Hello all!

Thanks for joining me!

On February 10, 2019 my fiancé, David, and I brought home our fur baby, Wesley, and our lives changed forever. I had never even thought about getting a ferret before, but David had wanted one since he was a little kid. We went to our local pet store, Incredible Pets, played with the ferrets, and I was hooked! Wesley might have been an impulse buy, but he’s been nothing short of perfect since we got him. Now, a few months down the line, I’m starting this blog to share the expertise I’ve gained over the last few months, and to share hilarious stories and cute pictures of my little fuzz butt. So, if you’re a pet enthusiast, ferret lover, future ferret owner, or current ferrent, I suggest you follow along, as the journey is going to be cute, funny, and informative!

Posted on in Funny Stories

Wesley Does Not Like Water

David and I live in Florida right on the beach. I’ve been seeing these adorable videos going around of ferrets swimming in the ocean, or the pool, or enjoying those little kiddy pools with lots of ball pits balls for them to play with. So, as I am trying to be the best ferrent ever (ferret+parent, if I haven’t caught you up on the lingo yet), I decided to try all three of these things for Wesley. However, I found out something in the process.

Wesley hates water.

I had an inkling that Wesley didn’t like water, as he always fights desperately when we try to give him an oatmeal bath. However, I thought “Maybe Wesley will like water if it’s colder, or has balls in it, or is surrounded by sand, or isn’t in the kitchen sink. I was wrong. Wesley still doesn’t like water.

We took him to the beach. We got him all ready, had his leash and harness on. It was an overcast day, so I thought the weather would be cool enough to visit. We walked down to the beach and set him down in the sand and he hated it. I thought he would like digging in it, as he likes digging in dirt, but nope. Then, we took him down to the water. That was a big NOPE. After taking a few cute photos we left.

The next day I decided to get him a kiddy pool. We filled it up with water and some ice to cool it down. Then we put those ball pit balls that float and were ready. I was so excited. I was like “Wesley will love this and know how much I love him for getting him this fun set up!” He hated it. Although, we did find out that Wesley is quite the adept swimmer, as David decided to see if he liked the real pool any better. He did not.

All this to say, I hope that your little guys enjoy water more than mine does. And if they don’t? No big deal. I always like cuddling better.

Wesley swimming to his daddy like the little otter he is
Posted on in Funny Stories

Shoes!

It’s a well known fact that ferrets have a thing for feet. I’ve heard of ferrents who always have to wear shoes for fear of bitten toes. We know that our cute little guys don’t do it to hurt us, they just can’t resist! Most ferrets go after any and every shoe. However, Wesley is different. Wesley has a favorite pair.

A few weeks ago I went to Walmart and picked up a pair of $5 Birkenstock knockoffs made out of plastic. You know the type, Birkenstock sells them for $4o bucks and they’re made out of Croc material. I thought I was buying them for spontaneous trips to the beach. Little did I know, I’d actually bought them so that Wesley could drag them into the living room every chance he gets.

Every day, this turn of events happens. I take Wesley out of his cage. Wesley walks around the room sniffing things and deciding if he’s going to poop under the bed. Eventually he realizes he’s already pooped, (I don’t take him out if he hasn’t for the very reason that I hate going under the bed to clean up poop) and he’ll start attacking the closet doors. It takes Wesley approximately two minutes of attacking the closet doors for them to open. See, they’re the slidey kind. So, he just scratches and scratches and scratches and eventually. Pop! They open. Following this, Wesley will walk into the closet, pull out one of my shoes, and go galavanting into the living room. Once in the living room he will try desperately to stash said shoe in the couch. He will try this for about…5 minutes. Following his failure, because shoes are just to big to fit into the couch, he will go back to David’s room and pull out my other shoe and try the whole process again. It’s hilarious and wonderful and I’ve caught it on film many times. So, here’s a few pictures.

Do your ferrets have any favorite shoes? Where do they try to stash them?

Caught in the act!
Posted on in Funny Stories

Walking Around with Wesley

Story time!

When we first got Wesley, we decided we wanted to teach him how to walk on a leash. It is little known outside of ferret communities (yes, those are a thing) that ferrets can walk on leashes. However, it is indeed true, just like it’s true that they can be litter box trained and taught to come to their name.

So anyway, every day after we got him we would take him for a stroll around the house. I tried to take him down the street like a dog, but he was very small, and not very good at walking on the leash yet. It seemed every time we put his harness on him he would walk like a little caterpillar–he would shrink towards the ground and kind of wobble about. It was hilarious, but rather ineffective. So, eventually, instead of attempting to walk him down the street, I’d kind of just let him stroll through the front grass and dig in the dirt. He loved digging in the dirt.

Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to take Wesley for a walk as of late. We live in Central Florida and it is just too hot during the summer to take a ferret outside. Ferrets cannot be in weather over 75*, as they are prone to heat stroke, and anyone whose ever been to Brevard County knows it gets well above 75* here during the summer months.

I’m looking forward to winter visiting us this year so that Wesley can enjoy the great outdoors again. Until then, I’ll have to settle for the adorable pictures I have of him outside. So cute!

Posted on in Uncategorized

Ferret Owning – What They Don’t Tell You at the Pet Store

I’ve taken a few days off from this blog after setting it up because, to be completely honest, I don’t know where to start. There’s SO many things to talk about in reference to ferrets, ferret care, living with ferrets, and all the funny and cute stories that I have about ferrets. So, for this particular post, since it’s really the first post here, I decided to do a little overview of life with a ferret.

When David and I first got Wesley we believed everything the pet store told us. Essentially, feed him Marshall’s food, keep him in a small cage, play with him a few hours a day, and he’d be fine. Little did we know how much work and care actually goes into taking good care of a ferret.

If you’re a first time ferret owner, fear not! There’s a lot of information out there, but you’ll be able to take it all in and change your habits so that you can best take care of your little fuzzbutt. I’ll go into more depth in the future as to these points, but here’s a basic overview.

Food: Do not feed your ferret Marshall’s food. Marshall’s is the equivalent of a puppy mill, except they’re a ferret mill. They do not take good care of their ferrets. The reason that your pet store suggested you feed your ferret Marshall’s is because they are contractually obligated to suggest that food, as they are selling Marshall’s ferrets. Almost all ferrets in the USA are Marshall’s ferrets, so don’t feel too bad about buying your first little guy from that awful brand. There’s plenty of ferrets in the country who would love to be adopted, so you can avoid Marshall’s going forward. As for food, you should wean your ferret off of Marshall’s slowly. It takes about two weeks to safely change your ferret’s food. One of the most popular and best kibbles for your ferret is Wysong DS 90. This food can be bought on Amazon or Chewy’s and is most ferret owners’ kibble of choice. Be sure to mix in another food along with the Wysong though, as ferrets imprint on their food and won’t eat if you suddenly couldn’t get that food. A popular food to mix with Wysong is Orijen.

Water: Don’t use water bottles. I know, the ferrets in the stores always have water bottles. In all actuality, they are terrible for ferret teeth. They wear them down. It’s also been proven in studies that ferrets drink more when they have a water bowl. A word to the wise, get a water bowl that attaches to the side of your cage. Otherwise, you’ll be cleaning up a lot of spilt water.

Cage: Pet stores always sell the tiniest cages for ferrets. However, ferrets actually need a lot of space. The best cage for ferrets is the Midwest Ferret Nation. This cage is massive, at four stories, and has plenty of room for multiple ferrets. The only unfortunate part about Ferret Nations are that they are about $250 brand new. So, check craigslist and Facebook Marketplace to see if someone in your community is selling a used one. Chances are somebody will be!

Vet: One of things that David and I did not know before we got Wesley is how much ferrets actually need to go to the vet. When you get your new fuzzbutt from the pet store, chances are they have ear mites. They are very contagious between ferrets, and they run rampant in these stores where no one checks. Many ferrets also come home with upper respiratory infections and anal prolapses from lack of care. So, when you get a ferret, you need to make sure you call around your area to find a vet that specializes in ferrets. They can be hard to find, but it’s worth it. Also, make sure you get your ferret their vaccinations. In many states it’s illegal to have a ferret without giving them their Rabies vaccine. So, get that one. The other vaccine to give your ferret is Canine Distemper, as it can be deadly. The one thing you need to be careful about with vaccines is that ferrets can have bad reactions to them. So, always make sure you wait around your vet for at least 30 minutes after the shot.

That’s about all you need to know to begin caring for your ferret the best you can. Just remember this last tip: Don’t bathe your ferret with ferret shampoo, it dries out their skin and makes them stinkier.

I will go more into depth on all of these topics and more in the future, but for now this will suffice. If you’re interested in asking an entire 16,000+ person group about ferrets, make sure to visit “Ferret Lovers Community” on Facebook. They would be more than happy to help with all of your ferret concerns!