Ferret - cage/accessories/food

Person_one

gettingready wrote: »

Yes I remember Sazzy - posters about ferret all over where he was found.

Still - as I mentioned, the little one has scabies and fleas. Do you RALLY think he was where he was by chance? My take it he was simply dumped.

I'd be far more inclined to suspect he caught them during his brief time in the 'wild' and that somebody is missing him right this minute.

gettingready

According to the vet the scabies problem is quite advanced and untreated for a while so I doubt it.

The place he was found - he would be dead by the morning, lots of foxes and dog walkers there.

Unwell and not treated, not chipped, no lost ferret posters anywhere around (sent a msg to all local people I know via FB to look out for posters) - he is being looked after now.

Person_one

Couldn't hurt to post about him on the ferret forums though, could it? You never know, and I'm sure you'll feel better knowing you did everything you could.

gettingready

Yes, it could hurt - the ferret.

Young ferret running lose in a place where there is a lot of foxes with fleas and untreated scabies. Not chipped. That really indicated "responsible owner".

Thanks for all the advice about how to care for the little one, passed it all to my friend.

Fosterdog

gettingready wrote: »

Young ferret running lose in a place where there is a lot of foxes with fleas and untreated scabies. Not chipped. That really indicated "responsible owner".

But unless you find the owner you have no way of knowing what they are like. He could have escaped from his home a few weeks ago, he could have been stolen.

You don't know that he was dumped, how would you feel if Zara ran away or got stolen and ended up missing for weeks and in a terrible state, hungry, dirty, fleas, matted fur and whoever found her didn't bother to try and find you because they assumed you were a bad owner because of the state she was found in?

A domestic animal will get into a bad state quite quickly, they are not used to living in the wild and haven't learned any of the survival skills from a domestic mother/siblings.

The fact he's not microchipped doesn't mean a bad owner, not with such a young ferret, he is only 8-12 weeks old and I don't know many who are chipped that young, they tend to be done after 4-5 months or at the same time as neutering.

gettingready

Untreated, quite advanced scabies - this is not something a ferret will get in few hours "in the wild" and it could not have been more than few hours as otherwise the little guy would have been eaten by foxes or run over on the busy road near by.

This is getting out of hand and quite ridiculous really considering the circumstances so I am going to leave it here.

Thanks for all the advice, will pass it on to person caring for the ferret.

Fosterdog

you're right you are being quite ridiculous considering the circumstances

If the ferret is only 8-12 weeks old I fail to see how the scabies can be that advanced.

You have no way at all of knowing how long the ferret was out in the wild, just because there are foxes and roads doesn't mean that he's not a natural survive and fighting the odds to survive. You are making an assumption with no evidence at all and just accusing the owners of cruelty and neglect.

there are dozens of other scenarios that could lead to a stray ferret (or any other animal) and it doesn't automatically make the owner a bad person.

Your friend clearly wants to keep him, and good luck to them both I really hope he has a very happy life but you are making excuses to justify not wanting him to find his real owner. Don't try to dress it as anything else.

YorkiePud_3

I think we'll never know where he came from, bless him ... but a ferret can go without food easier than without water ... they can only survive approximately 3 days without some source of drinking water so I wouldn't have thought he was "in the wild" for too long.
I know animals can catch scabies from foxes, but it's all complete supposition to say he has ...

I do know of people though who have just released ferrets (babies and adults) when they have had something wrong with them rather than pay for vet treatment (and especially when a number of them have been ill together at the same time).

Sadly, on a FB Pets for Sale group, these gorgeous little things are being sold for anything from £2 (shocking) to £10 each ... so if they are being used to work (to hunt) then some people might think getting rid of the ones who are ill and buying new ones is cheaper than taking them to the vet for treatment.

There are two sides of ferret keeping ... you have people who keep them to work them (to go out hunting with them) and then you have people who keep them as much loved and spoilt pets ... this guy could have escaped from a home where his owner is going frantic for him (remember, they are little Houdinis and those cages need to be fortresses ... !!) or he could have been dumped from someone who works them, perhaps not wanting to pay a vet bill or because they are over-run with babies.

I've recently seen a few posts online where pregnant ferrets are being sold, with people saying they will "get rid" of the babies and keep the Mum ... not everyone who owns ferrets treats them with love and kindness but when you find one like this chap, you might never find out what his background was at all ...

The most important thing is that you are looking after him and getting him treated ... whether or not you ever find out where he came from, the most important thing is to make him better and keep him fed, watered and happy ... !!