>1-Average Age of a Ferret Owner:
LOL! Who knows? We are in around 50 and started having ferrets in the
family 20 years ago. Have encountered a lot of folks in all age brackets.
>2-Marital Status:
If my on-line communications and my IMPRESSIONS (nothing more) are valid
then most may be married. We are.
>3-Percentage of Male/Female Owners:
As Dave said, ferret own us both.
>4-Average Income Level of Ferret Owners:
That's personal. This is something I discuss with folks more than a bit,
though, and because ferret food and medical care are so expensive I have
the impression that many ferret folks fall into two groups -- those who
know how to save, and those who haven't realized that they dang well have
to learn to save or else buy ferret medical insurance.
>5-Size of their family and/or number of children:
It is only my impression, but there seem to be a lot of us who either
haven't had kids or whose kids are grown and gone. In some ways ferrets
are like precocious toddlers -- active, inquisitive, bright, hilarious,
cuddly, kissy, but easier to feed and put to bed.
>6-Number of Ferrets on average they own:
We've got 6.
>7-Other types of animals owned besides ferrets:
None here, but we once had fish to amuse an elderly one who was ill.
>8-How often owners purchase food and products for their ferret and other
> pets:
Every few months
>9-Where do you find owners typically purchase products for their pets
> Internet/In store/by Phone - pet store:
The single best source for multiple supplies is
http://www,theferretstore.com, and folks on the internet know that.
Pet stores are usually very poorly stocked but I suspect that folks
who are not on line use local ones till they read the ads in ferret
magazines.
>10-How much money on average do ferret owners typically spend on their
> ferret and/or other animals. - including meds and surgery:
Last year we had 7 ferrets and spent approximately $11,500 (give or take
20 bucks since I don't have the pages in front of me and am going from
memory). We keep a yearly budget book with weekly pages and have for
longer than we have shared our lives with ferrets (22 years vs. 20
years), so have a very precise handle on this. To date this year we have
spent $1,793 (about 40% trying to save one who was terminal and who sure
was more than worth it). Ferret diseases clump in their older years so
unless one has done a poor job ferret-proofing or has had bad luck, or had
one with one of the (far more rare) juvenile diseases the higher costs
often start at about age 4 and then mount. (In our case most health care
costs start at age 6 or older, but we have noticed that folks who are
newer to ferrets seem to often not catch some problems as early so costs
may be higher at younger ages for that reason, and some just get unlucky.
We DO prepare for earlier onset of expenses because that can happen.) We
find it not uncommon for a ferret to need about $5,000 in medical care on
average through a lifetime, some more and some less. We are in an
expensive area of the nation, so our costs will be somewhat higher than
some other locations; used to figure $3,000 ten years ago. We figure
each one to be about a $5,000 lifetime obligation and budget accordingly,
though we budget more when we adopt/rescue a deformed one since we have
learned that they almost always have some hidden medical problems that
will require special expenses.
>11-Do they belong to a ferret organization:
We are in the AFA, but joined that merely for the magazine so have been
very disappointed since they almost never provide one anymore (and we'd
joined on a long-term basis based on the strength of the AFR), and we
aren't keen on shows as they currently exist, given that shows have
promoted too many good-looking but short-lived lines (same as has
historically happened to dogs, cats, and horses). Health and longevity
first!
[Posted in FML issue 3733]
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