Finding ferrets for sale
Many people when looking for ferrets for sale opt for their local pet shop as their first port of call. If you're looking to buy a ferret you may want to read on to discover the truth about many of the ferrets that are for sale...
While lots pet stores do indeed offer ferrets for sale it's hard to know whether these ferrets have been separated from their mothers at too early an age and are not socialized enough with people. Many of the pet stores get their ferrets from major ferret farms and as with any big business it's very easy for animal care to go out of the window. Many of the concerns about large ferret farms include: Controlling their lighting to artifically increase the number of litters the females will produce, neutering and de-scenting their kits at too young an age which leads to health problems in older age, practicing closed-colony breeding, providing poor vet care, providing inadequate living conditions, shipping in inadequate containers with lack of decent food and water. Perhaps, for many ferret lovers, the most reprehensible of all is the breeders that sell their ferrets for laboratory testing.
So, pet stores that get their ferrets for sale from large ferret farms might not be as good an idea as they first seem...
Ferrets for sale from Breeders
A quick look in the local classifieds can often yield a local ferret breeder who may well have ferrets available to buy. Being a smaller outfit than the big ferret farms the level of ferret care should be higher. These ferrets are normally kept with their mothers and be in constant interaction with the breeder meaning that they get to grow up nicely socialized. As with everything though there can be good and bad breeders.
Some breeders do it because they love ferrets while others breed from greed. A good breeder will help you and be honest with you about how much work it can take to care for a ferret. A bad breeder may just be keen to sell their ferrets while not really caring about their future well being.
If possible set up a meeting with the breeder where you can see how their ferrets are kept. A good breeder will have nothing to hide and will keep their ferrets in large, clean cages ande will have humane conditions which consequently lead to active and alert ferrets for sale. Find out if the breeder will provide some sort of after sale support so that you can get help when you've got a question about your new ferret. If possible get hold of some refrences from other people who have recently bought ferrets off this particular breeder to find out how their good their experience was.
An alternative to finding ferrets for sale
In our opinion the best source for ferrets, especially for new ferret owners is a ferret shelter. You'll find all sorts of ferret at your local ferret shelter- Young ones that were probably too energic for their older owners, some that are old and in need of medications, some that have been abandoned due to financial reasons . Most ferrets at the ferret shelter though are just normal ferrets that need a loving, friendly home that will look after them.
The role of a shelter is to find the best possible home for their ferrets so they will probably ask you lots of questions to make sure you are suitable and consequently they are more than willing to offer post adoption support to you. You'll probably find that adoption fees are lower than finding ferrets for sale from other places, especially bearing in mind that most shelters work closely with vets so your ferret should be up to date on its annual exam and all its vaccinations. You'll also be helping the shelter look after future abandoned ferrets through your adoption donation.
As you can see there are some pretty good alternatives than just considering the ferrets for sale at your local pet supermarket.