afFURmation » Ferrets

What’s the Story Behind Your Pet’s Name?

dawn — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:39:44 +0000

When I adopted my first dog, I wanted to name her Ham. Not because I’m a big pork fan, but because I felt animals took after their names. I thought a dog named Ham would end up being a big clown. But my mother decided she was not going to yell “Ham come” out the back door, so I settled for Whitney, after Whitney Houston. Fortunately, she didn’t take after her namesake and was the best first dog a person could have.

Charm

I love deciding what to name my pets. Sometimes I come up with a name right away other times it takes a few days to decide just the right one. I like names so much I even keep a list of potential ones to use. You never know when one might fit or a friend is looking for suggestions.

Names can tell a lot about the pet and their people. Often there’s a story behind why a name was chosen. Here are some of the stories behind how some of my zoo crew got their names.

Ricochet

His original name was Toby, but a friend’s dog had that same name and it didn’t seem like a good fit. I like to rename my adopted pets giving them a new start with a new life and a name that has no negative connotations. I had chosen the name Chaos off my name list, but when I picked him up after he was neutered at the shelter, it didn’t seem right. There was a country music band named Ricochet and that seemed like a perfect name for an on-the-go Jack Russell.

Charm

I had no intention of adopting another cat when the head vet tech came back in the the treatment area with a 4 week old kitten someone had found and brought to the Emergency Vet Hospital I worked at. She held her out and showed us the cutest kitten. I knew I was in trouble when the name Charm popped into my head, but I didn’t need another cat. I spent the rest of my shift hoping the other tech would take her home, but that didn’t happen. She ended up coming home with me after all with her new name.

Amblin

I found him on Petfinder. His post was pretty much like all the other ferrets until I got to the end where they had added “he might have something wrong with his legs”. That didn’t seem right so I went to the shelter the next day to check him out and ended up adopting him. I’m not sure what they thought might be wrong with his legs, I couldn’t find anything wrong and he moved like a normal ferret walking around the getting acquainted room at the shelter. As I was watching him in the room, I decided to name him Amblin since he seemed to be having fun ambling around.

Eco

Eco

Eco’s name was easy. He joined my household on Earthday and he was green(part green anyway) so something to do with the environment seemed right.

Glee

Yes, I’m a kind of a Gleek. In the pilot episode they show a sign that said “By its very definition, Glee is about opening yourself up to joy.” I loved that quote and felt it was a perfect description of what it felt like when pets shared your life. When I adopted a bunny a few months after seeing the quote, it just seemed right to name her Glee, especially after watching her do bunny binkies.

What’s the story behind your pet’s name?

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Christmas Countdown Day 5- The Ferret Christmas Song

dawn — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:00:01 +0000

Tired of hearing the same Christmas songs over and over again already? Here’s a new one to add to your holiday collection

Not bad huh? Think you can remake a holiday song so it’s pet related? Share your song in the comments or on the afFURmation Facebook page or if you are feeling brave, let’s hear it on Youtube!

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Christmas Countdown Day 2- The Ferret Giving Tree

dawn — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:04:22 +0000

For over a decade the online ferret community has come together to help ferrets by playing Santa. Each year the Ferret Giving Tree features ferrets who are in shelters. This year the Giving Tree holds over 700 ferrets from 61 ferret shelters.

Playing Santa is easy. You can pick by shelter or read through the ferret bios until you find one that touches your heart. Then read their wishlist to see how you can help.

To get started making a ferret’s Christmas merry, just head over to the Ferret Giving Tree.

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Petfinder’s Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week- Ferrets

dawn — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:37:20 +0000

When I began learning about ferrets and their care, I was amazed at the number in shelters. Being a big adoption advocate, I knew I my first ferret would be adopted. I spent days looking through all the ferrets on Petfinder that were looking for homes. I finally contacted the Pennsylvania Ferret Club and Shelter (PFCS) and before long Sugar and Spice came home with me.

It can be hard to choose a ferret or two to adopt when there are so many, but there was one reason I chose Sugar and Spice over the others- Spice had insulinoma. Ferrets are prone to health problems with insulinoma being 1 of them. It’s caused by tumors on their pancreas that affect their insulin levels and cause them to have low blood sugar often deadly low. It can usually be managed by medication and/or surgery, but they won’t be cured of it. Of course, having a ferret with an illness requires extra money for medicine and vet visits and extra time to make sure they get their medicine. Who wants to adopt a ferret who requires extra work and money?

Me. After 9 years of working in vet hospitals I knew I could handle the medical part, but mostly I wanted to give a good ferret a chance she probably wouldn’t get, the chance to live in a loving home for the rest of her life.

Many ferrets end up in shelters because they developed these conditions and their owners are not able to care for them. Sadly most of them live the rest of their lives in shelters because no one wants to adopt a sick ferret.

But these ferrets are often the ones that crawl deeper into your heart. They just seem to show an appreciation for making a difference in their lives. It is a commitment as any pet is, but adopting a “special needs” ferret doesn’t take any special skills. Anyone can learn how to give medication and what symptoms to look for that might signal a problem.

In memory of Spice, I am featuring some ferrets from PFCS that are looking for homes for Petfinder’s Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week. If you are considering adding a ferret to your family, consider adopting a “special” ferret and see what a difference you can make.

Diesel is a 4 year old ferret that has adrenal disease. He is going to have surgery to remove the tumor that is causing problems. Surgery can often keep the disease under control for awhile. He is in the shelter with 3 other members of his ferret family (including sister Skylar below) so they all need to be adopted together.

Skylar is Diesel’s sister and she also suffers from adrenal disease. Can’t you just imagine how happy they would be to have a family of their own?

Shasha is a cutie. An older ferret who also has adrenal disease, her disease is kept under control with monthly shots. Since she really doesn’t like other ferrets, she would be perfect for someone looking for one ferret to spoil.

Kaya has insulinoma and gets medication twice a day. Her best ferret friend passed away so she would love a home with another ferret friend.

You can find more “special” ferrets on Petfinder by looking for those ferrets with the little heart by their name.

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Price of Owning a Pet- Ferrets

dawn — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:20:36 +0000

Ferrets are becoming more and more popular as a pet and it’s no wonder why. They’re cute, they’re full of energy and they love interacting with people. But they are not the caged pet many pet stores make them out to be and require more care than many people expect. Along with that care, they also cost more than expected.

To give you an idea of what it costs to add a ferret to your household, I made a list with prices (sometimes a range of prices) of what it would cost for you to purchase everything you needed to get them set up. The prices shown are general prices and can vary depending on location and brand.

The cost of adding a ferret to the family include:

The Ferret-
from a pet store- $120-$175
from a breeder- $200-$400
from a shelter- $50-$100

The Cage- $90-$250 The minimum size cage for 1 ferret should be about 2′ by 18″ by 2′; the bigger the better. It pays to do some research as many people end up purchasing multiple cages until they finally get the one that works for them (The Ferret Nation is my favorite).

Cage accessories-

Food Bowl-$3-$7
Water Bottle -$3-$8
Litter pan-$3-$10 You will need a litter box that is big enough for a full grown ferret to get into and turn around, plus that you can get in and out of the cage to clean. You may find you need a couple of boxes if your cage has different levels.
Hammock and Other Bedding- $5-$20 each There are many different styles of bedding to choose from. It’s best to have several so you can change them out for washing.
Litter Scoop-0.70-2.00
Ferret Litter-3.00-7.00 Newspaper and wood pelleted litters work best for ferrets.

Toys- Ferrets are always on the go. Toys help keep them busy and away from your stuff.

Tunnels- $10-$20
Jingle Toys- $0.50 – $4.00
Other Fun Toys- $5.00-$40.00

Food

Ferret Food- $7-$16 for a 3-5lb bag Ferrets require high protein, low carb foods. It’s best to feed a mix of 2-3 different brands of food as ferrets can be hard to switch to a new diet. This can be a problem if your ferret only eats one brand and that brand is hard to find or worse discontinued. MD Ferrets Paws has a food comparison chart to help decide on what brands to feed.

Supplements-

Oil Supplement-$3-$10 Fatty acid supplements help keep the skin from getting dry and the ferrets love it so it’s a great treat.
High Calorie Supplement- $3-$7 Unfortunately ferrets are prone to illnesses and having a high calorie supplement to give them at that time is a good idea. It’s best to get them used to it before they are sick and give it to them occasionally so they continue to stay familiar with it.
Hairball Remedy- $2-$5 Just like cats, ferrets can get hairballs. Hairball remedy helps prevent problems with hairballs.

Vaccines- $30-$60 a visit Like puppies and kittens, ferrets need distemper and rabies vaccines. Distemper is usually given beginning at about 8 weeks and given every 4 weeks until they are 4 months old. Rabies is given at about 4 months old. These are then given on a yearly basis..

Add this up and you find that a ferret can run you about $213.20 to $866.00 and that’s with getting just one of each item above. And this is just the beginning. Food, litter, vaccines and supplements will need to be bought through the year and you may need to replace other items over time. Ferrets are prone to several illnesses which need vet care to help maintain. So if you think ferrets would be perfect for you, just keep in mind that they can put a dent in your wallet.

Still thinking about getting a ferret? Visit my Squidoo page- So You Think You Want a Ferret, to see if they are the right pet for you.