Dancing in Bali

So it is official, I found my little girl. She is a year and half and appears to be a BEW (Black-eyed White Ferret). I am so beyond excited !! As I have mentioned on twitter and on my Instagram posts, I have wanted a Ferret for 11 years.. ever since the infamous Radolpho the blind ferret from Along Came Polly in 2004. I pick her up Friday April 17th in the morning.. as my friend theperksofbeinga-veganwallflower is taking me to get her & I’m excited for Sammi to meet her first ferret!

Over the years I have done much extensive research on these curious little creatures and bottom line is- they need just about as much attention as a dog does. They sleep for 16-20 hours a day and need about 4-5 hours daily of exercise which means running around and having crazy FERRET WAR DANCES!! So stoked to have these dancing ceremonies LOL.. many photos and videos to come!

Although as excited as I am (like you can obviously see) I am however a little concerned about Mya’s well being. When her current owner contacted me asking if I would like to take her Ferret- I of course jumped on the opportunity as I haven’t gotten any offers and in store ferrets are $259.99- it felt right as well. She said to me she didn’t have time with her between work, sports, and school, so again I was more than happy. She then continued to say “How much DO you know about them? As I’m afraid she’ll be going to someone who doesn’t know anything...” I was so excited to hear this as of course my first thought was she must take good care of her! Thank GOD because that’d be extra work if she didn’t. 

LOL well, I spoke too soon.

The lady sent me pictures of her in a small cage with WOOD shavings- very dangerous for ferret feet as it can cut them and give them splinters. It didn’t have a proper litter box it looked like which concerns me if she is litter box trained.... But again I couldn’t quite tell. Other than that she looked ok and healthy so I’m hoping she’s a tough girl. But having seen this mess... I had to ask... what was Mya eating?....

She had my little girl on Nutrient Rich Ferret Diet- “Specifically formulated for ferrets’ Distinct Dietary Needs” lololol.... before I continue, I must mention that ferrets are obligate carnivores, which means they cannot digest salt, sugar, fruits, starches, veggies. ONLY protein and certain fats. I was thinking hmm this looks like the same stuff my Ma had her old ferret on (and he died at like 3... Ferret’s are supposed to have a 7-10 year life span). I looked it up and realized that I was surprised my little girl wasn’t sick to death. When looking for Ferret food, at least the first 5-6 ingredients should be meat based. The ingredients in the food this girl was feeding Mya included... Chicken meal, ground yellow corn, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, animal fat (preserved with vitamin E, vitamin C and citric acid), corn oil, dried eggs, cane molasses, beet pulp, natural raisin juice, brewers dried yeast, natural flavors, salt. And I just won’t continue... Everything I highlighted is what they cannot digest. 

I cannot stress this enough. DO NOT get a pet if you cannot afford vet bills or proper dietary needs. It makes me sick that people get pets and they live half their life span because someone on impulse decided they wanted a new buddy.

Food is so vital to any pet. DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ever since I started looking more into Mya’s dietary needs, I am more aware of what Marley SHOULDN’T be eating as well. Thankfully my boyfriend has him on a decent food, but I want to bump him up to Blue Buffalo or the same kind of brand Orijin that I have for Mya.

Anyways end rant. I’m excited to pick her up and give her a bath and start letting her adjust. It’s gonna be a bumpy road as she nips too... Gotta break the habit.