Q: "I see on your signature you have 18 ferrets.  Is that right?  Do you
    think ferrets do better in large numbers?"
 
A: They have good stats in ferret math but I think they like the smaller
   numbers.  Easier to drag around when the exponent is under 100.
 
Personally, I think large groups of ferrets, such as my own group, are too
many and too dangerous.  If I were a shelter, I would adopt 10 or 12 out,
but since I am not and these guys are my friends, I cannot.  Sounds wierd,
right?  I have 18 ferrets and I always wish I have less than half of that.
In an effort to lower numbers, I have decided to not accept many new
ferets.  That is not easy, because I get offers of up to 12 or more ferrets
a year.  Still, even with my new rule, I managed to accept two new ones
this year.  I just have a very hard time saying no.  I am a ferret slut.
 
There must be something powerful to convince me that too many is just plain
too many.  I am a very careful observer, and it is my personal opinion (not
fact, just opinion based on experience and education) that ferrets are
probably happier and healthier when herded in smaller, sibling-sized groups
(under 10 ferrets).
 
I say this for several reasons.  First, I think some ferrets (not all,
but some) are never happy in large groups.  It may not be a function of
socialization or agressiveness; it just may be the ferrets are on the loner
end of the socialization continua and simply do not have the ability to
relate well to other ferrets.  Sure, you can get them in the group.  Hell,
I have done it several times.  I have three, maybe four loners in my group.
Sam Luc is a serious loner.  Same is true, to a lesser degree, with Fraggle
and Nosette.  I think Minnie Moose might come around, but she is also
showing signs of "lonerism." At first I was fooled; Sam Luc, Fraggle and
Nosette were all rescues, so it was easy to assume their lack of social
graces was due to poor socialization.  But what I forgot, well, ignored,
was the fact that ferrets are individuals first, and a species second.  In
other words, like people, some ferrets are simply more social than others.
You simply cannot assume they will all act the same.
 
Second, I think stress is a serious problem with ferrets.  Stress is such a
difficult thing to define because it is often so individualistic; what you
might find stressful, I would not.  And there are so many types of stress.
I have started to keep notes on what stresses each ferret and I have found
consistent patterns in individuals.  For example, my ferrets are
free-rangers; they only have maybe an hour of cage time a week.  Cage time
is a serious stressor in my group.  Loud noise stresses 3 or 4 of them, and
some are stressed when they have to eat next to another ferret not on their
"A" list.  I am not suggesting ferrets have the same understanding of
emotion as humans; I am simply saying the stresses caused to some ferrets
by placing them within a large group is probably unfair to them.
 
Third, I have found the more ferrets I have, the less time I have for each
one.  I lose time in clean up and feeding and other chores and I have less
physcial time to share with each one.  That is unfair to the ferrets as
well as to me.  When a ferret becomes ill, you run the risk of missing the
first symptoms or being forced to ignore the other ferrets when intensively
nursing a sick shark.  Some people have more personal stuff on their plate
than I do and some less.  But regardless of how much time you have, the
more ferrets you have, the less time you will have.
 
Fourth, it is easy to find someone to watch a ferret or two for a couple of
days.  Try finding someone to watch 18.  I have to schedule my research and
vacation time around the needs of others.  I had to cancel a planned trip
to Alaska this summer because I couldn't find a reputable ferret sitter for
the time I would be gone.  I have always hated RVs; now I'm thinking of
buying one once I am out of school just so I can get around this problem.
When you have a large group, about the only person you can trust to care
for them is yourself.
 
Fifth, 18 ferrets packed into a single house is like smoking next to an
open pool of gasoline.  The disease demographics of such a concentrated
group are frightening.  You won't have a single case of ECE; you will have
18 cases.  Not a single case of the 'flu, but 18.  A couple of years ago
when TLE got ECE in her group of 70 or so ferrets, she didn't lose a single
one.  That was when I knew she was the patron saint of ferretdom; it was
nothing short of a miracle.  But it came at a great cost in money and time.
Another great danger for a large group is the potiential for massive loss
of life should an accident occur.  Can you plan for a tornado or
earthquake, or even a fire?  If you can't gather all your ferrets and get
out of your house in a few minutes, you have to assume some will die.  If
I could find and collect a ferret every 30 seconds, it would still take me
9 minutes to save all of them.  What if you accidentaly brought in a high
morbidity, high mortality disease?  All we need is a mutation of a common
virus or a particularly bad influenza.  Large groups of ferrets, like in
shelters or like mine, are at extreme risk of massive loss of ferret lives.
The larger the group, the greater the danger.
 
Finally, and this is the moment of truth, you have to ask yourself *WHY*
you want so many ferrets.  Is it because of a deep desire to help animals?
Or are you just lonely and want to fill your life with animals that won't
hurt your feelings?  I readily admit I delight in animals of all sorts and
that is one reason I have so many ferrets.  That and insanity.  But I ended
up with so many because I felt so sorry for the ones I saw in shelters.
See, I'm an adopted child.  Which is why I always tend to adopt the sick or
unwanted.  Why do *YOU* want them?  Now that you are honest, is your desire
for lots of ferrets fair to the ones you already have?
 
So what is the right number of ferrets to own?  1 or 2 LESS than you can
afford, either financially or emotionally.  3 less than you can physically
care for.  Half of what you can rescue in a serious emergency, like a fire
or tornado.  A quarter of what people would be willing to babysit.  Ferrets
may be physically smaller than dogs, so you think you can have more of them
because they take less space, but each ferret takes the same money, time
and energy as an individual dog or cat.  Don't be fooled by size.
 
Bob C and 18 MO' (yes, as in 18) Fantastic Ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 2812]