From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2008-09-04 14:51:06 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Advice wanted ASAP!
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
>He's in
> pretty good shape so he wasn't loose for long. Now trying to find the
> owner, but only have three days to do that before the animal can be
> put up for adoption or well let's not talk about the other option.
Here are lists of ferret shelters because you may
want to call ones in your general area:
http://www.supportourshelters.org/
(Open the life preserver saying "Shelter Ferrets in Need"
and go to your state, ones nearby, or both.)
http://www.ferret.org/links/shelters.html
(If that doesn't work directly go to
http://www.ferret.org
and click open
"Shelters and Links" in the menu on your right
which will take you to
http://www.ferret.org/linkmenu.html
and then click open
"Shelters".)
Also, if this animal is black or dark brown with a white chin
patch then look into the possibility that you have a wild mink.
So
> I will be taking it home with me, waiting to see if someone discovers
> the ferret isn't loose in the house but had escaped the house.
>
> First let me explain, I live in a rural area, vets work on cows,
> horses, dogs and cats, no ferrets. My boss would gladly work on them,
> but well she'd be guessing as she went along and that isn't the vet
> of choice for me.
See if your library has a copy of _Ferrets for Dummies_. I know the
title sounds awful (because it is part of the "Dummies" series) and
like anything else it isn't perfect, but as guides go it is reasonably
comprehensive and accurate -- better than any others I've seen.
>
> My questions at the moment are.......what can I safely use as flea
> control on the ferret, he has fleas. Can I use flea shampoo when
> bathing? if not, what shampoo is ferret safe?
Here is a link to a very comprehensive past vet post on that topic:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/FHL353
>
> How often can I bathe
> the ferret to help keep odor at a minimum, cause husband will be less
> then thrilled when I bring yet another "stray" home.
If ferrets are bathed too often they actually smell more because
they produce more skin oil, so this is best done months apart.
Ferrets differ in how much they smell. We've had a few who
were always very stinky and one who had almost no scent
whatsoever for her entire life.
Usually: Those who are not neutered smell most. Those with
adrenal disease smell more than others. Those with infected
scent glands smell more than others.
Normally, the worst of the smell is from the litter pot or from
bedding.
>
> FOOD! what is
> good for a ferret to eat? I was told many things... and right now he
> is eating Science Diet cat food until I hear different.
Oh, gosh, when it comes to food there are preference discussions
that are best avoided here because they crop up too often, so here
is what the guidelines are:
1. unless there is kidney disease or either of 2 certain urolith
problems keep it high protein
2. ferrets do a lousy job digesting plant matter and can cause
struvite uroliths
3. most ferrets need more fat than cats do
This recent post has links to some good food resources:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/FHL5904
though some ONLY address one food a poster was asking about.
Still, it points to some food charts and places food can be gotten.
Some people feed made at home food, some feed raw, some
feed kibbles, some other things -- and detailed info on each
is in the archives.
I recommend
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/FHL1449
as a post from someone knowledgeable who takes a balanced
view and feeds a range of things.
>
> Fruits?
> Vegetables? treats?
No, no, and high protein unless there is kidney disease. (There
are some exceptions for medical needs, like pumpkin for some
with IBD, banana for some who are on high levels of diuretics,
etc, certain content skipped for some with IBD if they show signs
of reacting to those, lower fat for those who get "bird seed"
diarrhea, etc.)
>
> I have a cage, working on fleece hammocks, etc. I
> would appreciate any information I can get. Because even though I
> have brought home about anything one could imagine, except snakes,
> there won't be any snakes, this is the first ferret I have had to
> deal with.
Well, the number of links might seem daunting but if you read descriptions
then using
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/links
and
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
will get you to a lot more info related to ferrets' health and
well-being.
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