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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2018 9:45:03 GMT -5
Hey guys! I've always wanted a ferret and I've been considering it for a year now. Recently , a local shelter acquired a ferret. I went and visited and fell in love with her. It breaks my heart that she's there and likely doesn't get the personal interaction she needs. However, I've been going back and forth with myself on whether or not it would be fair to the ferret for me to adopt her. For the next year I will have plenty of time to ensure she gets her playtime and attention. However, in July of 2019, I will be starting medical school. This will require a lot of studying and I would still be able to give her the attention she needs, but in my third year (July 2021), I will be on rotations. This can sometimes require being in the hospital for longer than 24hrs. I may be able to arrange a friend to visit but that is all up in the air due to how far away that is. I may also be concentrating in Global Health, which means I would go on an international rotation for an entire month.
I want to ensure the ferret gets a suitable home and I know I would give it tons of love, but I would like to hear your opinions?
thank you!!
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Post by raven on Jun 27, 2018 12:41:45 GMT -5
Hmm that's a tough one, personally I think it might end up being too stressful to give the ferret what it needs with med school especially if there's not a guaranteed promise of someone that will equally care for your ferret when you are away. But I'm still new to ferrets so maybe I can just give you some things to think about?
Diet - Will you feed it kibble or raw? Raw is the best life you can give them if you do choose to go raw will you have the time too help them switch? It can take a very long time, you'll have to take time slicing and grinding up meats for soup, if it doesn't switch by the time you leave will you temp guardian be able to handle keeping that up?
Activity - Ferrets need at least 4-6 hours outside the cage. If you're away for 24 hours or longer will you be able to assure it will get that time? A good solution for that would be a fully ferret proof room if applicable. Also ferrets get into EVERYTHING, Many times I've said oh it can fit there... wrong, it can't reach that... wrong. And with that comes accidents, it can take something as small as an eraser end from a pencil to give the ferret a life threatening blockage which will need surgery. Ferrets health can go down hill very fast. And many if not most are prone to getting some kind of cancer at some point of their life, another reason why a raw diet is preferred.
Poop - There's lots of poop all the time. The longer it's left out the worst it smells.
Attention - I think a single ferret can thrive if it gets lots of attention, and if it doesn't get along with other ferrets. But if it's a possibility that it might end up spending a lot of time alone I think it should have a ferret friend to spend time with.
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Post by Blue on Jun 27, 2018 15:15:33 GMT -5
katt went through med school with 2 ferrets and is now... a resident, I think? Her boyfriend (now husband) followed the same path (med student/resident). They mostly have had two ferrets, which I think makes it easier on the ferrets since they have each other. I've been abroad for work for up to 5 weeks while having Maisie (a singleton). It's really important to have a sitter you can trust, and who has experience with ferrets. Maisie and the sitter love each other, but it still breaks my heart to leave her behind! I wish she could have a friend, but she hates all other ferrets. That's another thing to watch out for: if your ferret is a fully grown singleton, she might never accept another ferret. So you might not just be able to pick out a buddy for her. I don't know. I don't plan on getting another ferret any time soon after Maisie, partly because of all the travel I do. On the other hand, despite all my worries about not being the perfect ferrent, I know that she has had a much better life with me than where she came from. So there's that. It's a tough decision!
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Post by Heather on Jun 29, 2018 0:02:31 GMT -5
Katt actually wrote up a thread on here about looking after a ferret with her schedule. I know she made her ferret priority one and did absolutely amazing care throughout their lives (Koda and Kenai).
ciao
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