I talked to someone about a ferret that had accidently got locked into
another room. The ferret wasn't found for a time. This isn't the first
time I've had calls like this. One time a ferret was locked in someones
basement for 3 days.

I have time out cages, and they are equiped with food and water, even
though time-out is only for a short time. Years ago I put one little
girl in a time out cage and forgot she was in there. She never made a
sound, and a few hours later when I walked by the cage and noticed the
gate was shut I felt awful! Ever since that day I've always made sure
cages and rooms have food and water at all times. Once a week I go
through and toss old and put in fresh foods and water. It is a small
price to pay for peace of mind.

In some houses, all rooms aren't open to ferrets. These tiny
intellegent curious fuzzies always want to know what is on the other
side of the door and that sometimes gets them into sad situations.
Sometimes we don't pay close enough attention or we get forgetful and
that can cause a sad situation as well. Because ferrets are so curious,
and people often have a lot on their minds, my suggestion to help out
in the future with situations like this is to put food and water in
every room your ferret might get into that you don't go into regularly
(basements, storage rooms, extra bedrooms, pantry, etc). This way if
your ferret accidently gets shut in a room that isn't normally open,
or you put them in a time out cage for an extended time, there will
be food and water for your ferret to consume.

To this day I feel so bad that I left Sabie in the time-out cage
without food or water. Thankfully it was in my main room and I saw her
a few hours later. If she had been locked away in another room it could
have been overnight before I realized she wasn't there. I still get the
willys when I think about it.... shiver, and I'll never ever forgive
myself.

tle
www.ferretfamilyservices.org

[Posted in FML 6617]