Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2012 22:58:31 GMT -5
The other day I was poking around on Craigslist, as I like to check on there every so often on the off chance that someone will post a two level Ferret Nation (I just have the single level). I came across an ad for someone trying to find a home for two ferrets and opened it out of curiosity. Ohhhh boy, was that a mistake! I'm reading through the ad, and everything seems fine- the girl is talking about how she is going to college and can't bring them with her so they need a new home, how she takes them out for walks and lots of play time. Then I see this phrase: "they get an apple or a banana with dinner" 
I honestly had to reread that 4 or 5 times to believe it! I just couldn't ignore that kind of stupidity, so I sent off an email to the girl, telling her that ferrets are strict carnivores and simply can't digest anything but meat, and that fruits especially can cause blockages, insulinoma, and a host of other problems. I was quite frank about what I thought about her ability to take care of her ferrets 
I definitely wasn't expecting a response back.
Lo and behold, today I got an email back from her! And get this- her response was something to the tune of: "Thanks for your concern but I'm actually a veterinary assistant and am very aware of ferrets' needs. They are not strict carnivores, and if you ever walk into Petsmart, you will see that they sell banana treats specifically for ferrets. Fruits are perfectly acceptable for ferrets to eat." Agggghhhhh!!! I realized at this point I was just dealing with an ignorant person who wouldn't listen anyway, so I didn't bother replying back. But seriously, fruits are 'perfectly acceptable'?!?! Sure, if you want to be responsible for making your ferret very sick or even killing them! As a treat is bad enough, but this girl was making fruits a big part of her ferrets' diet! Sorry, but I just had to vent. It's so frustrating that this sort of misinformation is not only out there, but still running rampant in the veterinary community! Whatever happened to really doing thorough research on the needs of animals and not just going with popular opinion?? Grrrrrr 
I honestly had to reread that 4 or 5 times to believe it! I just couldn't ignore that kind of stupidity, so I sent off an email to the girl, telling her that ferrets are strict carnivores and simply can't digest anything but meat, and that fruits especially can cause blockages, insulinoma, and a host of other problems. I was quite frank about what I thought about her ability to take care of her ferrets I definitely wasn't expecting a response back.Lo and behold, today I got an email back from her! And get this- her response was something to the tune of: "Thanks for your concern but I'm actually a veterinary assistant and am very aware of ferrets' needs. They are not strict carnivores, and if you ever walk into Petsmart, you will see that they sell banana treats specifically for ferrets. Fruits are perfectly acceptable for ferrets to eat." Agggghhhhh!!!
I realized at this point I was just dealing with an ignorant person who wouldn't listen anyway, so I didn't bother replying back. But seriously, fruits are 'perfectly acceptable'?!?! Sure, if you want to be responsible for making your ferret very sick or even killing them! As a treat is bad enough, but this girl was making fruits a big part of her ferrets' diet! Sorry, but I just had to vent. It's so frustrating that this sort of misinformation is not only out there, but still running rampant in the veterinary community! Whatever happened to really doing thorough research on the needs of animals and not just going with popular opinion?? Grrrrrr 
We would love to fill her in, but you realize guys if you get hard about this she will just shut you out and all you're trying to accomplish won't happen. It's better to suggest and be nice than to get nasty. People just get angry and shut you out and won't listen to anything you have to say 
She already thinks that she knows more than you do so you're not going to do anything other than make her angry if you go hard line on her
I'll point her this direction and just hope that she is open-minded enough to want to learn. If not, she certainly won't be the first person who's let their pride cover for their ignorance 
