Im so happy!!

[indigowulf]

I was out with a friend, got a text from my roommate today. He asked me if "the babies" where with me. They are our 2 ferrets, brother and sister. the female is mine, her name is BJ, the male is Squeaker, and belongs to the roommate.

He had searched the house high and low and couldnt find them. There was a door on thier cage that we never, ever open, and it was open. So, somehow they managed the tabs on the cage door and let themselves out.

It would appear they managed to get outside, they arent in the house. Ferrets have no homing sense, and once outside, they are almost never found again. We searched the neighborhood. Its dark now, and around freezing temp. No sign of them. Our cats walked with us on the search, and they didnt see them either.

Im utterly heartbroken. We've had them jsut over a year. Just got their booster shots too. Please send me good wishes, prayers, or whatever vibes you have, and help me keep the faith that we will find them in the morning.

[Kadana Sorano]

I'm sorry hun *huggles*  I hope they turn up.  Maybe they found a nice little hidey hole under the house or something to keep the wind off.  Goodluck finding them in the morning.

[Ryuukokoro]

Poor babies! Keep calling for them, ferrets are smart critters. They might be in the wall or floors or in some other hidey hole.

[indigowulf]

No sign of them yet. took the noisemake out of her favorite toy and walked 9 blocks, every main street and back ally, calling them and making her noisemaker go off hoping they would hear and come out. Talked to most of the closest neighbors. Even took out a craigslist ad. http://spokane.craigslist.org/laf/1409013006.html

God I hope they come home.

[PonyMama]

I hope you find them.

I remember a few years back (when I was in grade 5) my best friend's cat went missing.  one day 8 months later he returned safe and sound.  It seems he was adopted as he looked healthy, and when they let him outside he returned home.

So I am sure your little ones will get home.  I hope sooner rather then later.
(if one of you can get into any crawlspace, storage area or whatever I would search there)

Maybe get a few hand written posters up in the imediate area, maybe go door to door, that way nobody mistakes it for a rat (if they don't know what a ferret is)

[springacres]

Oh, indigo, I'm so sorry to hear that!  I hope they find their way home!  *uber hugs*

[Scullisto]

Oh no...prayers are being said as we speak for their safe return. ((hugs))

[sera]

*fluffs*  i'm so sorry to hear this!   i do hope you find them somehow!  Hopefully someone else has picked them up and are wondering where they came from!  Keep an eye on the newspaper for lost and found ads, ne?

[indigowulf]

1 possibly found. A neighbor had one of them, then for some hairbrained reason let it back out. The next house down took it in. They are at work now but told neighbors who are home about finding him. So, it sounds like the male (my roommates) as been found.

One hand, Im thrilled to bits over finding one ok. On the other hand, if they seperated, that lessens the chances that I will find my baby girl alive and well. Its getting to freezing at night, and she doesnt know how to live outside.

Im hoping that the neighbor was mistaken, and the ones at work actually have both. *crosses fingers* put up fliers too, since I have no money, offered to shovel the walk and drive of whoever finds her for me for a full month. (we have nasty winters, thats a huge reward)

[PonyMama]

well I hope your neighbor does have them both, but even to retrieve one will be a huge win.  I am sure both will end up safe at home. 

I thinkl to shovel the driveways would be very sweet as a reward, I know I used to live in some pretty crappy winters and I hated shoveling the driveway, so I hope people will be willing to help you look just in case your girl is not safe with her brother right now.

[indigowulf]

male was safely returned. no sign of my girl.

[PonyMama]

did your neighbor (the first to find him) tell you where about he was found?  Maybe your little girl was somewhere close and maybe she has found a warm hidey hole somewhere

[indigowulf]

yes the first ones who found him live right behind our house. the part that makes me think they did in fact seperate on thier own, those neighbors have 4 rotties. While the dogs are sweet, they are very vocal about anything new, and I think they would go after the ferrets just trying to play and hurt them. I havent seen anything in the yards of any dogs to suggest the ferrets were hurt. Ive pissed off an owner or 2 by checking thier yards from the fence and setting thier dogs barking lol. Also nothing on the roads anywhere, so she wasnt hit.

My youngest cat was very fond of the ferrets, and he is also quite actively searching. I have 4 cats, all very smart, but Yandros takes the cake. He walked with me for 2 blocks, and it took us almost an hour just for 2 blocks. He wanted me close because he was nervouse searching when it wasnt "his" territory, but he looked in every corner. Inside truckbeds, under pallets, very thurough. Anywhere he couldnt get in to look he stuck his face and meowed. It was nice because he can get away with being in yards poking around when I cant.

[Ryuukokoro]

I"m so glad one was found! I'm sorry it wasn't both of them.

[JBGarrison72]

Hoping she turns up soon.

[indigowulf]

*cuddles on fean for comfort*

[indigowulf]

OMG OMG OMG I had to tell you guys.. The brother, who belongs to roommate, was found the next day. My baby girl has been missing since the 6th (according to our time zone, almost exactly 6 days) and its been frost on the ground every morning. We never gave up searching. Called for her, walking the ally where her brother was found, every day. All the neighborhood kids were very eager to know if we found her, how she was doing, and to meet and pet her brother.

Someone brought her home today!! While Im very happy she's home and safe, she also completely stinks of cigarettes and sawdust.. as if she's been in someones house for a long time and they had a pen of some sort with sawdust in it, as if they intended to keep her. I offered my reward, and he looked quite embarassed and said no. Im fairly certain one of the kids found out he had her, and nagged and threatened to tell on him until he brought her home.

but either way

MY BABY IS HOME!!

[Garney]

Yaaayy safe at home! *happy dance*

[indigowulf]

her and her brother snuggling, taken a few months before the "adventure".

[Ember]

Aww, its good you have them both back now! I'm happy for you. ^^

[springacres]

Eee, that's great!  *jumps up and down and gives indigo a super celebratory hug*

[sera]

!!!! Omedetou gozaimasu!!! Congratulations!!  i'm so glad that you got her back!! <33

[Kadana Sorano]

Oh that's great you got her back Indigo! *hugs* I'm happy for you

And gah at the person goign to keep her!  That happened to me as a child with my cat Popeye.  I hate when people do that :S  What's wrong with just getitng your own dang pet?

[Ryuukokoro]

CONGRATULATIONS! ^___^

[sera]

Free ferrets are cheaper than the ones you have to pay for.  *coughs*

[indigowulf]

Im 99% sure it was a combo of 2 things that made them bring her back. The main one being the kids in the neighborhood. So nice having your own little army. The other is, in the week they had her, she's lost weight and has a little bit of a weeze. Im pretty sure they were feeding her generic dog food and/or human food, and they were very heavy smokers. They probly realized they couldnt take care of her.

I dont think I need to take her to the vet. Her brother is having the same weeze everytime he snuggles with his face in her fur, so Im pretty sure its trying to clear out the nasty smell from thier poor noses. We have really good food for her. We have high quality ferret chow, that we took them to petco and let them pick what brand they wanted. We also feed them **very** high quality kitten chow when they want it, and have vitamins in thier water. Her weight should pick right back up.

If she doesnt get back to normal fast, Ill take her in for a checkup.

oh yeah, they run $100-$120 in pet shops here. and neither of ours bite and are (sorta) potty trained. So Im not suprised someone wanted to keep her.

[Silvanon]

Wow, that's amazing and great news that you got her back! 

And hey, for all the badness of someone trying to keep her... at least she was inside away from the freezing cold and ferret-mauling dogs and whatnot, and had the chance to be returned to you in the end.  That's something.

[indigowulf]

Im just so happy shes home, and so proud of those kids. Next warm day, Im going to take her over to the area the kids play and let them interact with her

[JBGarrison72]

I had a hunch you'd get her back.

[Scullisto]

I am so happy for you and your babies!   (hugs from Florida)

[Yruvian]

congrats on getting both of them back, indigowulf!

We had the same thing happen to a dog we owned once. The people tried to keep him too, but some friends told us where he was... I'm glad they decided to do the right thing in the end though.

[indigowulf]

well, turns out the time in the cold and in the smokey house made her come down with the flu. Which she then gave to her brother, and one of them gave it to me. Im hoping I am better by tuesday so I can sing karaoke at my birthday party.

Im having my roommates pickup some molasses and lemon juice on the way home from work. Nice thing is anything I use on myself, I can use on the babies. They are on childrens benadryl and a hot saltwater treatment for thier airways. Im boiling up some chicken to make a real broth, adding honey to the water, then gonna soak some of thier food into the mix. If they cant smell, they wont eat. Hopefully they will eat this.

[Luv007]

I hope you feel better and I'm glad you found your babies to nurse them back to health!  I bet they are happy to have mommy back if they aren't feeling well.

After reading this, I did some research on ferrets.  I'm an avid animal lover.  My fiance is not.  It makes for a straining relationship sometimes.  BUT he loves ferrets.... I guess he grew up with them or something to that effect.  We have two dogs adopted from the humane society, but he says I'm not allowed to have anymore pets.  Except for ferrets.

I am expecting and will be delivered in January due to diabetes complications and such.  So my question is this... are ferrets like dogs, requiring constant training and attention, or are they more similar to bunnies and hamsters, needing basic nourishment and baths to clean them.  Once I mentioned the idea of ferrets to my fiance, he decided that they were an excellent idea and we should adopt asap, but I'm a little more cautious, wondering if the ferrets might feel left out once the baby arrives and time has to be split.

I know that they are quite sly and tricky little animals.  What kind of caging is best while they can't be supervised.  And how would you go about introducing them to other animals?  Or introducing other animals to them.

We are in the process of buying a house and moving so that our dogs can have a backyard to run and play in, so I'm not sure how often they are going to be inside, and when they are, they might be crated just to avoid some of the destructive issues they have now. x.x

I'm a curious person...  hehe.  So I'm just wondering what your experience has been with your ferrets....

Thanks!  *scampers off to look up more things*

[indigowulf]

I often describe ferrets as "eternal puppies" lots of energy, loving, and get into everything. They do sleep most of the time like a cat, so you get your break. They arent rodents as so many think, but rather closer to the badger family. So they dont have the gnaw impulse.

Biggest risk with a ferret is the fact they can go anywhere. Under your stove, inside your fridge, places you wouldnt think to guard. Behind the toilet in our house is a hole where the water pipe comes through, including the shutoff valve. My BJ decided to get her head stuck between 2 support beams in the wall from that hole. That was our first "adventure".

I had to tear the wall open from the other side and break the support 2X4 to free her. We couldnt fit a saw of any kind in, and nothing was working. I eventually got "mommy strength" and broke the dang board out by hand.

They need higher food value than cats and dogs, so cat/dog food shouldnt be staple diet. Ours help themselves to cat food, but also have kitten chow and ferret chow available at all times, and vitamin suppliment in thier water.

If you dont have a lot of time for them, I advise getting a pair of siblings. I hate leaving mine caged if anyone is home and awake, they get to roam.

Before you buy, insist on being allowed to handle them. Keeping in mind that young ones will play and nip in fun, you need to weed out problem biters, especially if you have a baby. We take our ferrets to the park all the time, and are basically spokespeople for anyone interested. I always tell people, while holding a ferret at the store, without scruffing it, try cupping your hand over its nose for a moment. Then try touching all 4 feet, and the length of the tail. If there is no aggressive biting during that time, chances are your ferret will never be a biter.

Last bit of advice. Mothers love thier babies even when they are ugly lol. There were way cuter babies when I picked my girl. I got her for her personality. Turns out, as she grew, she grew into her markings and is a doll now, but she was an ugly duckling.

Ferrets can be found at pet stores, but also you can check local rescues in the area. They will have better knowledge of the animal they offer you, so you can be prepared.

[Luv007]

What is scruffing?

We are going to wait until we actually get settled into the house, but we are talking more and more about it.  I love animals I can cuddle with and hold and such.  I also like an animal that has a personality.  I have a rescue hamster and bearded dragon at my parents house, and though they are awesome and I'm glad I adopted them, neither seems to be much of a cuddler.  The hamster tolerates being held, but Kier the dragon only wants his food.  When I bought him, he was on the verge of death.  The pet store was feeding him crickets that were so big they were eating the scales off of his tail and when he tried to eat them, he would have convulsions because they cut off the air supply to his brain.  The woman at the store said he was "dreaming".... I was like yeah... then why did he just swallow a cricket?  Anyhow... he had a vitamin deficiency and still has little use in his front right leg from the trama.  I brought him home and fed him baby food heated a couple times daily until he got some vigor back.  We really only just wanted him to pass in peace when we brought him home, but he's survived for a couple of years now.  He needs a larger aquarium, but I can't afford it and the fiance says no lizards in the house... so he stays with my parents.  The hamster was just getting deprived of everything and the girl who owned him was somewhat sadistic, so I took the little guy off her hands.  I have a pekeneese spitz cross that really loves hamsters and originally I brought the hamster home for her.  She's really sweet with them... she'll 'talk' to them and lick them if you let her while you hold them.  We've had them escape once or twice and Robin is actually the one who found them.

Anywho...  how do you go about taking them to the park without them getting away?  That sounds really cool.  One hamster I had was amazing.... never bit and was very docile.  Cinnamon use to go to the mall with me, but none of the other hamsters have been good enough for that.  She made it three years with us and I'll never forget her. 

I'll have more to say later, but a friend's coming over so I really need to hop in the shower. x.x

[indigowulf]

as shown in this photo, scruffing is a way of making your ferret stay still and calm while you do things they may not like, trim nails, clean ears, or force feed medicine.

[Luv007]

Aww... that doesn't look to pleasant for them at all.

We decided that waiting until we move into our new house will be best, but we're both all for getting some of these guys once we have things settled and such.

Do you know any certain breeders that you would suggest?  I hate to buy from pet stores....

[Ryuukokoro]

I've been researching ferrets too, since I would like to get one someday when I have more money.

Things I've learned/heard from reading online and talking to people who own ferrets

1.) they have high energy so they need a lot more attention than a cat does and need to be taken out and played with all the time (my family has always raised cats so I relate all animals to them lol)

2.) they're reeaaally expensive @_@. At the pet store the cheapest I've seen is like $100-200. That's just the ferret, that doesn't count the cage and food and toys and all that.

3.) they can be really hard to litter box train and some just refuse to use one (some people I talk to say this, others say their ferret picked it up without too much trouble, like training a dog to go outside)

4.) they can get sick and then you have to find a vet that knows about ferrets, not all of them do


When I talked to PetSmart near my house, they said there's only one breeder in this area and he sells his ferrets to PetSmart only, because they have an agreement. It sounds like depending on the situation, buying from a pet store could be just like buying from a breeder, just with an extra middle man to deal with. I plan to ask PetSmart for the man's phone number so I can speak with him in 'person' so to speak and find out more.

Oh, and about the playing in the park question: they have harness-and-leash sets specifically designed for ferrets in the pet store, so you can take them outside on walks.

[indigowulf]

high energy yes, but its only for short time spurts. They sleep more then even cats do! But when they are awake let the poor dears get some attention.

where I got mine (at petco) they run $120 each, for a neutered, descented ferret with thier first shots. My pair are in a 3 "story" cage. It ran about $200 and is large enough they go in on thier own free will. We also have purchased toys and stuff for them over the last year and a half that is probly around another $100 worth, but not all of that was necessary.. we love spoiling them.

Litterbox training secrets- they dont like to go close to where they eat or sleep, the mark territorially, and they wont bother getting to litterbox if its too far. They like corners where they can back in, because thats instinct so nothing can sneak up behind them. They mostly mark in doorways. So, put a litterbox in one corner of each room they are allowed to play in, and newspaper down at the front/back door, and you're good to go.

vets- my vet charges about 40% more for ferrets than cats. I got that figure based on last time we called and got a quote on checkup and booster shots. On they phone, she thought we were talking about cats and quoted around $60 each. In reality, they were around $100 each.

you can find rescues that have ferrets if you google it. Most breeders do have exclusive contracts with pet stores they trust. Which I think is sort of a good thing, helps prevent the puppy-mill type overbreeding for labs and crap.

heres a link from the petco store sight, from which you can find pricing on accessories, food, and ferrets themselves, as well as care guides.

http://www.petco.com/Content/ContentNoRight.aspx?PC=ferretsupplies&Nav=550&CoreCat=SmallAnimal_Ferrets

However, care-guide wise, I highly recomend Ferrets USA magazine. After having my babies over a year, it still taught me new things about them! Heres thier website:

http://www.smallanimalchannel.com/ferrets-magazine/default.aspx

[Ryuukokoro]

Oooo those links are awesome indigo, thanks! ^^

[Luv007]

*browses over new info*

That is all very insightful.  Perhaps buying one thing at a time and then last, finding the ferrets themselves is a good idea.

I looked up a couple rescues, but it seemed that most were recommended not to be homed with children... and I'm having a daughter soon... so I wasn't sure how they would feel about that.  And not too many of them are around my area.  Which I noticed also seems to be an issue.  Not too many rescues want to adopt out in areas that aren't close by.

Side Note:  I'm only half awake right now.... pregnancy + diabetes sucks sooo much.  It's 3 AM and I have to get my blood sugar back into the perfect range before I go back to bed.  And the pups are wide awake because they *think* I am. 

[indigowulf]

had to add this.. this is a picture of BJ the day she got home, snuggled in her bed behind her brother hiding from all the ickyness outside. thats the underside of her face if you cant tell what youre seeing




and heres a shot of our set up. the red thing on top is a plushy backpack meant to carry them around in, but I put it half suspended from the top and half resting on a platform, and they use it as a bed and love it.  litterbox on bottom floor, food and water bottle on closest to bottom platform. top platform is step to get out the top of cage.

They *never* use the climby tube (blue thing on right) they prefur to face-flop down. I did just move the little hammock that is top left in image, so now its between bed platform and along the blue climby tube. Hopefully they will either use it as a stepping stone down on that side, or start using the other side, instead of flopping down.

[Kadana Sorano]

dawww she looks so sweet!  The way she's lieing, makes me think of one of my old cats.  He used to sleep like that.. only he snuggled against my dog lol 

[springacres]

Have to say, indigowulf, I thought of you just now.  XD  I was watching a Mystery show on PBS tonight where they used a ferret, instead of a bloodhound, to follow a blood trail in the hallway of a hotel.