Hello.
 
Two things here today.  First, a ferret that needs a GOOD home, and second,
two tips for folks who either have insulinoma ferrets or ferrets on
Prednisone.
 
First, about the ferret for adoption.  I am located in Southeastern
Pennsylvania.  If you are close enough to come here, or even meet me halfway
from somewhere, read on.
 
I've had a ferret in my shelter since December 19th.  He's a "special needs"
ferret, and I simply MUST get him into a good home!
 
His name is Spaghetti.  He is a 3-4 year old Chocolate male ferret,
neutered.  He is now fairly well-tempered, but I'm sure that he will bite a
new owner until he learns to trust him/her.  He WILL learn to trust you, it
will just take a bit of time.  He never bites me anymore.  Here is
Spaghetti's story.  He belonged to a college student that loved him dearly.
She had two ferrets, Spaggy and Noodle.  She also has a fiance.  I got a
call from this girl in December, she said that she had to get rid of her
ferret.  His cagemate, Noodle, had just passed away, and she couldn't bear
to ever go through that again, so she wanted to get rid of Spaggy.  That's
the story I was told, but I believe the truth was that the fiance did not
want the ferret around, that Spaggy bit him, and that he abused Spaggy when
she was not around.  I believe that he pressured her to get rid of him.  In
any case, Spaghetti lost his cagemate, his home, and his mommy all in the
span of a week.  He is depressed, and in desperate need of some love and
play.
 
I have ten ferrets in my care.  I do everything I can to provide a good home
for all of them, be they shelters or my own.  However, of the ten, I have
seven "rotations" of ferrets a day, as they will not get along with one
another.  I can't give Spaghetti the special attention that he needs,
craves, is dying for.  When I take him out and play with him, he perks up
and sometimes even dooks and dances.  But when I have other things to do, I
have to leave him in the ferret room alone.  He mopes.  He won't get along
with the other ferrets here, so that's not an option to boost his spirits.
I've had many inquiries on Spaghetti, but NONE met my requirements for him.
I am picky about who gets to adopt from my shelter.
 
I now turn to the FML because I care so much for this guy, I can't bear to
let this go on.  He needs constant love.  Someone who can make him their
"baby." Someone who can light up his life again.
 
He can't go into a home with tons of ferrets.  I'd prefer if he went into a
home with none, but I'm not likely to find someone with excellent experience
with ferrets that actually has no ferrets, so if you've only got one or two,
and can provide separate housing for Spaghetti (I won't count on him getting
along with your ferrets, he's a bully), I will consider you.  You also have
to be willing to be bitten for the first few days/weeks until he trusts you.
You have to be willing to love him and pay attention to him, not just let
him out for runtime.  You have to guarantee that he'll receive annual trips
to the vet for vaccines and CBCs and blood sugar tests.  You have to assure
me that should he ever get sick, you'll care for him and not just put him to
sleep.  You have to prove to me that you know how to care for a ferret.
 
I hope this does not sound preachy.  This guy means a lot to me, I won't
just let him go to *any* home.  He has to go to the *best* home possible.
He will be a wonderful ferret to someone who's willing to treat him like a
king.  In return, he will bond with you, trust you, love you.  This I know
because we have bonded with each other.  I'm only letting him go because in
this case, I know that I can't be the best home for him.  With the shelter,
there are just too many things going on for me to give him what he needs.
 
Please think hard about this ferret.  If you are interested, drop me an
e-mail.  We'll go from there.  Someone, please, turn this ferret's life
around.  Make him happy again, like he once was until his owner turned his
life upside down.
 
Now, the second part of this message:
Tip #1: Recently, I posted about the availability of Prednisone pills in 1mg
tablets; until now they were only available in 5mg tablets, making dosages
in pill form for ferrets quite difficult.  The response was overwhelming,
many people let me know that they were thankful for my post, so I'm
mentioning it again for anyone who missed it.  Many vets do not know that
Pred is now available in 1 mg, as it is not listed in veterinary
pharmaceutical catalogs.  However, your vet can order a prescription from a
pharmacy.  Liquid Pred is hated by many ferrets.  Please, everyone let your
vets know about the availability of Pred in 1mg tablets.  It has meant a lot
to my ferret, Patches; he happily swallows his pill rather than take the
horrible liquid that he'd spit in my face!  Tell your vet, it may help many,
many ferrets in the future.
 
Tip #2: if your ferret has insulinoma, or is prone to seizures due to low
blood sugar, there is an alternative to using sugar or Karo syrup to bring
him or her out of the seizure.  My vet told me about this, and it's great!
If you go to the supermarket, to the baking needs section, there are
decorative cake gels used for writing on cakes.  My vet told me that the
contents of this gel is exactly the same thing that vets use to pull animals
out of seizures!  These gels come in a tiny tube with a nozzle for writing
on cakes, and they are the perfect size to slip under the lip and squirt a
bit onto the gum of the ferret.  Best of all, no fingers must go into the
mouth of your seizuring ferret.  And it works just as well as if you rushed
your ferret to the vet or used Karo syrup.  (Note: this is not the
decorative *icing*, it's the *gel*.  )
 
Hope these tips help out! My vet is a godsend. She's full of this wonderful
information!
 
Kymberlie Becker
Director, Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association
"Forget Puppy Love...There's nothing Greater than Ferret Love!" TM
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/ferretlady
[Posted in FML issue 2018]