Javelyn wrote:
>... I now have two children (non-fuzzy) ages 2 and 5.  There would of
>course be full supervision when the 3 were together.  I talked to a breeder
>who has kits, 12-weeks that are descented/neutered, shots up to date,
>however, he recommended I consider a younger (6-week old) intact animal
>because of my children.  My worry is would a 6-week old require special care
>(dietary, etc.) and is that too young for a kit to be taken from its mom?
>Eventually I would have it descented/neutered is 12-weeks too young for this
>surgery and does it affect the size of the ferret?
 
My feeling would be that with two young children in your household, you
would want to get older, not younger, ferrets.  Kits do a lot of nipping,
which could be a problem with (human) children.
 
I have no expertise to offer on whether 6 weeks old is too young for a baby
ferret to be taken from its mom, special care, etc.  However, I believe the
general recommendation is to wait until your ferret is six months old or so
before getting it fixed.  There seems to be a consensus on this list that
ferrets who are fixed at a young age generally are not as large when full
grown as those that are fixed when older.
 
Perhaps you can find a local shelter with an older ferret (or two!) for
adoption.  Good luck and happy ferreting!
 
Sara and Kurt and the twelve resident fuzzies
[Posted in FML issue 2055]