Heather you made many good points about pet store ferrets,
however...........
 
I have 5 that came from small breeders, one so small she only had one
ferret, the mom.  And she was only bred once a year.  Three of mine came
from her.  They are only 3 years old & one just recently had adrenal
surgery where his left gland was removed & 2/3rds of his right.  One from
another breeder is terminal with liver disease & another from a 3rd
breeder had his left adrenal gland removed & 2/3rds of his right, plus he
has Insulinoma & isn't doing too good.
 
These kids get the best care I can give them, they get good food plus
chopped & ground chicken every day.  They get to go outside to play & dig
in a big sand box, weather permitting.  Since I live in Fl they are more
limited to outside play because of the heat of course.
 
I have a very good friend in the UK that as far as I know has never had a
pet store ferret & she has lost several due to different diseases.  Yes
there are some people that do have pet store ferrets & ferrets from small,
private breeders that both do very well & live long wonderful lives &
others that have health problem after health problem & cost thousands of
dollars & a lot of heartbreak.
 
I am not saying you are completely wrong, just saying that you are not
completely right.  *S* I do think that a lot of the heath problems of pet
store ferrets are due to the mass production of them & hopefully some day
that can be changed for the better.  But I sure cannot say that only the
ferrets I have that came from pet stores or large breeders are the only
ones with health problems.  I almost wish I could since when I got the
guys that came from the small breeders, I thought that they would not be
having these problems & now they are.
 
Lynn & Clan War Weasels
          &
  War Weasels Refuge
[Posted in FML issue 3764]