I suppose I'll take the plunge into the shelter/santuary thing here
since 1- I have been to zoo's place & have to commend her on a job
incredible well done & a devotion to the ferrets in her care that is
incredible! And 2 - I speak from experience as I operate Critter Camp
Exotic Pet Sanctuary where we currently care for over 180 abandoned,
abused & neglected critters comprised of 28 different species -
including 15 ferrets - our high # was 19 - we cap it at 20 - but always
accept emergecy placement of any animal. The ferrets here have their
own room & are free range all but about 8 hrs a day - it is great
seeing who is bonding & playing with who on any given day- they
definately form friendships with each other- and not neccessarily with
the ferrets we would expect- it was funny - we took in a couple ( at
separate times) that had the same name & they found each other & were
the best of friends- (do you suppose they knew they shared a name?)

Critter Camp started out as a shelter and did adopt out some animals,
however over time we began to get in the animals that were older, sick,
not socialized, overtly aggressive, disabled ( we have about a dozen
different animals that are blind right now), those that had been
through several homes already, and those that had been abused, such as
the rabbit that had a collar embedded into his skin because they had
just kept him tied outside to a tree for months! We get 4-5 yr old
ferrets that had been fed dog food or cheap cat food & now they have
all kinds of metabolic problems, for example, too.

Plus a few of the animals we had adopted out to what we felt were
thoroughly screened ( home visits, background checks, monthly contacts
after the adoption, etc) ended up coming back to us ( reasons included
unexpected need to move, loss of job, got married & new spouse or step
kids dont like the animals or they were allergic, etc). So due to the
nature of exotic pets - ones that generally bond with one person or
place if you are lucky, and these other circumstances we chose to go
the sanctuary route. This way when the animal comes in it is assurred
a good remainder of its life, after all it's been through.

When people contact us with healthy young adoptable animals we
encourage them to keep them while we find suitable interested parties
to adopt directly from them, which has worked well. If people contact
us wanting an animal that we don't know of waiting for a home then we
refer them to their local shelters and to Petfinder.com , and keep
their information in case someone calls us to place that type of
animal.

We truly enjoy caring for all of the animals here & hope to build a
stand alone sanctuary in the next few years so that we can house many
more of these unwanted animals rather than let them be harmed, let
loose, or euthanized.

We also spend alot of time and energy trying to educate the public
about what they need to think about before they get any type of pet.
We have helped people realize they didnt really want a hedgehog, they
wanted a hamster, or they didnt really want an iguana they wanted a
bearded dragon, for example.

As with all legit sanctuaries/shelters we are USDA & ILDA licensed
and inspected, we are also a registered charitable 501c3 tax exempt
nonprofit organization & donations & sponsorships ( start at only 24$
per year & include a free tour ) are always desperately needed for
care & upkeep - right now we have $1000 vet bill from the spaying &
neutering of the rabbits so they can all live in the colony without
cages together, as well as the ongoing medical care of many other
animals that have cancers and other long term illnesses. We have
serveral older animals we syringe feed daily, but then once they're
fed they are fairly happy & active, they just cant chew well.

Paypal donations can be directed to [log in to unmask]
or donations may be mailed to us at
Critter Camp, 824 Church St. German Valley IL 61039

Feel free to ask any questions - our sanctuary is an open book- we
love questions and visitors - all chances to educate and share these
precious creatures with others who appreciate them.

Take care,
Beth
www.crittercamp. biz

[Posted in FML 5736]