I wrote last week about our ferret, Epsie, who passed away suddenly from
some sort of infection.  I'm happy to report that his playmate, Delta, is
still doing well and doesn't show any overt signs of depression.  We've
been giving him lots of loving and we've been trying to play with him as
if we were "big ferrets."  Nevertheless, we would like to get him some more
friends who can play with him the real way.  We'd prefer to get kits; Delta
has had bad experiences with other ferrets in the past, and we think he
would feel less intimidated upon first meeting if the new ones were young.
 
We would prefer not to buy from a pet store.  I have tried everything I can
think of to locate a breeder or shelter in Arizona, but all of the ones I
have found on the on-line lists appear to either be out of business or are
not responding to their phone messages.  Can anybody recommend a reputable
breeder or shelter that might have young ones available?  We are happy to
drive many hours (from San Diego).  I apologize that I can't give my e-mail
address.  Please post to the list or e-mail BIG and ask him to forward to
me.  Thanks!
 
To the Masked Ferret owner in CA: we had the same experience recently with
a bad reaction to a distemper shot.  We brought Delta in for his annual
checkup earlier this week, and shortly after it was over he started
throwing up and having diarrhea.  The vet kept him for the afternoon and
let me stay with him for as long as I wanted to until he started calming
down.  Delta didn't look so good for a few days afterwards; he was
lethargic and his neck swelled up near the injection spot.  Now (six days
later), he still has a bad bruise near the injection site, but the swelling
has gone down and he is back to his usual mischievous self.
 
- Julie
[Posted in FML issue 3150]