Every Friday I meet my grandparents halfway between our homes to drop
off my son for the weekend while I work.  In the shopping center/area
where we meet is a pet store.  Most of the time when we meet I have a
while before I have to be at work, but not enough time to go home and
do anything so I wander around the stores and on occasion end up in the
pet store.
 
Yesterday I went in and was saddened to see 10 ferrets cramped into a
rabbit cage (I'm not sure of the exact dimensions, but it looked to be
about 2x2 and about a foot or a foot and a half tall)  The had a J feeder
with food in it and one of the balls in it for them all to sleep in.
(the ones with like 4 holes in it.  I forget what they're called) Anyway,
at first head count I counted 8.  I got one of the girls in the store to
open the cage for me and I found three other fert owners in the store to
help me rile them up a bit and play with them.  (that's when I realized
there were 10!)  Anyway.  One of them seems to be older.  A fat boy and
my guess is about 6 months maybe.  (If anyone has a dental chart that
shows how to age a fert by their teeth PLEASE send it to me or let me
know where to find one!) The others were so teeny.  They fit in the palm
of my hand.  Of course most of them weren't used to being held and were
nippers and I explained to the girl that if they weren't handled and
allowed to excersise they wouldn't make good pets.  I also explained
ferret shelters to her and some of the reasons people abandon/give up
the ferrets they get from the pet stores.
 
I'm no expert on ferts.  (I'm always wishing I knew more...)  But I
thought that maybe some of the more experienced fert owners here could
help me get this store to provide a better environment for the ferrets
there.  I'm sure some of them were probably taken from their mothers too
early (they purchase their ferts from MF) I just felt so awful having to
return them to that horrible cage.  The employee there was amazed that
my two are free roam and I pointeed to the two corners that they were
primarily using to potty in and mentioned that if they put litter boxes
in those corners the ferrets could be litter trained, which would not
only make it easier for the employees to clean out the cage, but it would
benifit the potential owners as well.
 
There was one girl that was so darned tiny and sweet that I thought about
her all night... I'm SO tempted, but right now I'm playing phone tag with
an owner that wants to surrender her two 2y/o ferts and would have a
tough time convincing my fiance that five ferrets aren't a whole lot
more than 2... LOL It's not like my two don't get into enough mischief
themselves.  (In fact Kiki is bound for the bathtub this morning after
sneaking into the secret room off the bedroom.  It's an old house with
all sorts of nifty stuff built into it... unfortunately the door to
the secret room is only accesable through a dusty attic closet and the
actual door is only about 2 feet high- big enough for a fert, but kind
of cramped for us.  So our little dust bunny is getting a good scrubbin.
She looks so darned cute when she's walking around looking like she
hasn't been doing anything bad.  It's the all grey coat that gives her
away though...)
 
The pet store's information is:
Uncle Bill's Pet Center
4829 West 38th Street
Indianapolis, IN  46254
317-291-3344
 
So to recap the facts (for those who are going to quote me- don't want
any confusion here)
 
There are 10 ferrets, most are VERY young looking, in a cage with wire
flooring that is too small that get no excercise or human interaction
except when customers ask to handle them.  Several are nippers.  I
attribute it to their young age and they don't bite hard enough to break
the skin, but the potential is there.  One is determined to nip at any
part of the body that gets close to her.  They have food and a water
bottle, but only a large ball to sleep in (which takes up most of the
cage).
 
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide on this issue!
 
Have a wonderful day!
Melissa
[Posted in FML issue 4088]