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Post by melinda on Jul 9, 2007 14:45:58 GMT -5
I started looking for a couple of ferrets to adopt on craigslist but no one was willing to provide vet information to prove they had their shots and were healthy. I tried appying to adopt from some local rescues, but couldn't get approved because 1) no experience (i owned a ferret when I was younger but the rescue said my parents were the main caregivers since i was young), 2) i own a large dog and 3) there is no section in my lease that says I can have pets. I gave my landlords number so they could call and verify I could have pets, but none bothered. I've read "Ferrets for Dummies" front to back...read plenty of online articles...read posts on this forum daily...and have a subscription to the ferret magazine. But still no approval from the rescues. I've decided to just save up the money to buy from PetCo.
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Post by Crystal on Jul 9, 2007 14:52:09 GMT -5
I'm sorry this is happening to you. Some rescues are a bit extremem on their rules. I can and cannot understand.
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Post by connie on Jul 9, 2007 16:05:28 GMT -5
I don't understand it either. The utlimate goal is to get the ferret into a new home. Yes, I've turned down people but some of the reason's I'm hearing about on this board are just crazy.
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jes002
War Dancer
Proud parent of Bentley and Harley
Posts: 237
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Post by jes002 on Jul 9, 2007 16:18:44 GMT -5
lol.. crazy, yes.. but maybe things will change because people are speaking out! Maybe someday those strict ferret shelters will read this post one day and have a change of heart.
Every now and then, you do get a good hit on craigslist. I got harley, plus his cage, plus about $200 worth of food, litter, and supplies for FREE!! me and his first owner still email back and forth and are friends. ( we emailed back and forth for about a month before the adoption actually took place, and i think that is why he was free. He trusted me, and we became good friends) I also got his adoption papers and he had a rabies tag but nothing else. I feel like in harley's case i struck gold, although harley is completely crazy and temps my nerves OFTEN, i still love him none the less.
Be careful with craigslist though!! Its scary to adopt from online, you never know what you are gonna get!
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Post by Krissy on Jul 9, 2007 16:25:18 GMT -5
I started looking for a couple of ferrets to adopt on craigslist but no one was willing to provide vet information to prove they had their shots and were healthy. I tried appying to adopt from some local rescues, but couldn't get approved because 1) no experience (i owned a ferret when I was younger but the rescue said my parents were the main caregivers since i was young), 2) i own a large dog and 3) there is no section in my lease that says I can have pets. I gave my landlords number so they could call and verify I could have pets, but none bothered. I've read "Ferrets for Dummies" front to back...read plenty of online articles...read posts on this forum daily...and have a subscription to the ferret magazine. But still no approval from the rescues. I've decided to just save up the money to buy from PetCo. did you try scales and tails? i know they are i NJ but your only in Philly not too far of a drive. maybe you could get a noterized letter from your landlord. it may help since its not in your lease. my lease doesn't state anything about pets, but our landlord has told us no dogs, she lets us have what ever else we want just no dogs.
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Post by melinda on Jul 10, 2007 10:26:07 GMT -5
I haven't tried Scales and Tails, but I will look them up. I will also see what I can do about the notarized letter. My landlord is Chinese and doesnt speak english, so his daughter is always there to translate. I will have to call her and see what I can do. Thanks!
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kene
War Dancer
Posts: 298
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Post by kene on Jul 10, 2007 10:45:05 GMT -5
Melinda I am having the same problem with shelters that you are! My husband decided after I was brought to tears yesterday he will not deal with shelters now for our ferrets (we have goten almost all our animals from shelters) I think we will just spend more money on getting vet stuff taken care of and get ours from a pet store. I thought about doing Craigs list but frankly after talking to some of the people it was decided no. (one woman told me she feed her ferret brownies as a treat and he was 16 years old)
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Post by lmp1129 on Jul 13, 2007 10:46:02 GMT -5
i don't think it's fair because i got my little girl of of craigslist for $80 with her cage and accessories included.
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Post by connie on Jul 13, 2007 11:46:55 GMT -5
i don't think it's fair because i got my little girl of of craigslist for $80 with her cage and accessories included. what is it that you don't think is fair? I'm assuming you mean adoption fees that shelters charge. Ok, so lets assume that's what you meant. So you got the ferret for $80 plus her cage and accessories. Is the ferret you got up to date on shots and ADV tested? If not, add about another $80-$100 for that, and you now have spent $160-$180 As I've said before, my most expensive adoption fee for a ferret under a year old is $85. I have used cages I sell for around $40, and I include bedding, water bottle and food dish. So it would cost you $125 for a ferrret under a year old that has been to a vet and is up to date on it's shots and tested for ADV with cage and accessories from my shelter. I don't mean to sound mean, but it just makes me madder than dog poop that people think they get such a bargain off of cragislist, when in reality they don't. They don't look at the whole picture, just that the ferret 'was only' $50, or $80, or whatever. I have another craigslist horror story that I'll post on another thread.
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Post by falcorsmom on Jul 13, 2007 19:57:33 GMT -5
We have been looking around to adopt for a few months now, and are sad to say our fuzzy is still single. We don't believe in petstores as a good option for us. I used to work for a shelter, so our hearts are in rehoming pets. (Our fuzzy is a rescued Marshall, who was given up for being too loud when he scratched on his cage door for attention. GRR @ people)
We are in Nashville, and there isn't a ferret rescue here. It's a long drive to the rescues that are the closest, and most of the ferrets there are in pairs or groups which they wont seperate, so we have not pursued them (we want to let ours adjust to one friend for now, not a whole pile of them lol)
anyway, we almost had a CraigsList nightmare. There was a lady selling three ferrets, and after emailing back and forth for a while, she said she would give us one of the females for $75. As we were thinking it over, she emailed me to ask if I still wanted her, she would give her to me for free. I thought that was odd (why the sudden change of heart?) after i got nervous and backed out, i saw she had posted a new ad on Craigslist. apparently she required $200 emergency vet care which the woman knew about, because she had treated her once before. I see the little one on a rescue website now, and she's up on her vet care now (kudos to the rescue for being HONEST about her medical history).
I left our ad posted on CL looking to adopt a ferret. Today I got an email from a woman who said she had one for us to adopt, with shots, etc. When I asked for more details she told me sells them for $169.99 at the pet store. Is there steam rolling out my ears? LOL
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Post by sjones25 on Jul 16, 2007 11:32:36 GMT -5
I don't understand alot of people on craigslist. It really sucks that they say they are looking to find a good home for their ferret. But, they are really just looking to get back some of the money they put out. I check craigslist everyday and most people are about money.
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Post by falcorsmom on Aug 18, 2007 19:30:21 GMT -5
i agree. it's not craigslist that bugs me, it's the stupid people who abuse it to go through animals like they go through socks. there's a ferret for sale right now for $300 with a cage. but they wont adopt out the ferret without the cage at any price. they want to find a good home? bull.
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Post by azfury on Aug 25, 2007 19:44:54 GMT -5
This is the reason that I have come here to find my little girl a home. I am afraid of where she might end up or what may happen if I even try and find a home on CL. I read all of the ads out there and there are some wackos. Hopefully I will find her a home through here or through word of mouth.
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Post by lunapooka on Aug 26, 2007 9:48:40 GMT -5
I got Elwyn and Tress off Craig's List for a $125, which was later refunded after spending over $500 at the emergency clinic on Elwyn the night we brought him home.
Cricket and Turtle are also Craig's List ferrets. They were abandoned on a porch in a nearby town when their previous owner moved out. A neighbor posted for someone to rescue them and that person was me. I found them in a tiny homemade cage that was filled with poop. They had been out in the rain and the heat and the only water they had to drink was what had rained into their litter box.
Then, Millie, Bean and Radar were purchased from a Craig's List ad for $75 for all of them plus a cage, and a nice cage. They were all under 6 months old too. That was awesome.
You just have to watch Craig's List carefully and be patient. You can also check Petfinder classifieds and the classifieds in your local paper. Cheap ferrets go really fast. But overpriced ferrets will be on the list forever. There's a person on my Craig's list trying to sell three four year old ferrets for $75 a piece and he thinks that's a bargain because you'd pay so much more in a pet store. He's been trying to sell them for months. With ferrets that old, you never know when a major medical problem is going to start.
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Post by falcorsmom on Aug 28, 2007 18:25:01 GMT -5
um... so there is this ferret on CL... posted as "last chance" and "i won't post her again." and now im wondering what will happen to her if she isn't adopted
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Post by ANGE92040 on Aug 28, 2007 18:28:01 GMT -5
did you email and ask him? Maybe you can contact a shelter and tell them about it.
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Post by falcorsmom on Aug 28, 2007 19:06:02 GMT -5
they wouldnt come down on the adoption fee. or should i say seller's fee. they still state that they arent too flexible on the fee. thats what i dont get. if you are so in need of money that you wont come down on price, wouldnt you rather have some money than no money? our first ferret was still a kit, had current vet records, and came with a brand new cage (same one) and he was $50 cheaper. and that was the petco price. so... just another case of someone caring more about getting their money back than about the pet.
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Post by shadypinesferret on Aug 28, 2007 21:35:56 GMT -5
Craigslist bugs me to no end. I've gotten most of my rescue ferrets from people on craigslist, to be honest, and I think it allows people far too easy an out when they decide they don't want pets anymore....and it also gives people the idea that pets are nothing but commodities.
I can't get my $75 adoption fee for a two year old ferret because people see that they can get a kit on craigslist with a cage for $100 (maybe less, depends on the day). They don't want to hear that I test for ADV, and make sure canine distemper and rabies vaccines are up to date. They don't want to hear that I feed Innova Evo and who cares what a bag of that costs? They generally are people who will be back in touch with me in a year or less wanting to give up the ferret...or the ferret will be dead from one thing or another.
People who purchase ferrets on Craigslist get even less education about ferrets than if they bought from a petstore - god help the ferrets, if those people aren't the kind to do the research themselves. That's why I post on Craigslist as often as I can - to try to educate those who might take that "awesome deal" of $50 for a ferret with cage and bedding and food (WOW!). I'd love for my ads on CL to get me a donation here or there, but my main goal is to get these people who don't know better to feed good food, let their ferrets out daily, take them for vet exams, and consider things like melatonin supplementation and making sure the ferrets get enough dark sleepy time.
</rant>
Because my shelter/rescue is full right now, I'm trying to get people to list on petfinder through me, while still keeping their ferrets, rather than going to craigslist or a humane society. I pray this works, I really do.
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Post by shelter mom on Aug 28, 2007 22:13:47 GMT -5
I share the same view as you with regards to CL. I get calls all the time from people wanting my help with a ferret they got off of CL. They don't want to adopt from the shelter but they want the shelter to help them out. I don't get it. It bugs me to no end. But of course I do what I can, it's not the ferrets fault their owner is an idiot!
I've had several surrenders come in that the people tried to sell on craigslist but couldn't, so as a last resort they call me. I had one guy call me on a Friday evening needing to place this two ferrets and was leaving on Monday! Said he tried to 'rehome' them but didn't get any responses, so he called me at pretty much the last minute.
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Post by elisa on Aug 28, 2007 22:33:33 GMT -5
Craigslist bugs me to no end. I've gotten most of my rescue ferrets from people on craigslist, to be honest, and I think it allows people far too easy an out when they decide they don't want pets anymore....and it also gives people the idea that pets are nothing but commodities. and consider things like melatonin supplementation and making sure the ferrets get enough dark sleepy time. I've also adopted 2 of my ferrets from CL. Many Ads on there for pets, and ferrets seem to be popping up more & more often. People buy them on a whim, then after a month or two, want to sell --hoping to get all their money back! Wish they would do research, ask questions, and talk to ferret owners prior to buying the cute little kits. Now, what about the Melatonin supplement?? I use melatonin as a sleep aid. How would that help the ferrets??
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Post by shadypinesferret on Aug 28, 2007 23:20:34 GMT -5
Melatonin is used as a treatment for adrenal disease, both orally and in implants that go under the skin. There's a vet who is advocating melatonin for all ferrets - I think it has in part to do with the unnatural light cycles we expose ferrets to - and it supposedly reduces the chance of adrenal disease or something. Honestly, I haven't done that much research.
The big thing I've found though is that I got a much better response when I had melatonin compounded by a pharmacy rather than using the pills or liquid (I tried both) available over the counter. You need a prescription if you use a compounding pharmacy, but any vet familiar with ferrets would definitely at least discuss it with you.
My healthy ferrets get 1mg daily, as close to sunset as possible. My ferrets with signs of adrenal disease get 3mg. I've had one ferret, Sinead, go from almost completely bald with terrible vulvar swelling to looking almost normal in the course of a couple months with the 3mg daily, but I also had one, Elliot, go from diagnosis to euthanasia in a couple short weeks.
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Post by ANGE92040 on Aug 28, 2007 23:34:50 GMT -5
Melatonin is used as a treatment for adrenal disease, both orally and in implants that go under the skin. There's a vet who is advocating melatonin for all ferrets - I think it has in part to do with the unnatural light cycles we expose ferrets to - and it supposedly reduces the chance of adrenal disease or something. Honestly, I haven't done that much research. The big thing I've found though is that I got a much better response when I had melatonin compounded by a pharmacy rather than using the pills or liquid (I tried both) available over the counter. You need a prescription if you use a compounding pharmacy, but any vet familiar with ferrets would definitely at least discuss it with you. My healthy ferrets get 1mg daily, as close to sunset as possible. My ferrets with signs of adrenal disease get 3mg. I've had one ferret, Sinead, go from almost completely bald with terrible vulvar swelling to looking almost normal in the course of a couple months with the 3mg daily, but I also had one, Elliot, go from diagnosis to euthanasia in a couple short weeks. So is it the same as the human kind? What is the differance between the pills and the other stuff
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Post by shadypinesferret on Aug 29, 2007 0:31:19 GMT -5
If a supplement is considered a neutraceutical or supplement or something other than a medication (which is why if you look at the side of the bottle, it will usually have small print saying that it's not meant to treat any disease or condition), it gets out of all the FDA testing - and I've heard and read that there is a lack of standardization and sometimes even lack of quality in these over the counter supplements.
The pharmacist I used, who was absolutely awesome (Rory at Diamondback Drugs - diamondbackdrugs.com or diamondbackdrugs@qwest.net - tell him Rebecca from Shady Pines referred you), explained that they used pharmaceutical grade melatonin, which is supposedly the best stuff you can get - I'd take that with a grain of salt, but I started noticing more of a difference not long after I started using the liquid that he made up for me. (It's still the same stuff as humans take, just in a tasty liquid and supposedly a better grade than you get over the counter - I myself take the OTC pills because I'm only using it to help me get to sleep, not to control cancer like in the ferrets).
He also made it in a higher dosage than you can get over the counter, which makes it a lot easier to get into a ferret. I have 10mg/ml, so I only have to give my healthy ferrets 0.1ml and the sickies get 0.3ml, plus it's flavored and most of them love it.
I'm sorry to get way off topic. If mods prefer, we can take this private - director@shadypinesferretsanctuary.info. I love talking about these things, plus it helps me learn more too. Whatever questions I can't answer, I have to look up or find someone who knows.
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Post by shelter mom on Aug 29, 2007 9:05:37 GMT -5
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Post by femalecheetah on Aug 29, 2007 16:29:57 GMT -5
I have adopted 5 of my 8 ferrets off of Craigslist and all 5 were FREE. All five of them weren't properly taken care of in one way or another whether it be diet, housing, etc but what really gets me is that people do not realize that ferrets need out of cage time DAILY! These ferrets came to me going NUTS in their carriers wanting out to play... not to mention they all lived in small dirty cages with shavings on the bottom. And their hygiene was bad... dirty coats, dirty ears, very long nails, bad teeth... I just feel so bad for the ferrets. And most of the time they are older and so aren't as "cute" anymore or appealing to people. When I see people post wanted ads on craigslist for ferrets they always want a kit or a ferret under 1 year of age which I have no problem with but the older ferrets get passed up which to me is very sad.
I also see ferrets going for outrageous amounts but lately I have seen 3-4 month old kits being rehomed with cage for only $40-$50 which does have me very suspicious. Why get a kit and then rehome it a week later? It just doesn't make sense to me.
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