Does
> that seem right to you guys?
>
> Sorry for going on about him, but I am seriously in love. :-) I'm
> making mental lists of all the fun stuff I can do to make his life
> wonderful. I think a rice box is next.
>
|
|
|
| biscayneSix |
FOURTEEN FERRETS?! Haha, wow!! They must be quite the handful (=
How do they get along? How are you caging them? Are you breeding them?
|
|
|
| biscayneSix |
I have a pet carrier backpack and leashes for my two fuzzy goobers.
The backpack is wonderful!!
My ferret Slinkey LOVES to be taken in public, and is very well
behaved. (She is a chick-magnet, too (=. I just bring food and water in
a little tuppleware container in the backpack. Make sure you have a
leash!! Especially for bathroom emergencies.
Her restlessness kinda goes away when we are in public. She is calm and
stays close to me for safety. She will even sit on my lap! This is
something she never has the patience to do at home.
|
|
|
| MartiP |
That's funny, biscayne - that's exactly what Jabber did. He had his
harness/leash on, and explored the couch seat a litlle in the waiting
room. But mostly he was very calm, and sort of clingy - wanted to be
held. I hope that's a sign we've done a good job bonding in the past
six days. Which backpack do you have? I have considered that.
He passed his vet exam with flying colors. :-) I am lucky in that I
have a local vet who is pretty knowledgeable about ferrets, since she
has worked with the local ferret shelter for several years.
On a side note, my husband finally gave up this afternoon and moved
Jabber's cage from the spare room into our bedroom. I guess he figured
that's the only way he'll ever see me! LOL! Actually, I think he's a
little fascinated, too. He has always kept mice and rats until 4 or 5
years ago, but I think he's realizing that ferrets are even more fun.
:-)
Sorry If I'm boring all of you old hands with my newbie enthusiasm.
I'll stop gushing about Jabber, now.
P.S. Jumpingmouse, thanks for the advice. He did have a bit of
Benadryl, and I watched him closely after.
Celtic, I cannot imagine having 14!!! Must be loads of fun. Do they
all get along and play together, or do they have separate "play groups"?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
