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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2014 22:38:25 GMT -5
This makes me sad. I only have the option to buy Marshall ferrets as the nearest breeder is 4 hrs away.
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Post by Desiree on Dec 15, 2014 22:46:36 GMT -5
I wish my nearest breeder was four hours away! I would make that drive in an instant! My nearest breeder is in Ohio or Washington. 17 hours one way.
@tara8200 you can always adopt too. I want a kit too so I have been researching a whole bunch of places to see where and who I want to get a kit from. I think I might check the animal shelters after Christmas too. Unfortunately as sad as this is, shelters fill up after Christmas.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2014 22:50:45 GMT -5
I wish my nearest breeder was four hours away! I would make that drive in an instant! My nearest breeder is in Ohio or Washington. 17 hours one way. @tara8200 you can always adopt too. I want a kit too so I have been researching a whole bunch of places to see where and who I want to get a kit from. I think I might check the animal shelters after Christmas too. Unfortunately as sad as this is, shelters fill up after Christmas. I'm going to look into the ferret rescue here as well. At least it's only an hour away lol.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2014 3:02:28 GMT -5
Tara, we rescued our Franco from Craigslist. Loki we got at Petco, he was a moment of weakness.
We'd been looking into getting a ferret but didn't really want to go through the pet stores. One around here sells Marshalls for over $250.
We HAD to get Loki..he was the last ferret and they told us he'd been sick. We couldn't let him stay there knowing someone might buy him on a whim and not get him vetcare. They said he wasn't sick and ready to go, but he still had a respiratory infection and needed to be on antibiotics.
We want to get another, but will be looking for another rescue. The Petco here is fairly new so I imagine there will be a surge in ferrets that need rehomed.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2014 3:50:11 GMT -5
Tara, we rescued our Franco from Craigslist. Loki we got at Petco, he was a moment of weakness. We'd been looking into getting a ferret but didn't really want to go through the pet stores. One around here sells Marshalls for over $250. We HAD to get Loki..he was the last ferret and they told us he'd been sick. We couldn't let him stay there knowing someone might buy him on a whim and not get him vetcare. They said he wasn't sick and ready to go, but he still had a respiratory infection and needed to be on antibiotics. We want to get another, but will be looking for another rescue. The Petco here is fairly new so I imagine there will be a surge in ferrets that need rehomed. Woah! $250 for a marshal?! They sell for $150 here sometimes on sale for $99. Ugh sale pricing on ferrets.
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Post by RedSky on Dec 16, 2014 11:00:58 GMT -5
This makes me glad that ferrets in pet shops around here are a rarity, unfortunately a pet shop that I USED to shop regularly at started selling kittens. And for £99 each, ridiculous when you can pick one up on preloved or similar for £20 easy and sometimes free. Plus rescue centres are always bursting at their seams. I'm not sure what their turn around is like as I have only been less than a handful of times since they started selling kittens a few years ago.
As for ferrets on preloved search just now found 1 ferret going free (poor girl), 2 males for £5 and numerous for £10, the most is £15 and this is just on the first page. The rescue I went to visit my soon to be ferrets is over run with hand ins. They care for all the ferrets and luckily have lots of volunteers to socialise, play with, and provide other basic care but it isn't a home environment.
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Post by Heather on Dec 16, 2014 13:46:26 GMT -5
To buy a Marshals ferret up here costs about $300 maybe that's why we don't get so many in rescue. That cost often rules out the impulse buyer. It also means you often really consider things before you throw it away too. The initial cost of the ferret is the cheapest thing you will ever spend. If you can't afford the couple of hundred dollars for the ferret's initial cost how are you ever going to afford the ferret in the long run. To also go well I will buy it on Craigslist where I can get my ferret for free.....there's no such thing as a free ferret, you will pay either up front or in the end big money. There is no such thing as a cheap ferret I travelled 10 hrs to get my ferret who had already done a 12 hrs flight. If you want a breeder's ferret check out the show calendar for the AFA and see if there is a show close to your area. Make a weekend of it. Check out the ferrets, talk to the breeders, have some fun. I went to the Bash a year ago. I met a lot of people whom I chat with on a daily basis, saw some fantastic ferrets had a great weekend. ciao
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Post by Celene on Jan 2, 2015 20:33:58 GMT -5
Heather, Marshall ferrets are $300 in ON? I bought my first baby Truffles from a pet store in BC for $120. I was 18, naive, and didn't know better. In hindsight, she was pretty much an impulse buy (I saw her on Friday and fell in love, went back Saturday to look at her more, and ended up going back again on Sunday and bringing her home) and probably not the most responsible decision as I was just about to move out on my own for the first time ever. As it turned out though, it was the absolute best thing I ever did, impulsive or not. I loved her so much, and she taught me to be more responsible, careful and also to love unconditionally and live in the moment.
But I digress. I really do hate pet stores as they DO encourage people to buy pets on impulse without providing proper education. I hate mills who churn out more animals than there are homes for, with the sole intent being for profit, not animal welfare. I personally believe people should have to apply for a license before being able to purchase a pet, if only to slow down the process enough so that people are forced to reflect on their decision before committing. I know that may seem extreme and unrealistic, but there are just SO MANY amazing little creatures out there (ferrets and otherwise) who are being mistreated or living in poor conditions.
On a semi-related note, I have to get something off my chest that is REALLY (REALLY) irritating me. A while ago a girl posted on a fb ferret group that she had adopted two ferrets but was really sad because she was very broke and only had a small cage to keep them in. She said she took them in because they were living in terrible conditions and she loved them and wanted to give them a good home. A kind, generous stranger in the group paid out of their own pocket to ship her a large (FN I think) cage so they could have a better home. They were also sleeping in a dirty old sweatshirt so I paid out of my own pocket to send her a couple hammocks and a sleep sack. (Not cheap since I live in Canada and she in the US, but I wanted the fuzzies to have a warm place to sleep.)
Today she posts that she rehomed one of the ferrets since she didn't think they were getting along well. I tried not to judge since people have difficult circumstances and not everyone can care for 2 ferrets. HOWEVER, she responded to the post later saying that she was looking at pet stores to buy a baby to be a playmate with the one ferret she did keep. I didn't say anything there because I knew I couldn't keep it polite, but it makes me furious that she can't afford to care for these ferrets on their own and gives one away, only to plan to spend her next pay cheque on a "new" ferret. If she can't deal with an older ferret's (alleged) behavioural issues, how does she expect to train a kit?
Sorry for the rant, but I'm feeling rather upset right now and really wish when people offered pets a "forever home" that they really meant it.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 2, 2015 20:40:19 GMT -5
And the horrible thing is- since she got them together odds are they were bonded, but one likely had a biting or potty problem
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2015 20:49:08 GMT -5
Celene Ugh stories like that make me so sad and frustrated. I mean, don't adopt an animal if you can't care for it!!! GAH. So many of my animals are rescues - either abandoned on the streets like several of my cats, dropped off at shelters like my dogs, or bought by someone who doesn't have the time, money, or will to take care of them like many of my snakes. My ferret is a little rescue baby. He and I are still getting used to each other, but he's a very sweet baby. If I had adopted a pair, I would never have rehomed one of the two. They would stay together. If I couldn't keep one, I wouldn't keep BOTH because they would probably be bonded. So sad =[ I hope no one else continues to help her with her strange and un-healthy ferret ways.
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Post by raynebc on Jan 2, 2015 21:17:08 GMT -5
I may not have adopted my ferrets, but I will love and take care of them forever. I wish everybody would stay committed when they decide to become an animal's caregiver.
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Post by Celene on Jan 2, 2015 21:34:19 GMT -5
raynebc - I don't criticize people who do buy from pet stores and offer a forever home - that's the best possible outcome! Obvious all the pets that are pumped out of stores need loving homes. It's the stores themselves that I dislike @freyjadiciple and Sherry, I really do understand if someone bites off more than they can chew and rehomes because they really do want the best life for their animal, but what really makes me mad is the fact that she says she's going to buy a baby from a pet store immediately after discarding a ferret who needed a home. Grrr...
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Post by Heather on Jan 2, 2015 23:20:59 GMT -5
The whole concept angers me intensely. Fine bite off more than you can chew but maybe a bit of research might have helped. Ask for some help in working with them. Fun-go came from one such rescue type. He broke my heart because he wanted to be loved but he got tossed from one home to the next all his life. He came to my home and I gave him a home. He was not a loving ferret when he walked through my door, he hated people but no one would give him the chance. I gave him a chance. In the end, he got all the snuggles, lovins and friends but all everyone saw was the biter. I've got another one now....who's going to be my work in progress, hopefully, I will be able to find this little one too ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2015 23:59:50 GMT -5
As someone who works at a pet store and sees people come in on a regular basis who don't do research, it drives me nuts that people will buy a pet and then not care for it. I don't know about most stores, but at my store, we actually won't sell an animal if it doesn't seem that the person has done their due diligence. All of us have the ability to tell the customer we simply won't sell to them. Too many times people come in with a story like this "I just bought two turtles. I have them in this itty bitty little plastic bin. I don't know anything about them. So what do I need?" (headwall) My coworkers and I HATE these people. Researching a pet before you buy them is SO EASY. All of us want to be like "You need to just give them to us, go away, and never buy an animal again without researching." Ugh. The worst is when they tell us a story like this and then DON'T LISTEN TO THE ADVICE WE GIVE THEM. Take the turtle example - we tell them that they need a proper sized tank, a filter for that tank size, a basking area, etc, and we have (no joke) had people hear this and go "Mmm...I think we'll keep them in this bin." I cannot explain the frustration and desire to call Animal Control. I realize I have digressed...I meant to get around to a point that basically, this girl should have done her research. If one of her ferrets had a behavioral issue (likely since she only got rid of one and wants to get another) she should have seen, via research, that it's fairly common and she could do simple training. Or perhaps the playing she saw involved a lot of Weasel War Dances, and she thought it meant they were fighting (my sisters assumed the dance meant Tanka was angry, until they saw how excited he was). I worry for the next ferret this girl plans to adopt. I fear it will either be discarded like the previous one, or she will get rid of the one she has right now because the little one is "cuter" or whatever. People like this drive me nuts. (And we don't sell to them at my store We got fed up.)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2015 9:17:40 GMT -5
it drives me insane to see people buying pets like they are toys or accessories.
This made me think that even some breeders (that don't necessarily sell to stores!) do some things that put the owners in very difficult situations. Some sell polecats (cheaper!= instead of ferrets, at least around here) giving them to people who don't know the difference. raising a polecat is a much difficult task than raising any ferret, and they end up being abandoned because of biting, agrressive behaviour and so on. sometimes they end up in petshops without any cerificate stating their origin. it creeps me. and of course they end up in a shelter at the end of the day. and that's how we ended up with our last boy. it's unfair for them and unfair for the owners, who have no clue how to handle them.
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