Hi.  My post here does not address anything "silly girl" said, though I
do agree that there were apparently misunderstandings working both ways
and I hope everyone feels better about things now, including silly girl.
 
I do want to address one issue in the post, though, about ferret housing:
 
>I read a message recently on here where someone was condemning a pet
>store for keeping a ferret in a glass cage with shavings on the bottom
>of it.  But somehow I doubt that you'd have been satisfied if the ferret
>was in a wire cage or anything else either.  The ferrets I have seen in
>the pet stores looked well cared for and healthy and they are also kept
>in glass cages without the top on and have shavings on the bottom that
>looks clean.  I can tell that they change the bedding out often and the
>ferrets look very healthy and playful.  The reason they put them in glass
>cages is so you can see them better and also pick them up if you want
>before deciding to buy.  Would you rather they keep the ferrets in wire
>cages where you cannot see them as well and cannot pick them up??"
 
Firstly, most of the ferrets I have seen in pet stores are in glass
housing with ventilation only at the top, and they are usually sealed and
locked, so you can't just pick them up.  It is not easier to pick them up
from these housings anyway than a cage-in fact, many of them are really
tall and harder to get into than a cage.  And if they are ferrets from
Marshall Farms, as many, many pet store ferrets are, they are required to
be kept in a large, octagonal glass unit with ventilation only at the top
and a top that locks.  Leaving a top off a ferret housing unit of any
kind is a bad idea in a pet store unless those ferrets are attended at
all times-it is not a very responsible pet store that lets people handle
their animals unsupervised, or that would risk an animal such a as a
ferret escaping an uncovered housing unit (my Finnegan would have no
problem getting out of even one of those tall Marshall glass units-he
doesn't need to climb; he can jump up to three or so feet in the air to
clear the top!) I wouldn't want a bunch of random people just handling
animals without being supervised, either-I have seen a lot of adults, not
just kids, who don't know how to handle certain animals do things that
make me cringe!
 
Secondly, yes, I would rather see them in a healthier, better-ventilated
cage (I don't find ferrets hard to see in a cage) than in supposedly more
attractive glass housing-it is better for their health.  While I would
rather see them go home with someone than live in a cage at a pet store,
I would rather they went home healthy than developed respiratory problems
(which I have seen happen more than once with pet store animals coming
through my vet clinic) b/c they were kept in more "attractive" and
"people-friendly" housing.
 
Thirdly, cedar shavings: It's not just an issue of ferrets having
allergies to them, it is a matter of cedar and _certain_ other woods
causing documentable respiratory problems besides allergy reactions.
This is the same reason you're not supposed to burn pine in your
fireplace at home-it is bad for your respiratory system.  You may not see
obvious or short-term effects from housing your ferrets on cedar or
certain other wood shavings, but the long-term effects can shorten your
ferret's lifespan and cause avoidable illness.
 
That's all!  This is not an attack on silly girl-just a few points about
why I think glass pet store ferret housing is unsafe, unhealthy and
inadequate.  (Not to mention that most of them are far too small for the
number of ferrets they generally have in there, and too small for even
one if they are there for more than a few days; most pet store ferrets
don't get much time out of their housing for play and exercise.) Even a
cage that is 10-gallon-aquarium-sized is not good housing.  And no, not
all pet stores are created equal.  The Petco near me takes pretty good
care of their animals, but I still their ferret and guinea pig housing
sucks, because they keep them in the Marshall Farms-required housing with
glass and little ventilation and little room for play.  I'd rather NO pet
stores sold pets, frankly-it can be a crappy way to live even in a "nice"
store for an animal that gets passed over time and again, and they just
don't get the same kind of attention, exercise, nutrition, etc. as in a
private home, good shelter, or with a decent breeder, even at the best of
stores.
 
-April
 
"There's nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsman."
-Groundskeeper Willy, "The Simpsons"
[Posted in FML issue 3950]