Help me with ferret rescue

OK this started Tuesday 5-12-09

I became involved on Wednesday.

I went with my sister to her friends house, she showed us a ferret her brother had found walking down the street the day before (Tuesday).

He was all white and cute as a button! He was a little playful but seemed kind of shy. He was very sweet just not really active.

They are keeping him outside in a wire cage that was three story with a hammock and no toys :(

She said her mom does not like it and wants it to leave. I immediately begged her to let me have him. She said it was her brothers because he found it. She said she would ask him and call me and let me know. So I had my sister call her about 4 hours later. She had still not talked to him.

Then my sister informs me that he was in Oklahoma and would not be back until today!!!! :(

So I send her a message this morning with ALL the PAGES AND PAGES of information I had found about ferrets. (they were feeding him cat kibble from Wal-MArt and keeping it in 95*F heat)

So tonight I got a call from a # I don't recognize but I have to answer it (my job). I hear alot of noise like some one is at a really busy restaurant/bar ad some one speaking garbled into the phone, it sounded kinda like Spanish so I was about to hang up and then I hear "MIKE!!!!"

So I know it must be for me ;)

the noise calms down and the girl on the other end apologizes for it being noisy she is out with her family.

She asked if I still want the ferret and explains that when she read the message this morning she begged her mom and brother to bring it inside and showed them the message.

Her brother brought him in as soon as he was given the OK.

The ferret seemed weak and listless. I told her I would have to call her back in a minute.

I thought about it for a second because I knew yesterday as soon as I got him I would have to go to the vet, now he is probably near death from heat stroke and dehydration. Now I know the vet bill is going to be $$$$$ and I was not sure if I have that kind of money :(

So I talk to my wife for all of three seconds and we decided to get the ferret. I called her back and she said the only thing was is her brother spend $60 on the ferret for some supplies that he had seen other people with that have ferrets. I quickly agreed to pay what ever it takes.

Now for the real stresser....

I have never held a ferret much less owned one. All of my worldly knowledge of ferretry has been learned in the past 24HR...

I do have some money to pay the vet with (I just don't know what my cut off is) How do I say that this precious fuzz-butt is not worth that amount of money????

I know that I know very little about these guys, but with your help I might be able to save this little guy..

Help please help....

I am confused after the vet....

Mike

You can follow this event/rescue on twitter.com search for Mrepenning my avatar is the same as on here.... Please send me tips on twitter if you can as I have my twitter account on my iPhone

They are hearty little fellas, so long as he had some shade while in that heat. just take him to the vet for a general check-up, he's probably just dehydrated, and he may need his shots.

They are great pets that NEED LOTS of attention, but once litter trained, you'll have a blast with him. :), get him lots of play toys

First stop in the morning is the vet next stop is the "toy store"!

I am so worried about this little guy. It sounds to me (from what I can find out) like a moderate case of heatstroke/dehydration.

He did have shade and plenty of water to drink.

I am hoping for the best but mentally planning for the worst. I love all animals and hate to see them hurt especially if it could have been avoided. I just want to be able to think about it clear headed.

I know a few people who keep their ferrets in outside cages and they do well, especially with our heat & humidity down here.

Your new best friend should be ok, my only worry is him having been on his own for a bit before he was found.

Mike do mention to the vet that this is an abandoned animal that was wandering alone, then was being kept in less than great conditions so you've taken it in. Some vet clinics do offer discounts when people step up to help like this and suddenly incur unplanned for vet costs. Also most clinics will work on payment plans and some have discretionary funds that have been donated to the clinic to help people with vet costs. All you have to do is ask, you may be surprised what can be done to help with any vet bills this poor thing may need.

You'd think this must have been a ferret either loose only a short time or very well socialized at some point since it was caught so easily out in the open like that. Sick animals though can also be more easily caught so do be careful of that until it's been vet checked just to be on the safe side.

Good for you guys for taking it in. :)

I am going to Wal-MArt and getting a pet carrier and some pediolyte.

Thanks for the suggestions. Work is pressing me to come in but I just don't think I can wait any longer to get this guy, he has already been through enough because some one else didn't know how to take care of him, even though they did the best they could they had no research and no help on the rescue. Hopefully I can make this happen the way we all want it to.

Thanks for the support and help.

You should probably try to get the vet to give him subq hydration if he is dehydrated. These guys will go fast if not hydrated properly. The vet would just squeeze a big ol' ball of fluids around his shoulder blade which will keep him hydrated.

Hi. I have two ferrets and they were rescues.... Kinda. They were well maintained they just needed a home. The one thing that's different about them than other animals is that they can contract the flu or other cold type illnesses and pass them on to humans and we can pass it on to them. When my kids got sick, so did my ferrets. Snoopy seemed to get it pretty bad and had the same symptoms that you are talking about. He dropped weight and everything. The illness ran its course and now he's fine. The little bugger won't stay out of crap!!!! LOL I wouldn't be too concerned but a trip to the vet is probably a good idea considering how you found him. Good luck.

By the way, here's a picture of Snoopy and Cocoa.
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k2...r/IMG00044.jpg

I got him picked up by 7AM.

I got called into work and a ferret rescue didn't warrant me getting out of work...

I am just now getting home and it is 9:30pm

He was doing great when I got him this morning he had plenty of water and I talked to her brother (the one who actually took care of him) and he said that he didn't see any of the behavior I listed for heat stroke. I really wanted to take him to the vet today but I had a huge project that needed to be finished :(

He is SUPER active and has been drinking and eating...

He has pooped several times and it looks like normal poop.
I did go buy him a 4 level ferret home a new hammock, some toys, ferrevite, a leash, and a new bowl.

He has two dots tattooed on his right ear, I have read that marshal tattoos the right ear.

He is on Marshals right now as that is what they were feeding him, I am hoping to change over to a whole raw diet, but that is a challenge for another day.

He is doing very well seems very alert, we went for a walk and he was pulling pretty hard and was very very excited to be out and about.

I gave him a water bath as he was scratching quite a bit and I wanted to search for fleas just to be sure.

I do not think he is very old he is about 12" long and maybe about 1LB? I am going to try to weigh him I just need some cooperation.

I will keep you guys updated as I can.

Mike