Any ferret owners please help!

[SugarLovesRats]

About two months ago a friend of mine's house burnt down and they could no longer care for their ferret. So of course I took her. It was either me or ASPCA, they really had no choice at the time. They have decided financially they can't care for her and rebuild their lives which is understandable. The problem is I know virtually nothing about ferrets!  I got her a very large cage two levels, hammocks, toys, the whole nine. Her litter box has yesterday's news in it. I wasn't sure if regular cat litter was ok. ( is it?) They told me to give her cat food but I have heard that is not good, or atleast not alone. So I have been feeding her a combo of the cat food, which she likes, and my rats food ( lab blocks, and or nutro dog food, organic cereals, and fresh fruits and veggies, although she pretty much only likes carrots and apples) She seems to like this diet and seems healthy but I am just worried she is not getting the right things or maybe even the wrong things. Also I have heard that if a female is not spayed she will die. I don't know if she is spayed or if there is a way to tell. I asked them all these things but the truth is they had not had the ferret long either, they bought her out of the classifieds and didn't know much either. Now that I have access to the internet once again I will be doing research but any suggestions would be much appreciated!!
Oh and just so you know, I am absolutely thrilled with her!! She is so sweet and playfull, she even gets along with my dogs. I just hate being ill informed.
Thanks

[Lmbswimmer]

Look in her ears.  If they are tattoed with I think 2 or 3 little black dots she's a marshall ferret and is spayed.  Almost all ferrets are marshall ferrets unless you buy from a small local ferret breeder.  Marshall ferrets only get shipped out to pet stores pre-spayed and neutered. 
There are all kinds of different theories on ferret diets, and I can't say what is best or not, it's been a few years since I have owned them.  A google search will pop up a lot of the current information.  I think many owners feed a mix of different ferret/cat foods. 
Good luck!  Ferrets make awesome pets!

[Absolute Mischief Rats]

Ok, I just woke up, but I'll take a shot at this... 

Regular cat litter (the clay, clumping kind) is NOT ok, but YN is fine.

You need to stop feeding lab blocks, cereals, fruits & veggies, ferrets are strictly carnivores, and thus, they need, well, a heavily meat-based diet.  You want to look for KITTEN versions (higher protein) of high quality cat foods, such as Natural Balance, Chicken Soup, Evo, Felidae, TFS Superior Choice, Innova, etc.  A good friend of mine has a website that may help: http://ferretville.net/health/food.html, and Ferret Central also has a good FAQ: http://www.ferretcentral.org/.

As for your other question, yes, females need to be spayed, however, there is a good chance that she already is ... check her ears and see if you can find any little "blue dots."  If you see two on one ear, she's a Marshalls ferret, which means she's already been spayed & decented.  On the other hand, if you've ever smelled her "poof" (kind of smells like a dead skunk), then she's not decented, and she's probably not spayed either. 

It would also be a good idea to get her into the vet for a check-up (and her shots), then you can make sure she really is doing ok.


Hope that helps!

[SugarLovesRats]

Now I feel kinda stupid, It didn't even dawn on me that she would need shots! She does have an apt. on the 26th with my rat vet though, so I can take care of that then. I checked she does have two bluish dots in her ear so I guess I'm safe there. My cats eat Nutro Max or chicken soup cat food so I am just gonna pick up the kitten formula by one of those brands. I've been doing tons of reading the last few days, I think I am much better off than I was a few weeks ago. Thank You very much for the advice. One thing I was wondering and havn't come across, is there any certain ferret shampoo either of you would reccomend? Right now I have Marshall's baking soda ferret shampoo. Ok again thanks from me and Jynjer!

[Absolute Mischief Rats]

Don't feel stupid, there is a lot that MOST people do not know about ferrets, and the information out there is changing all of the time!

I would suggest the chicken soup kitten and something other than Nutro Max (iirc, it has a lot of corn in it, which is something you want to avoid).  Innova or Natural Balance (or any other that I suggested) would be a good thing to blend with the Chicken Soup.

You really only want to bathe a ferret when he/she absolutely needs it (like if they get into something messy).  Otherwise, it makes their glands go into overdrive and they produce excess oils, which is what makes them stinky.  The less you bathe her, the less stinky she should be!   Aside from that, as long as it's a shampoo made for ferrets, you should be fine.  It's been awhile since either of mine have needed a bath, but I think I've used the 8 in 1 ferretsheen (something like that) in the past.

[nakedrats]

From what i've read on ferrets, unspayed females are "heck" on wheels.  If she's sweet and calm and not crazed, I would guess that she's spayed.  The vet should be able to find an incision mark if it exists.  Ferrets are great pets.  My roommate has some and I'm going to get some as soon as I have the room to keep them.  A great toy, by the way, are the cat toy fishing rods with a clump of strings at the end.  My roommate's ferrets go bonkers with it.  Very funny!

[Lmbswimmer]

When I had ferrets I used an organic human shampoo and conditioner. I'm allergic to the animal shampoos b/c of the sulfates/ites in them.  They also made the animals smell funny compared to regular shampoo.  All our rats get bathed in that and I have noticed a big difference in their skin and smell.  I tried the animal stuff w/them once - it was aweful, I couldn't even touch them. 

Personnally I am anti rabies shots for ferrets.  I don't see the point of them, and I know of a lot of animals that have developed problems from the shots.  For a ferret to actually get rabies it would need to get into a tangle w/a rabid animal and then survive the ordeal.....  I think the chances of that are very slim.  But that is my personal view.

A vet visit is a wise idea.  Since she's a marshall's ferret in later years you will most likely be dealing w/cancer of some sort.  Link, our ferret ended up w/cataracts, seizures, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, and adrenal cancer.  We managed to keep it all in check until he was 8/9.  Make sure you get a very good ferret vet so you can work with them, and you don't need to find out at 2 am.  Link started to show signs of cancer when he was 6ish, we didn't catch those signs then, hindsight is 20/20.  I just thought he was getting fat, and lazy. 

Good luck, they make awesome pets!  In Links later years all he wanted to do was cuddle on the couch!  It was like having a small dog that doesn't obey verbal commands!

[rapforjane]

Have you looked at the website www.ferretstore.com?

http://ferretstore.com/food---nutrition.html
^has a little blurb at the top about ferret nutrition.
I buy a lot of things for my rats there, I know they have a lot of good info on ferrets. Things are on sale right now, too! Free shipping over $35 orders. (I sound like a commercial!  )

I don't know anything about ferrets except what I've read, and I don't even know if the information is accurate at that.

[SugarLovesRats]

Og god how bout a friend of mine who used to have a ferret told me to bathe her once a week so she wouldn't smell! I only bathed her twice since I had her because I thought that sounded a little excessive. The last time I bathed her it was because she managed to sneak in the bathroom and knocked a thing of baby powder all over herself and the floofr and had soap all over her paws, I don't know how she did it! LOL Now I see why they call them mischievious!!

[weloveratties]

Our three ferrets that we recently adopted eat Mazurri ferret food. Their previous owner was feeding them cat food and rice crispie treats. He also told us they love cheerios. They get nothing but good food here. They all had to have their distemper shots as well. Make sure the vet uses only a ferret distemper shot. (Ferrevac usually) They only need to be bathed once a month unless they get into something. I actually talked to a breeder/rescue near my home before adopting. You have to make sure you keep their ears clean and their toenails trimmed. The BEST thing I did in addition to talking to someone with years of experience was to read Ferrets for Dummies. My ferrets also get a daily treat of ferretone. It's remarkable how well they can get with some TLC.

[weloveratties]

Oh, I forgot about the litter. The guy that owned our sweet ferrets was using the cat litter with the odor crystals. BIG NO NO! It's not good for them. We use untreated wood pellets that the breeder recommended, but another good litter is Yesterday's News.

[autumncrocus]

I see everyone else has done a great job of answering your questions Good to see so many knowledgeable ferret people here!

The only things I'll add is to make sure whatever food you choose, make sure the first ingredient is chicken...not poultry meal, corn meal or anything like that. Also definitely stop with the fruits and veggies. The fibrous veggies can cause an intestinal blockage...potentially fatal for a ferret if not removed in time. A tiny bit of banana is ok occasionally as a treat. You might also want to occasionally give Gerbers chicken baby food. Just the plain chicken and gravy, the small really expensive jars LOL. This is what you'll need to feed if the ferret ever gets sick and needs additional nutrition (ECE, insulinoma, old age, etc) so its good if they already recognize it as food.

Good luck with your baby!

Kim
Rogue's Den Ferret Rescue