On another forum a friend of mine posted a cage for sale on cl. Well a kid replied saying she wanted it for free cause she can’t afford the $40. Right now she’s keeping her new baby ferret in a *drum roll* HAMSTER CAGE!! I was like WTF! Are you freaking kidding me? So anyways this is the email I wrote out that my friend will be sending her:
Hi! Alright first off a ferret should never be kept in a hamster cage! It’s way to small! Here’s some good information about keeping ferrets as pets and supplies you need to care for them:
Cage: Ferret Nations are AMAZING!! I love them! A FN 141 will fit 3-4 ferrets. Cost: $140 (check local craigslists for a cheaper one)
http://www.ferret.com/item/ferret-nation-habitat-model-141/
Food: Innova Evo, 8 in 1 Ultimate, Totally Ferret, are great kibbles. Cost: $10-25 (also check out raw diets and commercial raw diets)
http://www.caseyshiddenpantry.com/
Litter: Sheets of newspaper, Yesterday’s News, and wood pellets (not shavings) work well. Cost: $8-15
Litter box: Don’t use the corner litter boxes! Marshall’s lock litter box works well. Cost: $8
http://www.ferret.com/item/marshall-litter-pan-for-ferrets-lock-on-14x14x9/
Bedding: Ferrets love hammocks and should have at least two in the cage! Cost (for 2): $15-20
Treats: Ferret tone is great to have around! Cost: $5
http://www.ferret.com/item/8-in-1-ferretone-skin-and-coat-supplement-8-oz/
Toys: Toys are a must have! Ferrets need a lot of enrichment, so make sure to have a lot of toys around! Cost:$10-20
Books: Ferrets for Dummies and Ferrets by Vickie Mckimmey are must haves!
Some other things that are nice to have around are pet safe cleaners, air freshners, and paper towels!
Another thing to think about are vet bills and costs. At least once in a ferrets life (unless you get a ferret from a breeder this may not apply) you’ll have to spend $800+ on vet bills all at one time. They also need yearly vet visits. Here’s about how much I pay a month for three ferrets:
Food: $35-40 (raw meat diet) Per ferret= about $14
Litter: $0 (I use sheets of newspaper)
Savings: $15
Misc. (toys, damage, etc.): $5
So in all I pay $40-$50 a month. Here are some websites to check out:
http://forum.ferret.com/
http://thelazyhammock.proboards.com/
http://holisticferret.proboards.com/index.cgi
http://www.hugawoozel.com/ferretcare.html
Ferret need at least 3 hours of play time a day, too! They get bored easily and can get into something dangerous! Ferrets are not cuddly animals either (most of the time)! They like to run around and play. Since I’m guessing your ferret is young, he’s going to be hyper and may nip you a few times. If you feel like you can’t handle a ferret post him up for adoption on the above sites, but craigslist is usually not a good site to rehome pets.
If you have any questions please email me at (email taken out)
I tried to be as civil as possible which was really hard for me. This girl only lives an hour or so away from me too. *sigh* I really wish some people couldn’t own pets.
UPDATE OF SORTS: Well no news yet from the girl. I was up last night thinking about this poor ferret. What really frustrates me though is that my parents think this is ok!!! I was like excuse me? I was so sad and I was looking for someone to tell and they were like “Well if that’s all she can afford, why shouldn’t she be allowed to have a ferret?” I tried explaining, but they still thought it was ok. Their reasoning is that a ferret sleeps most of the time when it’s in a cage and that she probably lets it out for a long time during the day. Then I tried telling them that if she thought it was ok to keep him in a hamster cage then she probably thought it was ok to keep him in there and who knows what else!! After about 20-30 minutes of trying to explain to them, they still thought there wasn’t a problem!