to Selena Simonetti:
 
The only info I have on shipping ferrets is what I've heard from others - I
got a call from someone in the Niagara Falls area who had a ferret shipped
from New Jersey, and it cost $75.00 plus what she paid for the ferret.
(Since this was a farm ferret, she could just as easily have gone to a pet
store locally and saved herself the shipping charges).
 
As far as feeding ferrets 2 meals a day.....ferrets, IMO, should be
free-fed.  In other words, keep those bowls filled all the time.
 
Ferrets have a very high metabolism and it takes only about 3 hours for food
to get from mouth to butt.  Because of their prepensity for low blood sugar,
I think it's risky to feed them twice a day without access to food the rest
of the time.
 
My suggestion would be to keep dry food in their bowls at all times, and
you can supplement with a bit of canned food or baby food if you like.
Remember, canned food is more water than anything else.  You might want to
use baby food instead - if you get them used to baby food when they are
healthy - and if they see the baby food as an occasional treat - when they
become sick, you will have a much easier time getting them to eat the baby
food than if they are not used to eating it at all.
 
Debbie Riccio
WNYFLFA
Western New York and Finger Lakes
   Ferret Association
Rochester, NY
[Posted in FML issue 1467]