Hello,
Well I am a new ferret owner and a new internet user.  I also own and
operate a pet store in my town.  I have several questions, I want to also be
able to give accurate information on ferrets to potential families.  I live
in S.E. Iowa with my sister, my sister has a bunnie, a cat, and a standard
poodle.  I have a cat, a cockatiel, and Bandit.  I have several questions
and any extra info would be helpful.  First, while I am at work I leave
bandit in his cage, I have only had him for about two months and we have had
lots of fun learning about each other.  His cage is by no means huge but has
room enough for him to move around with one level.  I have a tube that is
suspended from the celing that he can crawl in and out of.  It is a wire
cage with a built in litter pan, and he has old shirts and socks.  Also I
have cut the top off a plastic gallon milk jug so that he can curl up in
that.  So he has plenty to do, but when I am home and awake I put on his
harness with bell and tag and let him run around.  His favorite activity is
chasing the cats(who are both de-clawed) out from under the bed.  Then he
proceeds to pull every thing off the bottom shelf of my night stand and
tippin over my trash can.  As for the dog and the ferret then play together
Bandit will chop the dogs leg and the dog will spin around and then the
ferret will chase the leg.....you see how this progresses.  So my question
is should I leave Bandit in the cage while I am gone or let him lose, the
dog goes with me and the bird is at the store.  He is out for several hours
in the evening after I get home and before I go to bed is this enough
activity?  What are somethings that I can do to get him so that he
recognizes me as mom?  I am the only one who feeds him, water him, changes
his litter, and lets him out.  I try to play with him but he seems to play
for about 30 seconds and then is off doing somthing else.  He has a ball
with a bell in it and likes to carry that around some and I play with him
with that, but then he wanders off to do something else.  I feed him
Sensible choice cat food, thats what I feed the cats too.  I have to be very
careful what I have for food in the house.  My sisters cat is deathly
allergic to corn, so there is just NO pet food in the house that contains
corn.  Is somthing I should feed him that doesn't have doen't have corn in
it?  My local vet and I are on good terms, I send all new pet owners to him
and he sends people looking for pets to me, are there things that I need to
do besides vaccinations on a regular basis?  I take him outside once in a
while to play in the tall grass.  I live on a farm and there is tons of room
for him to run around, at least until he gets to the end of his leash.  Do I
need to worry about fleas?  The cats never go out but the dog does.  We
treat the cats and dog for fleas, but do I need to treat Bandit too?  I am
not certain where to go to look for the rules and regs concerning ferrets in
this state or county.  I have tried the county court house, and local animal
control, but they deal more with coons and possom who wander on to farms or
into town.  Also there is a possibility that in a couple of years I may be
moving to CA, is there anything that I can do to help get them to make it ok
for ferrets?
 
Also are there any places on the net that has some good general info about
the care of ferrets that I can tell to potential families?  I want to be
able to look up info when people come in with questions concerning their
ferrets.  Well I think that I have taken up my fair share so will save some
questions for later.  My email addy [log in to unmask]  I would appreciate
any and all advice, thank you very much.
 
Monica
[Posted in FML issue 2033]