Hello all,
 
First time poster but I have been lurking in the background for a little
while now.  I just got my first ferret.  And I have a couple of questions
that don't appear to be covered or not covered enough in the FAQ.  But first
just a synopis of how I got my ferret.
 
I got the ferret in Augusta GA.  I live in SC where they are illegal to sell
but not own.  I went to a pet store but they were sold out.  However on
thier board was a listing for a 3 month old female.  It turned out that the
girl with the ferret was an employee with the pet store.  So you'd think she
would know a lot about raising one.  NOT!  They (her and her husband) didn't
know what ferretone was, had a foam ball partially eaten in the cage with
it, and were feeding it dog food.  Despite all this the ferret still seemed
to be in good health.  The blue dot in ear would seem to be an indication of
a marshall farms ferret.  No papers on the ferret as well as no shots.
(ferret is 3 1/2 months old so its time to get them.) Ferret WAS spayed and
nuetered acording to her.  So for 50 bucks I got ferret cage hammock,
tunnel, and a new bottle of shampoo.  I went and bought the rest of supplies
that i needed including ferretone, treats, corn cob litter, LOTS of
different toys and 8-1 ferret food.
 
Now my problems begin, one the ferret REFUSES to eat the ferret food.  after
a day of not eating I placed some dogfood in it and she devoured it but left
the 8-1.  She will not eat cat food either.  Not even the ferret treats.
The only thing I found she liked are raisins.  She will not even touch the
ferretone!  Nor would she eat a piece of boiled chicken.  MAJOR worry here!
How can I get her to eat?  I am giving her dogfood mixed in with the 8-1
(she picks it out) cause she has to have something!  Second problem, The
folks that had her before placed litter in a pan *under* the cage.  then
they let her potty anywhere she liked and let it fall thru (some of it
anyways) to the pan.  This aint good enuf for me, to messy and not hygenic.
So I placed a litter box spiked with examples in the cage.  Then I placed a
fluffy towel in the other corner, the food in one corner and her hammock in
the other,, thinking this would force her to use the box.  No go.  She will
shit under the hammock, on the towel, or in the middle of a wall before
using the litter box.  I just bought a litter pan which I am going to cut
into fourths and place one in each corner like suggested in yesterdays FML
but thought maybe someone could offer me a little more insight.
 
She seems normal enough even if she does sleep alot.... she plays with the
toys and comes when I whistle every time.  ( I let her have free roam of the
bedroom when I am here) She doesn't do any of the antics described in the
FML but perhaps thats due to the age and the fact I think she was kept in
the cage previously most of the time.
 
Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks in advance!
                                                Wayne Morrill
                                                [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1613]