From:
atthethreshold@earthlink.net
Date: 2003-06-25 12:04:59 UTC
Subject: only child issues
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <31522.1056542699326.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Thanks again to everyone that responded to my "overwhelmed first-time owner" crisis. Gizmo is doing great after sleeping off his last distemper vacc., has only coughed once in the last two days, and the gasp/gag thing seems to be gone (too soon to really tell, but we're much relieved).
My question for the group, concerns our plans for his future. The question of becoming a multi-ferret family has come up alot (yeah, I know, this is how it starts), but there are some legitimate reasons for raising him as an only child, mainly, safety concerns. Gizmo is allowed to roam most of the apartment, which is (becoming more and more) ferret-resistant, but my teenage son and his friends are in and out all the time (and in and out, and in and...) and while my son does a good job watching out for him, I find myself spending alot of time, "checking up" on things and keeping eyes and ears out. With all these big teenage feet fooling around in here, I always worry about the way Gizmo follows everyone around, like, right in between their feet. My son and I have learned how to walk lightly, but even we occasionally knock him over.
Anyway, I'd like to hear from some that have raised only children for long periods or entire lifetimes, and hear about quality of life issues re: this.
Attention isn't an issue. I work from home, and if I have to go out, Giz loves to go for rides, and my son does well with him if I have to be gone overnight or something.
I know, most of you multi-fert families swear by the "more is better" rule, but I'd like to get some input. We figure that we should probably make a decision on this fairly soon, while Gizmo is still quite young. Any opinions would be appreciated.