The Moorehouse University Ferrets have arrived (17 whole ferrets -- 10
males, and 7 females -- ages 3 to 6 yrs old) !!!  Juliana brought them
all home last evening.  She knew that she would be too busy to write,
and asked that I give you an update.
 
Of course, most research oriented people won't be surprised by how they
were living, but I was.  They lived in a room the size of a normal
bathroom with cages lining both walls.  Wall, cages, and floors were all
white, extremely sterile environment.  Technicians wore white ty-vech
suits, and gloves.  Their cages were empty except for the big red ball
(with three holes) that they slept in (all had red balls), absolutely no
bedding and the lighting was red lights full time.  Not how most of us
keep our fuzzies ... right??
 
Juliana wanted to thank the 4 volunteers (Maria, Flo (my niece), and
Margaret) that were able to work their schedules to help her on short
notice.  Maria, Flo, and I started the first shift, and Margaret and
Juliana finished about 3:00 AM.
 
I must tell you that these sweet fuzzies were petrified to come out of
their carriers -- they had never been on a floor before, and were afraid
of every sound.  Most of them were so terrified that they would bite
before you could even get close to them -- attitude of bite first ask
questions later.  Quite a few have rat tails which could be from being
whole fuzzies, or early adrenal.  One of the little guys (#6 I believe)
is showing definitely adrenal signs.  But only time will tell.  They have
the longest nail I have ever seen on a ferret.  Because of not having
bedding they all will need to have baths -- all of them are orange/red
from the extra oils.  We are will attempt the nails and bath when they
are more acclimated to their new world.
 
When we put them into their cages, and they didn't know what to do with
themselves.  The cages are the two-story type and they didn't know how
to get up the covered ramps, or even what sleep sacks, and hammies were.
It was sooo sad, it just made me want to cry ... .
 
I can't imagine how Juliana's does this.  She took off a week of vacation
from work to handle this large influx into the shelter.  We are a small
shelter, and this is the biggest operation we have ever done.  The whole
time we were trying to get these new fuzzies into their cages, and also
do the other cages and let those out to play .... Juliana was fielding
telephone calls left and right.  Some wanting to adopt with lots of
questions, some wanting to surrender their ferret (and her giving them
ideas to help with keeping them), and another where a ferret is extremely
sick in a pet store and which authorities to call.  Of course, with us
asking her questions about how she wanted the cages set up and fix to
accommodate so may new fuzzies.  She still took the time to gently
persuade these fuzzies out of the cage in between all of this.  I felt
like there were 20 balls in the air and 100 more on the ground to juggle.
And by the way, Juliana is extremely allergic to whole ferrets!!!!  AND
boy, could I smell them on my after I left her house!!
 
I called Juliana this AM (didn't know about the really late night, and
woke her up) to check on the status.  Seems they definitely were busy
after she went to bed.  Newspaper (for pooping) shredded and all over
cages, food bowls total dug out, and most of the fuzzies are sleeping on
the first floor mat, and not in the hammies or sleep sacks.  Looks like
there will be quite a long adjustment for these babies.
 
This weekend we are having our schedule Ferret Meet Up, and after lunch
we will be going to the shelter to see if we can give them baths, ear
cleaning and nail clipping.  Only two of these ferrets have names, the
other 15 only have numbers (don't know the story about this), but we will
be putting their pictures and information up on Petfinder as soon as we
can so that you can see these sweet babies and have an opportunity to
sponsor them if your heart leads you that way.
 
People have inquired about the cost of spaying, neutering, and shots.
Right now with the shelter discount the prices are as follows (we are
still checking for better prices):
 
Neutering - $40.50
Spaying - $70.50
Rabies Shots - $8
Also there will be a cost for Melatonin Implants
 
If anyone is interested in fostering, or adopting in the Atlanta area, or
transporting nearby, please let us know.  We know this will be an ongoing
process for us, and will let everyone know as thing progress.
 
One happy tear jerking moment -- After getting 4 sets into their cages,
we heard some sounds from the first cage.  The little lady had discovered
the hammie (only the top part, yet) and was doing a bit of a dance and
rub on it.  It only lasted for a moment, but it made my heart glad that
they were here with us instead of the college's other option.
 
I'm sure that I might have missed something; so if you have any
questions, please ask.
 
Warm fuzzies,
Florence Love
[Posted in FML issue 4595]