critter diseases

[Clodfobble]

First of all, ferrets are the most disgusting, foul, SMELLY pets you can ever have.

Secondly... When I was a child, my best friend had a perpetual pet hamster. Every six months or so, it would die or escape the cage somehow, and her parents would buy her a new one. One day at her house I saw a hamster crawling under the bed, and we caught it. But her current hamster was still in its cage. By the markings we could tell that this one was Muffy--an escapee from about a year and a half earlier. It had lived in the house somehow that whole time.

[glatt]

I have pet mice in my house. They live in the walls, and in the attic. I have an unusual relationship with them, because I try to kill these pets with traps when I can.

[garnet]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

First of all, ferrets are the most disgusting, foul, SMELLY pets you can ever have.

I've been around a few ferrets, and I've found they are less "smelly" than cats and dogs. They definitely do have a different scent than other animals--some people can deal with it, some people can't. It never bothered me, as long as cages were kept clean and baths were regularly given. If you've come into a contact with a ferret who hasn't has his scent glands removed, that's a different story. Any ferret you get from a pet store will already be spayed or neutered and descented. They're not for everybody, but I think they're very cool.

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

When I was a child, my best friend had a perpetual pet hamster. Every six months or so, it would die or escape the cage somehow, and her parents would buy her a new one. One day at her house I saw a hamster crawling under the bed, and we caught it. But her current hamster was still in its cage. By the markings we could tell that this one was Muffy--an escapee from about a year and a half earlier. It had lived in the house somehow that whole time.

I think those parents were being pretty irresponsible buying that child one hamster after another. Animals aren't toys to be discarded or abused on a whim. How sad.

[Cyber Wolf]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

First of all, ferrets are the most disgusting, foul, SMELLY pets you can ever have.

Any pet will do that if you don't take care of the animal and keep the cage clean if it lives in one. Male rats are notorious for being musky (it's a guy thing) but I've got 3 male rats and 4 female rats and you'd never know by the smell in my apartment. (And 2 mice!)