Hello, You all know me, my husband, and our plethora of carpet munchers, from the labrador to the cat to the six fuzzy wonders of my world. To refresh your memories, we own (are owned by) Lance (the bully), Loki (giant and lazy), Merlin (deaf biter), Nikita (the albino princess), Pirate (the human lover), and Smokey (the queen of it all). We are preparing for a move to Franklin, North Carolina. The small town is located in the Smokey Mountains 20 minutes from Georgia, 1 hour 30 minutes from Tennessee, 1 hour from South Carolina, and 1 hour and 20 minutes from Asheville, North Carolina. There is a great vet there (Roy Lenzo) who raised ferrets for many years. Our new accomidations will allow us to have room for a lot more fuzzies, so I am thinking about opening a ferret shelter. Before you tell me I'm crazy (I already know that), I want some advice. I know how to deal with people and healthy/sick animals to a large extent, but the material aspects is where I feel I will have trouble getting it all right. Could someone send me a list of all the things I'll need to start a shelter I.E. a shopping list? Maybe you could include in the list the cheapest places to purchase the items. I also need an overview of "shelter medicine", for I know Peptobysimal and Benedryl aren't exactly covered in the Ferret Faq (LoL). Please tell me what you wish you would have known from the beginning of your ferret shelter venture. I will move in the middle of May to early June. I plan to have everything set for the critters by August or earlier. I am very serious; I honestly believe God has called me to do work with animals, and he has been so gracious to point me in the direction of ferrets. From: Lori and Rat's Brats [Posted in FML issue 4086]