To those of you who think it's terrible to buy ferrets from a pet store,
some of us don't have a lot of choice.  My first three came from pet stores
(2 MFs and 1 Peterson).  I decided about six months ago that I wanted to get
my next one from a breeder.  I live in Florida so I'm not real close to the
ferret belt.  I talked to a couple of breeders in Virginia, etc.  and found
that they will not ship.  My alternative was to make a trip up there and
risk either them not wanting to sell to me or my not wanting to buy from
them.  I am also skeptical about purchasing one sight unseen since I can't
see how we interact with each other.  I finally called the American Ferret
Association and they referred me to a vet (Dr. Kemmerer) in Gainesville.
She then referred me to a breeder in Gainesville who, she said, has very
large and healthy ferrets.  I first contacted the breeder in December.
 
I have talked to the breeder countless times (long-distance) waiting for the
litters to start coming.  To date, she has had one false pregnancy, one
litter of six (two died), and one litter of two, both of whom died.  I last
talked to her Saturday and it seems she has promised two of the four to
friends and is keeping one for herself.  That leaves one to choose from.
It's 150 miles to where she is and I really don't want to go that far to
find I'm not interested in the one she has.  We have decided to wait until
her other litters come (she's expecting several).  I sort of have my heart
set on cinnamons and would like a brother and sister.  Hopefully, she will
have a litter of cinnamons and I will willingly make the trip.
 
Anyway, my point is that unless there are a lot of local breeders, you have
to be very patient.  I have been wanting a baby for six months and it looks
like it may be 2-3 more before I can get one.  Any day of the week
(practically) I can walk into a pet store a buy one or more ferrets.  I am
really fighting the urge because I want to see if a privately bred ferret is
healthier than mine have been...one died from lymphosarcoma and one has
liver disease.  The third one is deaf and, though that isn't exactly a
health problem, it can be trying at times.
 
I also believe that, once the farm-bred ferrets are born, they deserve a
good and loving home just as much as the privately-bred ones.
 
By the way, I'm not aware of any shelters around here either.
 
Katharine, Lily, & Lany
[Posted in FML issue 1962]