 Gambit brought joy to hundreds of children and adults throughout his career as a therapy pet and animal ambassador. We are grateful for his contributions. Rest in Peace, Gambit. It has been a busy year for Ferrets and Friends, LLC! We have had significant growth, performing twice as many shows in 2017 as 2016. We have also seen some growth in the diversity and number of animal friends! This year, we debuted two new species (the chinchilla and the Sonoran Desert Millipede) and we added three new species that we are hoping to debut next year (the African pygmy hedgehog, the Mexican red knee tarantula, and the African bullfrog). It has been an exciting time for our animal educators to learn and work with these new animal friends. Unfortunately, this year we also had some significant losses. In 2017, we said goodbye to Gambit (ferret), Sophie (ferret), Honey (Palomino Blonde Tarantula), Capheus (Jackson Chameleon), and Paisley (South American Horned Frog). Our ferrets, Gambit and Sophie, have been with Ferrets and Friends since the beginning. We lost Sophie in early 2017 due to Ferret-FIP and we lost Gambit in the fall of 2017 after medications for his insulinoma were no longer effective. Both were about six years old at their time of death. Ages are unknown for Honey (tarantula), Capheus (chameleon), and Paisley (frog), but it is believed that Honey and Capheus passed away from old age. Paisley (frog) passed away due to unknown causes and was less than one year old at her time of death.  Sophie became unexpectedly ill in early 2017 after the ECE virus struck our ferret crew. Due to her older age, she never recovered and was suspected to have been affected by a ferret version of FIP. Rest in Peace, Sophie. Our Friends' Health in 2017At Ferrets and Friends, we value taking care of our animals in both illness and health. We are grateful for their hard work and cooperation. This year, we had some significant surgeries. Samson (ferret, five years old) had a surgery to amputate one of his toes and Ramona (ferret, four years old) had a surgery to remove bladder stones. Due to the increasing health problems that ferrets experience as they age, we have decided to start a retirement process for our ferrets beginning at age five. Currently, Samson will be semi-retired, but he is still showing interest in going to events. After all, snuggling is Samson's favorite activity!  Samson enjoys some sunshine as he waits for the veterinarian to remove his bandages Other health updates include egg laying by our Leopard Gecko (Cici), Chinese Water Dragon (Jasmine), and Green Cheek Conure (Domino). It is important to make sure that any egg-laying animals have lots of exercise for strong muscles and calcium to replace what is lost when they are laying eggs. None of our animal friends showed any signs of egg binding and they continue to be active and healthy. So how much does it cost to keep our animals healthy and happy? In 2017, our animals cost over $9,000 in veterinary bills alone! Other animal care costs (including food, substrate, toys, heat and lighting equipment, and enclosures) totaled over $10,000. This does not include the human labor that goes into maintaining enclosures, socializing, and training our animal friends. New to the Zoo in 2017This year, we added a whopping 23 new animal friends to our care! Of those twenty-three animals, nine of them were rehomed animals or rescues. Sixteen animals were acquired as potential animal ambassadors. Some of these animals have already started doing shows in 2017: Tarzan & Jane (Leopard Tortoises), Riley, Pabu, & Abu (ferrets), Bumi (chinchilla), Tucker (Kenyan Sand Boa), and the Sonoran Desert Millipedes. Currently, Ferrets and Friends has 58 animals in our care. Not all of these animals are used for shows (currently about 35 are show ready at the time of writing). It's not uncommon for people to inquire whether we are accepting exotic pets that are being re-homed. In fact, over a quarter of our animals have previously had other homes before they arrived in our care. This is why we encourage people to thoroughly research any exotic pet that they may want. These animals are dependent on us to provide for their care and many can have demanding care requirements.
Most of our animals that are used in shows, we have raised from a young age. Shows can be stressful environments for these animals so we want to be sure that they are well socialized and they have temperaments that are appropriate for working around children. Rehomed and rescued animals can make great animal ambassadors, too! Each animal friends is unique. Here's to an even better 2018! Happy New Year from your favorite animal friends!  Xena, our African Pygmy Hedgehog, is looking forward to her debut in 2018!
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About the blogFerrets and Friends, LLC has four writers bringing you information on a variety of topics from pets to wildlife, education to conservation, and from new developments in our business to information about our industry. Learn something new each week! Archives
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