About Us
Welcome to Snails House!
We are a ferret sanctuary and rescue based in WA State in the United States. We are a forever home for any ferret that is brought to us and handle all of their social and medical needs no matter the situation. Our primary focus is ferrets requiring medical, behavioral, or age related management. That being said all intakes are handled on a case by case basis so if you have a ferret in need do not hesitate to reach out.We do not adopt out or run a foster program as many of the animals here require round the clock care, have special needs, or are undergoing behavioral management. We are not a charity and do not accept donations of any kind as everything is funded by ad revenue from our viewers or through partnerships with sponsors or other groups.
Environment
The ferrets in our care live in different social groups with their friends. Each of these groups have different names chosen by the staff and community. We announce when each group is coming out for playtime on our Discord in the Ferrets channel under Announcements. This way you can keep track of your favorite ferret or group and know when they are out and having fun.
The play area for our rescue has new toys, hides, and stations switched out frequently. This ensures the ferrets always have something new to play with each time they come out to explore. The community makes requests for specific toys in the livestream chat or on discord frequently so don't hesitate to ask if you want something rotated in!
Ferrets can have complications at temperatures around 80F/26.6C or higher as they cannot regulate their body temperature well. The rescue is kept at 60-65F/15.5-18.3C at all times due to this. We have a main AC unit, a backup AC unit, and a backup generator just in case. This climate controlled environment helps keep a lot of our older rescues stable especially in the summer months.
Cages and the play area are cleaned multiple times per day and the entire rescue receives a deep cleaning once a week. Ferrets make a mess of things very quickly so we stay on top of cleaning it all as frequently as possible. You will likely see dirty potty pads or the stray accident from time to time but rest assured these will be cleaned up during the next sweep.
The play area for our rescue has new toys, hides, and stations switched out frequently. This ensures the ferrets always have something new to play with each time they come out to explore. The community makes requests for specific toys in the livestream chat or on discord frequently so don't hesitate to ask if you want something rotated in!
Ferrets can have complications at temperatures around 80F/26.6C or higher as they cannot regulate their body temperature well. The rescue is kept at 60-65F/15.5-18.3C at all times due to this. We have a main AC unit, a backup AC unit, and a backup generator just in case. This climate controlled environment helps keep a lot of our older rescues stable especially in the summer months.
Cages and the play area are cleaned multiple times per day and the entire rescue receives a deep cleaning once a week. Ferrets make a mess of things very quickly so we stay on top of cleaning it all as frequently as possible. You will likely see dirty potty pads or the stray accident from time to time but rest assured these will be cleaned up during the next sweep.
Staff
We have a dedicated team of staff members that work both Full-Time and Part-Time respectively. As the rescue grows this team will increase as well. Stay tuned for job opportunities if you're in the Pacific North-West and have experience in small animal handling and care.
Shaye
She is our Full-Time caretaker and handles a ton of day to day operations as well as all in-house medical needs. You can always see her on the Discord or on stream tending to something or talking to the community. Without her none of this would be possible so make sure to give her kudos when you see her. She was previously an Exotic Vet Assistant and left to work at the rescue Full-Time.Thor
He handles all of the business operations for the rescue and technical maintenance for the stream, cameras, and other systems. He also helps with behavioral training for some of the intakes and medical research which is then brought to our veterinarians to see if we can improve our level of care.Maddie & Nova
They are both Part-Time caretakers and they assist in daily activities, cleaning, and other maintenance. They are in the rescue room for their entire shift and can contact Shaye or Thor at any time in case of emergencies. Both of them work very hard to make sure this rescue is the best it can be.
Major Projects
We're currently working on building the largest ferret rescue in the United States. This section will receive updates with timestamps to let the community know how far along we are and whats happening next. This is a longstanding goal of the rescue and will help us expand our operations many times over. The new facility will need a larger staff to run so stay tuned for in-person work opportunities in the future.
1. Project Management/Developer
2. Septic System And Well System Approval Process
3. Topographic Survey
4. Geotechnical Soil Report
5. Conceptual Site & Utility Plan
6. Conceptual Building Floor And Elevation Plans
7. Final Site Plan
8. Sepa Application & Submittal
9. Schematic Building Floor And Elevation Plans
10. Schematic M & P Plans (Mechanical & Plumbing)
11. Schematic Electrical Plans
12. Preliminary Landscape Architect Plans
13. Preliminary Parking Lighting Plans
14. Architectural Design Documents
15. Structural Engineering Preparation
16. Final Mechanical And Plumbing Plans
17. Final Electrical Plans
18. Final Civil Engineering Plans
19. Final Landscape Architect Plans
20. Final Parking Lighting Plans
21. Project Coordination
22. Agency Redlines (One Round)
23. Consultation, Meetings & Coordination
24. Electronic Autocad Data Deliverable
March 26th, 2025
We reached out to a contractor that specifically works on veterinary medical facilities and explained our overall goal for the rescue. They were receptive and we started putting together a plan to pitch everything to the county. This initial process takes months and a great deal of care to ensure the best chance of success.August 14th, 2025
The contractor reached out to the county and started discussions for the build. The next step from here would normally be a CIM meeting and final approvals before we break ground. Unfortunately our county wanted extra steps and a Pre-Application Screening needed to be performed.November 3, 2025
The Pre-Application Screening passed! The county also wanted a site plan which we provided and now we're in queue for review. Once the county finishes the review they will respond with either GO or NO-GO. We're optimistic about a GO outcome based on all of the factors involved right now. If they respond with GO then we can move forward with the next planning phase.December 21, 2025
We paid the contractor for a massive number of services so we can move forward on the project. This is going to be months of work and is around 1/4th of the overall cost of the project. All of this is paid up in full and the contractor is already working on them!1. Project Management/Developer
2. Septic System And Well System Approval Process
3. Topographic Survey
4. Geotechnical Soil Report
5. Conceptual Site & Utility Plan
6. Conceptual Building Floor And Elevation Plans
7. Final Site Plan
8. Sepa Application & Submittal
9. Schematic Building Floor And Elevation Plans
10. Schematic M & P Plans (Mechanical & Plumbing)
11. Schematic Electrical Plans
12. Preliminary Landscape Architect Plans
13. Preliminary Parking Lighting Plans
14. Architectural Design Documents
15. Structural Engineering Preparation
16. Final Mechanical And Plumbing Plans
17. Final Electrical Plans
18. Final Civil Engineering Plans
19. Final Landscape Architect Plans
20. Final Parking Lighting Plans
21. Project Coordination
22. Agency Redlines (One Round)
23. Consultation, Meetings & Coordination
24. Electronic Autocad Data Deliverable
February 6th, 2026
A number of the surveys have now been performed including the Geotechnical Soil Report from the previous list. I know this is just a survey but it means we've technically broken ground. Kind of a huge milestone so here is a picture!