Ferrets for Dummies (ISBN - 0470139439) PDF
Preview Ferrets for Dummies (ISBN - 0470139439)
by Kim Schilling Foreword by Susan Brown,DVM Ferrets FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2ND EDITION 01_139431 ffirs.qxp 8/29/07 11:46 PM Page i by Kim Schilling Foreword by Susan Brown,DVM Ferrets FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2ND EDITION 01_139431 ffirs.qxp 8/29/07 11:46 PM Page i Ferrets For Dummies®, 2nd Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, or online at http:// www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2007935587 ISBN: 978-0-470-13943-1 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_139431 ffirs.qxp 8/29/07 11:46 PM Page ii About the Author A Chicago native for all but two years of her life, Kim Schilling resides in a south suburb of Chicago with her husband, David, and son, Samuel. Kim pub- lished the first Edition of Ferrets For Dummies in 2000 after three grueling years of title changes, rewrites, and personnel turnovers. Today, her book is the bestselling ferret book on the market. Although writing is a passion of hers, and she vows to keep doing it, her true calling is her son, Sam. Her life changed forever in 2001 when she broke her back and pelvis — the result of a horseback-riding accident on Mother’s Day. The traumatic injuries were the bad news; the good news was that she found out the baby she was told she’d never have was three weeks in the making. Born in 2002, this little miracle changed her life. At one time, Kim thought she knew what was important. Today, she knows without a doubt what’s important. Sam, this wonderful, lit boy, has completed her life. When Kim isn’t working full time or being Mom, she’s running Animals for Awareness, a USDA-licensed and -inspected facility. Created in the early 1990s — incorporated in 1997, with nonprofit status attained in 1999 — Animals for Awareness is dedicated to meeting the needs of wild and exotic animals. Its mission: Protection Through Education. Although Animals for Awareness doesn’t adopt out exotic animals to the general public, it does find permanent USDA facilities for the bigger exotic animals and almost always has domestic critters such as ferrets up for adoption. Kim and many of her exotic critters frequently hit the road to educate as many people as possible. Her main goal is to promote responsible pet ownership and discourage the keeping of exotic, dangerous, or wild animals. Among the 50 species of animals she cares for, Kim dotes on her six ferrets — Squee, Gir, Gaz, Casanova, Dusk, and Macey — who reside peacefully with three happy little fennec foxes. You can learn more about Animals for Awareness at www.animals forawareness.org. 01_139431 ffirs.qxp 8/29/07 11:46 PM Page iii Dedication For my beautiful son, Sam, for he is the brightest blessing in my life. For David, my husband, who stands by my side. For my dearest friend Dr. Mike Miller, whose untimely passing will always leave a gaping hole in my heart and whose wisdom filled my life with priceless knowledge. For my invaluable, precious friend Bob Church, whose immeasurable love and understanding of ferrets has so inspired and taught me. 01_139431 ffirs.qxp 8/29/07 11:46 PM Page iv Author’s Acknowledgments I have to start off by extending a big thank you to Dr. Susan Brown, my techni- cal and medical editor, who went way above and beyond the call of duty by spending countless hours helping me research and answer my many ques- tions. Susan was both my coach and my cheerleader. She is truly priceless and inspiring, and I value the friend I gained in her. A big hug and a thank you to Bob Church for his generous help on many areas of the book, in particular the diet and enrichment chapters. What’s a ferret book without the influences of Bob Church? Thank you to a doll of a guy, Travis Livieri, for his devotion and work with black-footed ferrets and for lending his support to me. Thank you to the fol- lowing fantastic veterinarians for reviewing and contributing to medical sec- tions or issues: Dr. Bruce Williams (ECE and the infamous Poop Chart), Dr. Jerry Murray (heart disease, heartworms, and diet), Dr. Karen Purcell (descenting and diet), and Dr. Katrina Ramsell (DIM). Some of these wonder- ful vets took their precious time to review other parts of the book as well. Vickie McKimmey of Just a Business of Ferrets and Scarlett Gray of Scarlett’s Happy Dookers, both judges with the American Ferret Association, spent a lot of time going through pictures to pick out the best color photos for the color insert. I thank them from the bottom of my heart! Speaking of photos, thank you to Jennifer Deming for your talent as a photographer. I was blessed to find you. You are nothing but a pleasure to work with — a true gem! Many other individuals helped with this book, including Sukie Crandall with her wealth of knowledge, Bill Gruber, Renee Downs, Dr. John Lewington, Julie Fossa, and Marie Bartholdsson. Dr. June McNicholas was priceless when it came to sharing her thoughts on hybrids. And I’d still know nothing about angoras had it not been for Lisa Oestereich and Christine Matthis. A heartfelt thank you to each of you. Special thanks to Dr. Valerie Staton for sharing her expertise on ferret introductions and aggression. Her grasp of ferret behavior is amazing! Thank you to all of you who sent in photos for possible publica- tion. The publisher decided to go only with Jennifer’s pictures. My apologies. Finally, a special thank you to Rebecca Stout, aka Wolfy, who jumped through hoops to get me information on deaf ferrets and to update her Web site in anticipation of it being published in Ferrets For Dummies, 2nd Edition. She’s a champ! Editors Mike Lewis, Josh Dials, and Natalie Harris of Wiley have to be acknowledged for putting up with my mood swings and difficult moments. There were many others who helped make the second edition possible, and to all of them I extend a heartfelt thank you! 01_139431 ffirs.qxp 8/29/07 11:46 PM Page v Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Project Editor: Natalie Faye Harris (Previous Edition: Tracy Barr) Acquisitions Editor: Michael Lewis (Previous Edition: Scott Prentzas) Copy Editor: Josh Dials (Previous Edition: Sandra Blackthorn) Technical Editor: Susan Brown, DVM (Previous Edition: Bob Church) Editorial Manager: Christine Beck Editorial Assistants: Erin Calligan Mooney, Joe Niesen, Leeann Harney, David Lutton Cover and Interior Photos: Jennifer Deming — Photos with Flair Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Composition Services Project Coordinator: Erin Smith Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Stephanie D. Jumper, Christine Williams Special Art: Barbara Frake Anniversary Logo Design: Richard Pacifico Proofreaders: Susan Moritz, Ethel M. Winslow Indexer: Potomac Indexing, LLC Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 01_139431 ffirs.qxp 8/29/07 11:46 PM Page vi Contents at a Glance Foreword....................................................................xxi Introduction .................................................................1 Part I: Is a Ferret Right for You?....................................7 Chapter 1: What You Need to Know About Ferrets........................................................9 Chapter 2: Understanding What Ferrets Are (And Aren’t)..........................................21 Chapter 3: Ferrets and the Law: Licensing and Other Issues .....................................39 Part II: Finding Your Ferret and Hanging Up the Welcome Hammock...............................................45 Chapter 4: On the Tail of a New Carpet Shark (Um, Ferret)........................................47 Chapter 5: Home Sweet Home: Preparing Your Ferret’s Quarters .............................63 Chapter 6: Ferret-Proofing Your Home ..........................................................................89 Chapter 7: Introducing Fuzzy to His New Family .........................................................97 Part III: Basic Ferret Care and Feeding ......................115 Chapter 8: Filling Your Ferret’s Belly ...........................................................................117 Chapter 9: Cleaning Time: Not All Ferret Fun and Games.........................................143 Chapter 10: Enrichment: Yours and Your Ferret’s......................................................161 Chapter 11: Have Ferret, May Travel ...........................................................................181 Part IV: Tackling Your Ferret’s Health Issues and Treatments.........................................................191 Chapter 12: Setting Up Your Ferret’s Health Plan: Vets and First-Aid Kits..............193 Chapter 13: Helping Your Hurt Ferret: First-Aid Basics.............................................209 Chapter 14: Ferreting Out Ferret Pests........................................................................233 Chapter 15: Handling Viruses, Infections, and Other Conditions and Illnesses.....243 Chapter 16: Finding and Treating the Big C and Other Lumps.................................275 Chapter 17: Saying Goodbye When the Time Comes ................................................287 Part V: Ferret Psychology 101: Behavior and Training...............................................299 Chapter 18: Understanding What Fuzzy Is Trying to Tell You..................................301 Chapter 19: Putting Your Ferret through Basic Training: Easy as 1-2-3?.................313 Chapter 20: Dealing with the Behaviorally Challenged Ferret..................................319 02_139431 ftoc.qxp 8/29/07 11:46 PM Page vii Part VI: Breeding Ferrets: The Facts, Fallacies, and Plain Ol’ Hard Work ...........................................329 Chapter 21: Should You Breed Your Ferret? Looking at the Big Picture..................331 Chapter 22: Unmasking the Details of Ferret Love.....................................................337 Chapter 23: From Birth to Bundle of Energy: Walking a Fuzzy’s Timeline ..............349 Part VII: The Part of Tens..........................................355 Chapter 24: Ten Common Ferret Myths and Misconceptions ..................................357 Chapter 25: Ten Recipes Your Ferret Will Love..........................................................363 Index .......................................................................373 02_139431 ftoc.qxp 8/29/07 11:46 PM Page viii
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