Hi there. I'm Agnesa and I'm 15 too. I had a ferret back in 1999 until 2002. He died because of a bladder stone blockage. I read your article thing... I'm not sure how to call it and wanted to give you a suggestion. Help ferrets by NOT getting one. See, I'm a sophmore in high school - meaning in two years I'll be graduating and going to college. I'm interested in being an exotics and bird specialist veterinarian. There are no colleges that offer veterinary training in my area. I'm guessing that I'll have to live in a college dorm far from home. As far as I know, most college dorms don't allow any pets. Ok, not hard to deal with. Get an apartment that allows pets. Again, nope. With the economy going the way it is, you'll probably barely afford college(I mean, people could barely afford it five years ago!). If you do get one, who's gonna take care of it when you leave for college? Now, if your parents said yes, would you be prepared for ferret ownership? Ferrets need a lot of stimulus, enrichment, whatever you may call it. Could you handle doing school work and taking care of a ferret? Would the ferret get neglected when you feel like going out with friends? I know you want to say, "NO! I would NEVER do that!" but the truth is there is a high chance of that happening. I live with three large purebred dogs at home. Winter is an easy season because I don't have to be taking care of my pond. But still, I can barely get the two youngest to get a day's worth of exercise(meaning going on 1/2 hour, at the minimum, runs). They sit home most of the day while I'm at school and my Mom can't take care of them because she's got my baby brother to deal with. I am in all honors (advanced classes) and am doing track as my spring sport - I couldn't take a ferret right now. The dogs are my responsiblity and there are definately times when I just wish I didn't have to take care of them. They say that you should be prepared to pay for at least one ferret medical emergency during the course of a ferret's lifetime. Those don't come cheap. When my ferret got bladder stones, we rushed him to a vet and the bill ended up being over 3k (3,000) USD! The vet wasn't a ferret specialist and my ferret ended up dieing at the vet's office. You said you don't have a ferret-savvy vet in your area. Why torture a ferret by brining him/her to a vet who diagnoses the wrong illness? What if there weren't stones in my beloved baby's bladder? Why'd he really die? See, ever since my ferret died, I've been doing a LOT of research on the cuties. I found FERRETS magazine in late 2002/early 2003 and have been continuing research on ferrets for 5 years now. I definately wasn't prepared when I got my first one, but I only got him because a friend couldn't keep him anymore. You have no idea how much I want a ferret every day and how I miss my old boy. My only advice right now is wait it out, when you can afford to and have the time to, you'll not only be able to help out at shelters/vet clinics, you'll be able to share your life with a fuzzy. That's what I'm doing. As soon as I graduate high school, my parents and I are leaving the USA, we'll have to get established in another country, and once I have a home of my own, I'll be able to say that it was worth the wait. Oh, I suggest you visit smallcritters.com It's a nice, simple game where you can own various pets including ferrets. The point of the game is to show them to gain show points which help raise the offsprings' birth points. It's not really that complicated and only takes like 10 minutes out of your computer time each day. I'm #15643, or "Sunset Wish" on there. Feel free to message me. It's not a very advanced game, but I really enjoy it. Plus the community is really nice. Cheers, Agnesa [Posted in FML 5906]