Hi Karen! Hello back at ya. I'm so glad, er ... sad, that you have
been sucked into world of slavery to these precious, er evil little
creatures. The Great Ferret Oracle would tell you that you are now a
slave "love puppet" to ferrets. Then she would spit out her gum in a
great arch that only she, the oh so petite flower, could do. But that's
another story.

First and foremost, people like you are my heroes. And as a lover
of ferrets, I cannot begin to thank you enough for looking past the
appearances of this little soul and her situation, and being so
generous as to welcome her into your heart. That is a courageous
thing to do.

Yes, leaving an animal alone for a couple of days so that they
can adjust can be beneficial and less stressful, but this is more
applicable to exotic, wild, and more delicate species. As you already
found out, this is not always possible irregardless of animal type. And
when dealing with ferrets (who are as domestic as cats and dogs), it
is actually necessary to take some action right away regardless of the
situation they are emerging from. When added to a home, ferrets should
be thoroughly examined right away. You should run your hands all over
them to feel for any serious abnormalities such as asymmetrical
formations, masses, broken bones, etc. The fur should be parted and
skin should viewed for any injuries, abnormal discolorations, or
disease. Make sure her eyes are bright and the nose is clear. The mouth
is one of the most important places to examine. The teeth should be
looked over for damage and you should look inside their mouths for
sores, disease, or worse. And oh my, the list goes on and on, but you
get the general idea. If possible, sometimes it is best to leave them
in their original housing with all of the original accessories for an
easier transition. But not if there are dangers such as rust, sharp
points, gaps little feet can get caught in, etc. Sometimes despite
scrubbing, the cage and accessories are just too, well icky (urine odor
and corrosion for example) to bear any longer and its too hard to do
that. But it's best to try. I had one I took in that would not eat out
of his original bowl for months.

You picked a great food. And you did well by mixing it with the old
food. But ferrets tend to take a very long time when switching their
foods over. For less stress, I think you should go buy some old food (I
know, a waste of money if she switches over in a timely manner). It's
not good enough to mix it in a bowl because the differences of kibble,
in her eyes, are glaring and she will pick around it for a very long
time. You should mix the food with the old in an air tight bag or
bucket. Shake. Shake and shake it some more. You want the smells to
mix as much as possible, so the the differences aren't so glaring to
her. It tends to help a bit. Make sure that there is more old food than
new food. Now as far as the ratio of old and new, and as far as how
soon you should decrease the old food by small increments, that is
debatable. You'll get different answers from different people. It's
best to contact an established local ferret shelter and keep in touch
with the shelter operator, mom or dad so that you can get consistent
answers and advice for such things so you are not overwhelmed at first.
Try not to worry so much. Look at it this way. Thank gosh she is still
eating!!! That is not always the case. She has survived this long on
her food ... she'll survive a bit longer. And with adding Ferretvite
and Ferretone as treats, she is getting most of any missing vitamins
and nutrients in her old food.

Liter training. Chyeaaaaaah, that can be challenging sometimes. But
you'd be surprised what they can learn and how quickly. What was she
going "in" before? Or where? Is there a way to keep it as such for a
while and then pile baby blankets and ferret bedding everywhere else
in the cage so she'll want to go only in that one established area?
You could fluff the blankets or put toys in all the corners except the
one she is used to going in so she'll be less apt to have accidents.
Ferrets will not go to the bathe room where they sleep. And if you make
the cage the same material as her "bed", after it takes on her sleepy
smell, she wont want to go in other areas as well. Perhaps she is past
this stage. If so, and if she already is not using a large square liter
pan, get one. Do NOT get one of the little triangle ones or you'll be
inviting failure. To switch to a liter, put the liter in the pan and
find all the poopies you can and put them in the area of the pan that
corresponds where she was already going habitually. There may be no
avoiding her seeing this as a great big toy. There is not gentle way of
putting this ... but liter, along with other "things", might fly for a
while. Don't ever clean the pan out perfectly. Always leave plenty of
waste where she normally goes. But keep the parts where her (front)
feet and body would be clean. I know this is confusing but ... although
ferrets like to go in the same areas regularly, they also don't like
dirty places and will not stand in their own waste just to defecate in
that same exact spot.

Don't go by what the owner says about her getting stinky fast since she
is inexperienced and does not know how to keep her clean to begin with.
Unless you are experienced or are super clean, any ferret will get
"stinky fast" because their fur and skin will take on the odor of the
cage, waste, dirty blankets/bedding, etc. A ferret is like a small
puppy. If you kept a tiny dog in a cage where it poops and pees all
day ... how would it smell?? Its the same thing. You can bath a ferret,
but if you put them in a smelly area, they will begin to take that odor
on within ONE day. Sometimes people think the odor is coming from the
animal because of this and they get caught up giving them bath after
bath. This begins a vicious cycle. Drying out their skin and fur
stimulates their scent glands to make more oils and more odor. Do not
bath the baby more than monthly and many will say that is way too much.
I say no more than every other month. Later you can stretch it out more
and more later if you like. If you are meticulous about cleaning the
cage (washing blankets every week or more and scooping the pan each
day), have a liter that absorbs the odor, have a healthy clean ferret
(ears included), a ferret should never smell beyond a mild musky odor.
Ferrets will also get stinky from poor diets. Ah, by the way, make sure
whatever new food you choose has absolutely no fish. It's devastating
to the smell of a ferret and its waste. Dirty ears, believe it or not,
really makes them smell. So buy some ferret ear wash and clean the
middle and outer parts of the ears with cue tips.

I would highly recommend taking her to a ferret knowledgeable vet when
possible, although that's very stressful, so the vet can give her a
going over, make sure she is okay, and show you how to clip nails and
clean ears. I'd not do shots right now. Nope. But do know that she'll
need a distemper (possibly on rabies on seperate day) in the near
future after she is totally adjusted and you know she is healthy.

For being new, you are doing fantabulistic!! I'm sure you will get a
lot of feedback to your questions here or off list. Try to keep it
simple. Dont over think things and get caught up in details of things.
Stick to do's and do not's at first. You are already taking quite a bit
of action here and doing fine. You have plenty of time to learn. Enjoy
your baby. You are mom first and foremost.

Keep us updated as we are all excited for you!

Wolfy
ps. I wish I could have done your questions justice, but I'm super busy
today. I hope its' a start ...

[Posted in FML 7349]