Hi there,
 
a couple of (possibly silly) questions from a prospective ferret owner: my
wife and I are trying to decide on the `right' pet for us.  We don't want to
end up being cruel to a living creature by not being able to provide a
sufficiently (in this case) `ferret- friendly' environment.
 
Yes, I've read the FAQ, and a couple of books on ferrets.  That's part of
the problem: books about ferrets tend to be written by ferret fans, which
means that they are not neutral and must be tempered by consulting other
sources (this is not a criticism, simply an observation - please don't flame
me!).  The ferret-FAQ seems to be the most neutral source I've found to
date, my compliments to the contributors.
 
My only first hand experience is that of (`borrowing') the neighbors ferrets
as a child in north England.  I tend to preserve nice memories and suppress
the nasty ones (as do most others I assume) and have a picture of a furry
little friend that created no problems.  I'm now over thirty and know that
there is another side to owning a pet...
 
To the questions:
 
1. Is there anyone living in Hamburg, Germany on this mailing list who
   would be willing to `introduce' my wife to the species?  She's not
   at all certain that they're the right pet for us.
 
2. Has anyone the address of a breeder near Hamburg?  (I know, I could
   get in touch with one of the ferret associations (according to the
   ferret-db, the nearest one is in Hanover, a few hundred km away) and
   ask, but if someone has personal experience I find that much better.)
 
3. Has anyone the address of a vet with ferret experience in or near
   Hamburg?
 
   We live in a flat (apartment/unit?) quite near to the city centre, 55
   qm. including balcony.  There's no way we could let a ferret roam free
   in the flat: firstly, we don't want our furniture destroyed (childhood
   memory) and secondly, we have no possibility to ferret-proof any room
   (other than the bathroom).  This means that he/she (see below) would be
   let out a few times a day to play, otherwise be kept in the hutch.  As
   far as a hutch is concerned, we have a space unapproximately 150 x 80 x
   60 cm.  in size and I'd build a custom job to use this space optimally.
   Will a single ferret, or even a pair really feel at home in these
   conditions?
 
5. The smell: every animal (including us) smells. I've heard that females
   aren't quite so pungent. Is this true?
 
6. Is is better to start with a pair, so that they can also keep
   themselves company?
 
For questions 1, 2 and 3, it's probably better to send me an email
directly (Deutsch wird auch verstanden, da aber alle empfangene
Digests in Englisch waren, habe ich obiges entsprechend verfasst.)
 
Thanks in advance, Les
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Les E. Schaefer:
Mature student of computer science:
        University of Hamburg, Germany
        E-Mail: [log in to unmask] &
                [log in to unmask]
Works as well...
        DFN-CERT, Department of Computer Science, University of Hamburg
        E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Disclaimer:
   All opinions expressed are personal.  I neither speak on behalf of
   my employer or institute of education, nor does anything I express
   indicate their views or policies, unless intentionally stated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Posted in FML issue 1796]