I wanted to mention something about shelters and petstores for adoptions. My first ferret (kodo) came from a mom and pop owned pet store in PA. She had been very well taken care of... and since she was my first ferret, I had no idea about shelters and such. I learned about her, from taking care of her and from books. I bought another ferret (podo) from a Pet Supermarket later that year so Kodo would not be lonely. Since the initial pets.... I have adopted one from A shelter... my boy Hugh.... came from the Arcadia Rescue. He is very well loved by not only his momma and daddy but also by the other ferrets. When Our roomate came to stay.... she recieved a ferret from a local petstore in Crystal River FL. And Elmo came to stay. Since then ferret math hit us hard.... we adopted 3 ferrets from a friend whom was moving and couldnt take them with him. And then a christmas time, we adopted Boo and Scooter from the Ferret Rescue here in Sarasota.. The new boys have been adopted and taken care of by us... they are loved just as mush as the MF pet store ferrets. And all are healthy. We've had a few colds with them but nothing that wasnt treatable. I guess what I want to say is... yes adopt from a shelter when you can.... but there is nothing wrong with a ferret from a petstore. Margaret -- -------------------------------------------------------- Ferrets are like Potato chips.... you can't have just one! -------------------------------------------------------- Brightest Blessings [Posted in FML issue 2540]