Hi Monica!
 
Don't worry, you'll learn!  In the meantime, I'll try to answer some of your
questions.  It's O.K. to leave Bandit in his cage as long as he gets at
least 4 hours of outside play time a day - in fact it may even be safer for
him while you're gone, you'll be amazed at what the little guys can get into
and out of!  I might suggest though, that you make sure his cage gives him
plenty of headroom, and that it has a solid bottom, because ferrets tend to
have trouble walking on the wire which can cause problems later.  A piece of
sturdy removable carpet secured with velcro is preferable for easy washing.
You may also want to let him out for a little play time in the morning as
well as the evening.  He will adapt to your schedule and sleep when you're
not there.  The little guys can sleep about 16 hours a day, and don't worry,
he'll know you as Mom with everything you're doing.  Ferrets are naturally
curious, so don't take it personally when he goes off to do other things
while you're playing, this is common.  Just give him lots of tummy tickles
(yes, they're ticklish!), treats (Linatone in small quantitiy is good), and
kisses, and you'll both be fine!
 
As far as food, most people agree the best foods are those made for ferrets,
but many people have success with high quality cat foods.  I'm not familiar
with the food you mentioned, but many people seem to like "Totally Ferret".
I don't know if it has corn or not, but you can check.  And yes, there are
things you need to do other than vaccinations on a regular basis, such as
checking his teeth, ears, baths, and just getting general health check ups
anually.
 
Yes, definitely worry about fleas!  It doesn't take many fleas on the little
body of a ferret to cause them to quickly become anemic, so this is a
definite must control issue.  There has been good success with Program and
Advantage to control fleas on ferrets.
 
I don't know what state you're in, but you want to make sure ferrets are
legal where you live before mentioning that you own one.  You may try the
local Humane Society.  And I can definitely give you info. on CA.  You can
do many things to help with the legalization effort such as give a donation,
and write lots of letters, and get other people to write lots of letters!
It doesn't matter if you're in another state, you can still make a
difference!
 
And here's the good news!  I'm going to give you several web addresses that
you can use that I've found to be great!  If there's anything I didn't
answer or specify, it's because you can probably find it at these sites.
Have fun with your research, and I'm glad to hear of such a committed pet
and pet store owner.  If there were only more of you out there!  Let me know
if you have any more questions after you look at these sites.  You can
e-mail me directly if you would like.
 
Web Sites:
General Info - http://www.acmeferret.com/info_toc.htm
General Info -
http://www.optics.rochester.edu:8080/users/pgreene/central.html
CA legal issues - http://www.efn.org/~csmith/index.html
CA legal issues - http://www.ferretnews.org/
 
See ya!
ARC
[Posted in FML issue 2034]