My ferrets are as active as ever and truly enjoying their ferrets haven. Many times they create an uproar in our home. It seems they always want to get into something. That seems to be their nature. Ferrets tend to be extremely inquisitive and at times it can get them in some interesting situations. For example check out Chloe she is one adorable ferret and can be found at Vitamins & Stuff. She has her own mini ferret blog and judging fromt he pictures she is just as active as my four fuzzbutts.

Chloe looks like my smallest ferret, Kali, and judging by the posts she is just as inquisitive. I’ve been chatting with the Tim, the owner of Vitamins & Stuff and I realized that although I’ve written how cute they are I really haven’t talked too much about how challenging it can be to own, or be owned by a ferret.

I’ll be working a series that focuses on the challenges one can face as a ferret owner. Although I love my ferrets, a lot it’s not easy owning them and I don’t think everyone is cut to be a ferret owner. Recently, I faced a situation where someone I knew purchased a ferret without knowing too much about them. To say that annoyed me was an understatement. How can a person purchase an animal when they aren’t knowledgeable about them? It’s that mentality that leads to neglected animals. I thought it was appropriate to post this link of those animals that were no longer wanted. Check out ferret rescues from Rocky’s Ferret Rescue & Shelter. All of my ferrets were adopted from Rocky’s Ferret Rescue & Shelter.

Naturally I’m hoping all goes well with the newly purchased ferret; however, I cannot help but think this was something that should have been thought about a little bit more. I have a Shih Tzu that in our home. It was an emotional purchase. I tried to tell my sister-in-law how much work they could be, but she didn’t listen to a word I said. A few months later Mr. Bentley started visiting us for a few months at a time. It was obvious she didn’t want it anymore finally I told her if Mr. Bentley was to come in our hose again he wouldn’t be leaving. Mr. B has been a member of our home for almost two years.

Technorati Tags: ferrets, ferret rescue

Midwest Ferret Nation

One thing I get asked a lot is what type of cage, if any, do I use for my ferrets. Initially I had purchased another cage from the ferret shelter. I cannot remember what type it was now but I grew tired of it. Why? It was so hard to clean. I researched and what I found most ferret owners purchasing was the Midwest Ferret Nation.

The Midwest Ferret Nation is extremely roomy, and you can add up to three levels. I have the Midwest Ferret Nation pictured above. What I truly like about this cage is that the doors open completely which lets me really clean their cage. I don’t have to worry about a smelly cage.

A few times a month I remove the tray liners and, take them outside and hose them down. I cleaned it out last week and today I’m taking it out to hose down again. This has made a huge difference in how effectively clean their cage. I used to use the ferret litter boxes but I stopped using them because they would miss more than they would hit their target? What do I use? Newspaper! You can go to your local newspaper and purchase unprinted newspaper rolls very cheap.

Anyway back to my lovely cage. I’m thinking of adopting another ferret. Have you ever heard of ferret math? Well it’s struck again! I’m considering adding the addon Midwest Ferret Nation with ramps. This will bring my Midwest Ferret nation up to three levels. Talk about spacious! My main concern is keeping my ferrets comfortable when they are in their cage. This c age definitely supplies that. They also have a single level Midwest Ferret Nation, but I opted for the double tier. When I first purchased the cage I only had Ganesh and Indra then ferret math struck about a year later and I adopted Hanuman and Kali.

The Midwest Ferret Nation took a while for me to put together. Mainly because I was the only one doing it. However if I had to do it all over again I still would pick this cage. If you buy the cage snag someone to help you. From talking to other ferret owners having two people working on the cage made the process go a lot faster.

It didn’t take my ferrets long to become used to the ramps and when they are in their cage the scamper all over the place playing, fighting and sleeping in their hammocks. Have you ever seen a ferret sleeping in a hammock? It is very cute.

Technorati Tags: Midwest Ferret Nation, ferrets, ferret maintenance

I took this shot of my sable ferrets (Ganesh and Kali) yesterday. My ferrets are raw fed ferrets. Once (sometimes twice) per week my ferrets eat liver, beef hearts, eggs (shells also) they love it. If you’ve been reading Ferrets Haven for any length of time you know that I’ve been feeding my ferrets raw food for about a year.

My ferrets eat whole prey. The changes have been nothing short of amazing.

• Their fur is thicker, softer, & glossier
• They have less tarter buildup
• Their ear wax has diminished
• They are more muscular and energetic
• No biting

There are numerous other benefits I’ve see since switching my ferrets to a raw food diet but I’ll address that later. I’m currently writing an article that focuses on the benefits that I’ve seen from transition my ferrets to raw food. I’m glad I made the switch. It seems as if it were just yesterday when I switched my ferrets, but it’s been over a year.

I used to have an “open door” policy with my fuzzbutts meaning that I would keep their door to their home open always; however, I now close it during feeding times. Kali (little scrapper) my smallest ferret had a tendency to take choice bits of whatever tasty morsel I fed her and store it somewhere in my bedroom. Gross!

Technorati Tags: ferrets, sable ferret, raw feed ferrets, whole prey, ferret diet, ferret nutrition

Albino ferret, Indra

My ferret Indy baby (Indra) was not feeling well yesterday. Even though he wasn’t feeling well he still looked cute resting on my leg.   My ferret, Indra, threw up a few times this evening.  At first I panicked thinking the worst possible things but then I remembered that my ferret Hanuman had the same issues. I checked Indra’s feces and it appears he ate something rubbery.

My ferrets are raw fed ferrets. I figured that whatever he ate would pass through his system. The bone that they grind up with their powerful jaws help sweeps out the debris.

Technorati Tags: raw fed ferrets, ferrets, albino ferret, obstruction