How long have you had ferrets?  How have you seen ferret information
available change?  What are the changes?
 
I got my first ferret when I was nine.  See being that I"m a young gal
of "twenty-nine" that would have been in the mid seventies.  Yup.
::snicker:: Back then there were no pamplets, no internet, no well known
books about ferreting.  The store I got the ferret from in NJ told me it
was a "wild animal"...and that I had to sign all these "fish and game"
papers cause it was "wild".  Finally my mom did find a book for me from
1945 about ferret care.  I still have it.. very interesting book by the
way.
 
Wow..okay did you know we were supposed to keep ferrets in small pens
outside?  Did you know that we were to give them bread and milk and meat
and eggs?  Yeah even to a nine year old this didn't seem quite "right".
lol.  I have a lot of guilt..  over how I reared my first two ferrets.
They had cheap cat food and meat scraps.  I saw that milk gave them the
runs, so I didn't do that.  I let them share my eater bunny chocolate.
Most vets would not treat ferrets as they didn't know "how".  As far as
spaying, many wouldn't attempt.  Ferrets were always sold whole.  They
were kept in large aquariums and in my bathroom.  They had free roam
(thank GOD) for hours and hours a day.  But still the aquarium makes me
feel horrible to this day.  They had no litter.  I often was remiss on
cleaning up the poops in their home.  Their bedding was pine shavings.
My mother and I were considered very "odd" for letting a "wild" animal
run through our home all the time with the parots, doberman, cats, etc..
"Oh that crazy family down the street" and all that.  I never saw adrenal,
never heard of ECE, etc..
 
The second batch of ferrets happened in the mid eighties.  Still no
internet, but some information was out there.  Luckily the petstore in
Alabama was way more educated on ferret care.  And they taught me a lot.
Ferrets were now sold very young (eight weeks) and neutered.  This batch
was from Path Valley.  Gorgious things, but sometimes bitey.  They often
needed socialization.  This pet store told me I was not nuts for treating
my ferret as an equal with a cat or dog.  Still... my ferret resided in
a carrier for large dogs like sheppards, with a homemade hammock, liter
pan, and such.  I had the right toys, I had the right food for then even
(Iams), I never saw a dang ferret hammock in the early to mid eighties...
I made it up by watching my ferret and then made my own for the cage.  I
didn't give them candy anymore.  I was an adult now, plus careful.  They
only got run of the house when I was home (days off and nights).  There
was still no information that they needed tons of social attention, other
ferrets, and run time.  I saw a case of probable insolinoma... but still
no adrenal, and no ECE.
 
Okay next batch... is in the late nineties.  Internet time baby.  Ooo is
that good or bad??  Good for the ferrets, bad for me.  Bad for me cause I
never knew so much could be wrong with a ferret.  I never knew what a bad
ferret mommy I was in the past.  I worry constantly.  Gone are all the
innocent days.... innocence is bliss.  What is this ECE?  What is... ...
what are all these......"bald ferrets"??  Sigh.  Oh but the good news...
ferrets seem to "live longer".  Now I can find more "ferret people" and
not be all alone.  I don't have to feel stupid or nuts anymore in babying
them.  Now I have information... gone are the days of making so many
disasterous mistakes for them to suffer by. :)  Gone is the bread and
milk bill too (just joshin')!
 
Wolfy
 
Please visit:
http://www.geocities.com/wolfysluv/
for information on ferret deafness:
http://www.geocities.com/wolfysluv/deaf.html
[Posted in FML issue 3832]