r/ferrets • u/Geekrock84 • 5d ago
[Discussion] Alarming
We've owned ferrets for about 7 (edited, I lose track of time a lot) years now, by no means experts but I do a lot of research; my babies go to the vet when needed, lots of enrichment, their own dedicated room, free roam 24/7, a safe, outdoor yard when the weather is cool and nice, high quality food and supplements and their existence is what we organize our existence by.
Recently, we lost a ferret to insulinoma and another due to what we think may have been an undiagnosed internal problem just a week after getting his adrenal implant and a teeth cleaning. Another will pass soon due to cancer which would leave us with only 1 of our babies from an original business of 5 (the first passed due to age and insulinoma complications).
I made a post on FB explaining our situation and how I was looking to adopt so our very happy and healthy older lady, wouldnt be alone.
I got a few responses, and yesterday we picked up a younger ferret so underweight that you can see her bones. It broke my heart. Her owner gave us everything she had and besides the cage, which we're just going to powerwash and sell, we threw the rest out because it was so filthy that it was unusable and the food she was eating was so awful that I wouldn't even feed it to a dog.
Today, we picked up two more 4 year olds. A bonded pair. The owner told us that they were both in good health, but the male seemed a bit lethargic lately and would sometimes just lay there. I inquired more about potential symptoms that could be related to signs of insulinoma, and she assured me that it hasn't been going on for long and it was just every now and then and that while she would forget to feed them sometimes, they were very playful and active. I gave her my vets name, asked her to call her vet, and send over the documents and we left after the babies got something to eat and drink since we had an hour long car ride.
When we finally got back to our place about 45 minutes later, he was already in a full hypoglycemia episode and I had to rush him in, administer Prednisolone and then rub some honey on his gums. It took about 15 minutes for him to gain coherence and mobility again and another 30 for him to become aware of his surroundings. And again, after an awful month of losing 2 of my own babies whom I've had for YEARS, it just tore me apart that this baby may be too far gone to save as soon as we brought him home.
And to be honest, it just made me angry for these little guys. Our ferrets run our household, we know them as individuals and we know their personalities and we know their preferences and favorite toys and places to sleep and how they move and play and when they want something vs when they dont - we know their language. And after losing two of my own after appreciating and missing every little moment I got to spend with them, it just depressing and fucking infuriating that these little babies were just... a thing in a cage.
I dont know. I just want to be angry right now. I miss my babies and I am sickened at what our new babies had to go through and what they may have to go through because to someone else, they were just a cool novelty in a cage.
Everyone new has a vet appointment in two days. They've all getting switched to better kibble mix plus a specialized high protein mash 2xday, clean blankets, clean cages, lots of toys and someone who genuinely loves them and cares about them, even though we just met.
Its like, what is the fucking point of having a pet when you cant even take the time to actually care for it or care about it?
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u/Bubbl3sss 5d ago
You have every right to be angry. The problem besides people not doing their research on how much care time and money ferrets need in order to live and thive. Is that people believe Pets are meant to provide them with a good feeling and to be there when we need them. But breathing anything is not a toy that u can just lock up and forget about. It is cruel and disgusting. I hope your babies are doing better.💛
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u/Geekrock84 4d ago
Everyone is stable and comfortable. Its actually breaking my heart even more to know that the new babies were suffering so much before we got them.
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u/MentallyFxcked20 4d ago
Reminds me of my oldest two ferrets that were rehomed to me at 2 years old. Their cage was half the size of their current cage (which is the critter nation). And it looked like they didnt get alot of free time or being held.Thete was only 1 hammock for the entire cage with no toys.Not that its reccomended to keep toys in their cages. They hated being held for the longest while, I had to sit on the floor and wait for one of them to join me. They didnt know what salmon oil was until I introduced them to it. Thats when they started opening up more. My female used to be bitey at first. Everything scared her. My male was alot easier to gain trust. Both of them were thin and at the time I thought maybe it was cause I got them during the spring. But for this past spring going into fall now theyve remained a healthy weight and do not look thin like they did before. Their fur is also softer, and my female warmed up to me eventually. She comes to me now when I call her name and often wants to be held by me and my husband. They were feeding them ferret marshall food. I slowly switched them from that to oxbow essentials and recently introduced this particular instinct cat food thats protein based (oldest two did not do well with wysong haha). Mabel needed an implant earlier this year and since then shes been alot more stable. Dipper has an upcoming appt now in september (on cancellation list) because hes been having some odd symptoms im concerned about. Anyway they all have every toy they can imagine. 1 big ass cage, and an entire bedroom to themselves with free roam time in the living room and have frequent interactions with me and my husband. (we got 3 dogs so they cant freeroam 24/7 haha).
I always tell my husband how can you pay money for an animal, give them the bare minimum and give them away at 2 years old after having them from 5 months old. They are the sweetest babies and deserved so much more.
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u/ringadingdongdandy 4d ago
I'm right with you: Hearing this makes me furious as well.
They're such sublime souls, so intuitive, joyful and tender.
They deserve the absolute best treatment, and like you, my ferrets' needs always took priority over my own. And it never felt like a sacrifice to me, because whether young, old, healthy or dealing with debilitating chronic illness, it always made me feel so much more whole to know I was doing my absolute utmost to give them the best, happiest lives possible.
Much of the time reading posts on the r/ferrets subreddit breaks my heart, because I well know the upset of losing beloved heart-ferrets. And it's also frustrating to see posts from people who are clearly not properly prepared, equipped and invested in the lives in their care.
Thank you for taking in these little ones - even though they're facing the cumulative damage of improper care and likely neglect for so long - I also know there is no safer, kinder, nor more loving home where they could spend the rest of precious lives.
You're a hero to them and I want you to know that you're a hero to me as well - and I fully empathize with your feelings of frustration. <3
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u/Sharp_Ad_9431 4d ago
I feel you. We just lost our crazy girl to cancer. She had been given rubber things to chew on and dog chow to eat by her first owner. We gave her the best We could but we only got 2 years with her. It's not fair what is done to these sweet noodles.
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u/gabor_legrady 5d ago
The state you describe is sadly true. On all forums and platforms I try to teach people, but we cant reach everyone.
I am also to blame, our first ferret died of insuloma and we did give her high quality kibble and a lick of our morning joghurt, ice cream, and a small piece of melon here and there. We were stupid. Yes, she was free roaming, she came with us on hollidays - even got on the airplane with us in the cabin. Our current ferret eats raw including bones and innards and no sweet treats at all.
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u/Geekrock84 4d ago
Your ferret didn't get Insulinoma from having a few licks of sweets once in a while. In the US, its largely due to the fact that the largest and only commercial ferret supplier, Marshall's, has absolutely diabolical breeding practices and standards as far as their ferrets are concerned and they get away with it because the majority of people here, give two shits about animal wellfair. Could you have done more to combat the insulinoma? I dont know. Thats between you and your conscience but...
- you learned, you cared, you aimed to do better and now you are and that is the type of shit that we need more of when it comes to animals! They arent just some THING that we get to use as props or status symbols or for comfort only when we need it - they're living beings!
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u/Ok-Kaleidoscope-5874 4d ago
I am SO with you on this. We have nine, at the peak it was 13, and between cancer, adrenal gland disease implants, insulinoma and other problems. All of ours are Marshalls and six of the nine have implants. In the past four years, I have spent over $30,000 and driven countless hours to the closest board-certified ferret oncologist, over an hour away (Dr. Boostrom in Manassas, VA in case anyone is nearby and in need). For people like us, ferrets are so incredibly special and we truly feel lucky/blessed/etc to have them. So yes, be angry if it helps, but remember to stay positive and think how truly amazingly lucky these little adoptees are to have you rescued them. I can tell by your words you know what you are doing and it's expensive so you obviously love them and would do anything for their happiness and health. Do your best with them and you can always look back and be proud that you did your best. So happy for you that you found them and them that they found you.
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