Hi!!

[kimlamour]

My name is Kim and I'm 19 years old in NC. I am about to get a new fert and I'm nervous and excited. I've looked up TONS of information but it's always nicer to talk to a REAL person. Anyways, I'll be in touch soon!

[Heather]

Hi Kim and welcome
Congratulations on your new furbaby and a pat on the back for researching before you buy....please feel free to prowl around, read, post questions. They're really friendly here and are more than willing to help you find answers to your questions. Are you planning a more natural diet for your furbaby? Please read the raw feeding files and check out the mentoring section to see how it's done and if you want some help switching your furbaby.
Please....post pictures of your new furchild, we love pictures here Good luck and I hope I will see you around
ciao

[bigsis7]

Welcome to the wonderful world of ferrets ! When are you getting your new ferret? Where from? Well I know you don't have a ferret yet, but it's never to early to know your way around the site, so here are some links to help you!

Post all questions about natural ferret diet here:
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbquest

When you are ready to make the switch to a natural diet, fill out one of these forms:
holisticferret.proboards80.com/in....play&thread=822

and start a thread in this section (copy/paste the filled out form into your first post):
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbie

Post all questions/updates on the progress of your ferret's diet switch in that one thread.

After making your initial post we will help you start the switch and we will assign you a "Holistic Ferret Mentor" to assist you and monitor your progress.

Welcome!!! Feel free to PM me with any questions!

[sherrylynne]

Hi Kim! I'm Sherrylynne. There's a lot of good info here, and the people are great! Ask questions, browse, post. And don't forget pics !

[suds]

There is alot of good info here and plenty of friendly people to help you switch and answer any questions you mite have.
always happy to see people who actually do some research before they get there babies and are no overtwhelmed when they first get them trying to find out how to properly feed and take care of them

and when you find your little buddie's

[kimlamour]

Thanks for all the help. I'm going to get a new ferret in a few months but I still have a lot to get. So far I have a water bottle, leash and harness, food bowl, hammock, locking litterpan, a hanging tunnel and a cage. I'm not sure if it's a good cage though, it's called Super Pet Deluxe Ferret Home - 4 Levels. I think it will be ok but he/she isn't going to be in it all of the time. I am VERY interested in feeding a natural diet, I don't like the idea of kibbles. I have to feed my fish manufactured food and I try to give my parakeet vegetables along with his/her (my keet isn't old enough to tell sex) seed. Anyways, there isn't a lot of info on ferrets on the web and it's all VERY generic. I have a huge list of stuff I still need to get and I'm going to post it because I don't know if I have it all covered
Litter (eco-friendly)
Ferret Brush
Nail Clippers
Ear Cleaner (can't find any just for ferrets)
Shampoo
Collar with bell
Kong small animal toy
Assorted Toys (some for ferrets and some for cats)
8 in 1 Ferret Bites
8 in 1 Ferretone Skin & Coat Treats
8 in 1 Ferrevite Multivitamin Treat
Ferret Spray
Eventually I'm going to get a pen and some bigger toys for the pen.

Thanks for all of the support!

[weloveourweasels]

Hello and The people here are friendly, you will like it here.

Litter I use yesterday's news unscented cat litter (paper pellet litter)

For a brush I use a rubber curry cat brush. It actually removes dead hair.

For ear cleaner I use raw apple cider vinegar followed by olive oil since wax is repelled by oil.

I use cat nail clippers

I use Theraneem soap free pet shampoo for sensitive pets. It is organic and all natural.

I would skip all the 8 in 1 treats. They are full of artificial flavors and sythetic preservatives. The only treat all mine will eat the don't have artificial flavors or synthetic preservatives are N-bones, they come in a pink bag at petsmart and petco. Mr. Bean will eat Ziwipeak "good cat" treats. Those are extemely good for ferrets as they are raw based treats.

Skip the ferret spray too, as long as you clean the cage once a week by spraying down the shelves and pans with a cleaner such as natures miracle stain and odor remover or super pet clean cage. Also you need to wash all the bedding in the cage that day and completely change the litter box (you need a hi bac litter pan, do not get a corner pan they will go next to it) wash out the litter box with a chemical free cleaner such as vinegar or baking soda. The spray will just make the ferret smell stronger.

[sherrylynne]

Looks like you're really prepared to bring home your furkid Only a couple of things I'd change/add. Add a lock-croc for water. They will drink more from a bowl that a bottle, and less chance of hurting their teeth, as some will bite at the bottle to get the water. And put up just high enough so they can't get theirs elbows in ensures they can't dig it all out, which they also love to do . Also, for the Ferrevite, it's pretty high in sugar, if I remember correctly, and on a natural diet, they won't need it ! The ferret bites also have a lot of grain and fruits, which they don't need. A really good one is Dogswell/Catswell meat jerkies. My guys love them !

[suds]

Hi Kim
exciteing getting a new kid I know glad to see you starting to some things ready . every already touched on th etreats and vitamians so I wont ad to it
did you purchase the cage new or used ? I have that cage and to be honest its a good starter cage but a pain in the butt to clean and if your not careful the clips on the trays break easy. I just recently got a Ferret nation 142 and its realy worth the extra money for it . just thougt I bring it up .
cant wait untill you get your new kid and share stories and pics with us

[kimlamour]

Thanks! I'll let everyone know once I get him/her. I got the cage new by the way. As for the treats and stuff, I just want to make sure that my ferrets diet is going to be supplemented and He/she will have great skin, etc. Plus everybody needs a treat once in a while! I'll follow the advice about a water bowl and n-bones. I started out as only getting nbones but I hear that ferrets love ferretone and ferrevite. and I won't get the spray either. I live in an apartment and my landlord said it'd be OK but he doesn't want the smell to be so strong it permeates into other apartments. I don't even know which cleaners will work well but I'll just research it.

[sherrylynne]

I use a 50/50 mis of vinegar and water to clean the cage weekly top to bottom, as well as wiping up anything spilled daily. And Nature's Miracle will work for those inevitable out of cage accidents!

[charmantpapillon]

A super pet cage will be a hassle to clean as i know i started resenting my superpet cage shrtly afe i bought it and ended up bulding him a big cage a few months later. But the cage should be perfectly fine for him/her Welcome to the forum!

[nwheather]

Kim,
Welcome! It's great to see someone pre-planning before they bring a ferret or two home! I don;t know if you already have decided where you're getting your ferret(s) from, but here's a couple ferret rescue/shelters in NC.

The Dook-N-Dance Ferret Shelter
Director: Linda Proulx
110 Harbord Drive
Midway Park, NC
[phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Website: www.dook-n-dance.org
A 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization

We are on Pet Finder

Ferret Guardian Rescue Haven, Inc.
Director: Diane & Tony Campbell
Statesville, NC
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Website: www.ferretguardian.org
A 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization

We are on Pet Finder


Also, if you're interested in a private bred ferret, there's Ground Effects Ferrets in NC, outside of Charlotte, NC. www.gfxferret.com that is where I got 3 of my kids. (Two are her babies, one is hers through Mary at Novel Beginnings).
There is a list of Natural Ferret Breeders on this forum, that feed their ferrets raw/whole prey.

There is lots of great knowledge here, feel free to pick our brains! =)