Possibly getting a ferret.

[Tribe]

So for some time ive been considering a new small furry baby. Me and the hubs went today to look at lovely little fish tanks and the cheapest they came tank and stand was $250 now add the stuff to go with it.

Tank $250
Filter 49.99
Heater $30
Rocks $10
Tank Decorations between $25-$100 depeding on how plain or nice you want it
Plus the 20 + fish that would take to make it look decent..fish i want are between $1-$12  a piece unless id go with my goldfish tank they are $25 a piece (huge ginormus fancy goldfish).

Soo after thinking about i really couldnt see investing so much into something that could easily crash and burn (bigger the tank the harder it is to keep up perfectly so you dont kill of expensive fish)...i just couldnt handle paying that much for something so petty (well not petty but not something that really wasnt wanted so much as)

Then my husband seen this lady and begin asking her about what pets she thought would fit us nicely. First she offered us up a very beautiful concore (SP?) parrot. He was sweet but birds are so smart and they need to be treated as children really and i just cant do that for a bird i have so many bad experinces (thank my mother) with birds as pets ive really came to dislike them.

Next she showed us rats, oh they are cute and almost always sweet but as i thought back ive had rats yes they are sweet but they are OH SO SMART. They can basically escape anything and i dont enjoy rat droppings on my floor hands feet everywere (they poo so much its ridiculous) plus there were two girls there wanting a rodent type pet and were totatlly turned off by the fact that all the small rodents wanted nothing more then to bite hide and get away so i handed over the himalyn dumbo male to them and they just adored him..had to let him go to someone who would just adore him  he was a sweetie!

Then she came to chinchillas, granted they are cute and fluffy but those animals are truley a ball of stress..they cant handle choatic envieroments like other animals can. So they were out for sure on my list..

So that ran out of small furrys at that store but she suggested a couple more..First were degus, no to small and prone to biting..then hedge hogs..ive had a life long fear of things with spines nope thanks anways..then she said it ferrets.

Oh that was my jackpot, i had them as a child my mother kept four of them for her four children. They were great, sure they need a clean cage almost everyday but any animal needs that really. So then we seriously started thinking. We found a nice cage for one ferret to start with, $89.99. Its not ginormus but it'll do for the time being and as i see it ferrets are much like cats they need daily attention almost all day so its not like id confine the poor thing to a cage anyways. I always carried mine in my hoodie hood anyways or whatever pouch like material i had on.

So then i got to thinking about the pet store here in town, its an older guys that adores his animals. His ferrets all garunteed to last & they are garunteed to blue dots (should mean they DO NOT BITE) So i think tomorrow we shall go a looking at his ferrets and see what he has to offer he sales them rather cheap also $100 instead of the normal $200 +

So what does everyone think. I need an animal that will be good with being handled..not bite a whole lot and isnt huge XD (i found a kinkaju online for a few hunderd that had i known what it really was i wouldve already had)

[indigowulf]

I live with 3 ferrets right now, if you want any advice from a long-time owner.

I think you need a special license to own a kinkaju, they are an exotic. The person selling them most likely is doing so illegally if they don't mention that part.

Normally $200 ferrets?? The ones I live with were $99. We also had one get outside and go missing (mine's brother) who was also $99. You can find ferret rescues, or even craigslist. One of ours was $50 on craigslist from a family who didnt have time/room for him.

Ferret proofing the house is a must if they can roam. The one that got outside managed to pull the cover off the dryer exhaust and go out the pipe. For a while, we had issues with them trying to climb inside the oven. I simply took off the pan drawer thing, and now it's no fun for them. Our littles tried to get inside the back of the fridge. Had to nail 2X4's in place to keep her out.

My own darling almost lost his life in the bathroom. Under the toilet, in back, there's that water valve, usually in the wall. Well, BJ managed to get his head stuck in the hole where the valve is. Had to tear open the wall to get him out!

Another thing to consider is marking. Male do it more then females, but even fixed femaes do it to some extent. The most common marking place is in front of a well-used door. My solution? Newspaper. Not glamourous, but it works.

Best way to tell if you have a biter on your hands when buying- the tug test. First, scruff them and see how they react. Then release scruff, and hold in your arms. Try tugging gently on all 4 feet and tail. Touch both ears. Run your finger along its belly. Lastly, cup your hand and gently cover the face, nose and eyes.

If you get playfull mouthing, that is fine. If they don't agressively bite during this, most likely they will never grow into a biter.

Next consideration- other pets. These do exellent with most pets. They are fearless enough that even big dogs don't tend to see them as prey. They can go toe-to-toe with cats roughhousing. They *will* try to eat fish, rodents, or birds if you have any. If you don't have 18+ hours a day to entertain them when they wake at odd hours and want to play, I highly suggest getting a sibling, who already has a bond.

Final bit of advice or experience- you must post pics. Lots and lot of pics for us all to coo over.

[Ryuukokoro]

Another thing to consider, if you're against rats pooping everywhere, is that some ferrets have trouble training to use the litter box (I talked to some lady's at the pet store when I was considering a ferret and she told me in her experience, there are some ferrets who just flat out refuse to go in a litter box at all). So just be ready to clean up poop! Which is true for all pets, I guess. And children. lol.

[indigowulf]

I personally think that's the trainers fault. Ive had 4 recently, and 2 as a kid, and was able to train them all for everything other then the marking at the door.

One thing most dont consider.. those little legs take a lot of effort to move, and if you run, it's all bouncy. Getting from one room to a litterbox 2 rooms away is too much. We have 5 litterboxes, and they only have access to 3 rooms! Respect thier needs and think like they do, and they will do fine.

[Tribe]

Thanks indigo that was alot of helpful info.

I tried on craigslist because there was a pair i felt really bad for as i had went to see them before but they had more a tendecy to bite and i dont want that.

So the only other place i can find local that sells them for less then an arm and a leg is the little pet shop like 2 mins from my house. The man loves all his animals. He breeds them and sells babies, at first i thought oh wow a pet mill what the heck ive never seen this before but he showed me all his pairs and how he rotates breeding and he makes sure always to buy from breeders whom are not aflitated with each other so he dosnt end up with inbreeding. Hes got all kinds of what i would consider little exotics as most chain pet stores dont carry him and he knows about every single one. He carrys degus, hedgehogs, lion headed rabbits (whom ive decided i would never own), bearderd dragons (huge ones that are as friendlly as can be, huge teddy bear hamsters, all kinds of guniea pigs (not for me either) he has rats and mice and lets see every bird you can think of aside from the more expensive birds like macaws or concores. He handles them all every day babies and adults both though  he is more reluctet to get rid of his adults as i said before he breeds them and would rather someone start off with a baby because you and they are more likely to get attached. Oh and hes has the neatest little mice, spiny mice i believe is thier name. He just carrys all kinds of small furrys and feathereds. Plus i love his little dog i visit frequently just to pet the puppy and give him a treat XD But anywho thats where im getting my ferret, they arent bred by him but by someone he knows and yes they all have the double blue dots!

[indigowulf]

Will they come neutered/descented? That is an additional cost to consider when buying private. But, gratz on finding him! Hope things work out for you!

[Tribe]

They are both fixed & desented, ive decided upon a beautiful male whom is very large XD (sotra fat youd think he was pregnant female if you didnt know other wise). His fur is like nothing ive ever seen, its almost as hes double coated rather then juts a normal sable maybe? Hes also got his blue dot tattoo so i know that hes a reliable animal buy. The owner of the pet store has also offered me a nice two story caage for 75 so i think i will be getting that boy.