I truly don't want to put a damper on anyone's dream but there are
serious considerations with free standing ferret shelters.
 
With the special needs of ferrets, in my personal opinion, free standing
shelters may be detrimental to ferrets, medical/physically/emotionally,
unless there is someone living at the free standing shelter that is
experienced with the special medical condition needs and care of ferrets.
 
If a ferret is insulinomic and no one is on-site 24/7, what happens if
that ferret goes into a severe low sugar seizure?  Will the shelter
operator and volunteers come in the following morning to find a little
one that has suffered terribly with a contorted body through the night?
 
Yes, the same can happen in a home shelter, but if the ferrets goes into
thrashing or screaming seizures someone could be close enough to hear
them.  I work away from home and worry because I'm away for those hours
each day.  I have to work to continue to care for the ferrets.  I'm
fortunate that if I need to take extra time during lunch to drive home
and check on them or if I need to take a day off for a vet visit I can.
 
Will all the ferrets get adequate time out of cages for play and
socialization time?  Taking a ferret out of a cage and putting them
into a bigger cage or play pen to play isn't adequate IMO.  Ferrets
need room to romp and investigate.  And they need human interaction
as well.  My group is free roam and they still seek me out to play with
them even though they have plenty of other ferrety friends to play with.
 
What if a fire happened or the electricity goes off in the dead of
winter or heat of the summer in a free standing shelter?
 
There are also additional costs of insurance, taxes, utilities, upkeep,
etc. to consider.
 
In my personal opinion, free standing shelters that don't have someone
there 24/7 can be a problem for such delicate beings that are plagued
with so many ailments and crave human interaction.
 
Years ago I wanted to construct a shelter building in our back yard.
Zoning would allow for the building but after deep consideration I
decided against it because I wouldn't be right there with the ferrets.
If I were to build today and could afford it, I would build rooms on
to the back of our current home.  We all have our dreams.  Sometimes we
have to put them on or hold or adapt them to meet the needs. :-)
 
For anyone considering a free-standing shelter, would building on to a
current home if zoning allows be an option?  A shelter section of the
home could be set up with baby monitors so that distress sounds could
be easily heard in other areas of the home.
 
Warm hugs to all. tle
[Posted in FML issue 5338]