Bob C wanted shelter counts:
Fuzztek Central currently has 23 shelter ferrets, almost all of which are
available for adoption.
 
Fuzztek North has 40+, all unadoptable due to age, positive ADV status or
other serious illness.  Of course if someone with a ADV+ status in their
house wants to adopt or foster an ADV+ ferret, please contact us.
 
Kathleen asked about dry pads:
Kathleen- the first thing that comes to mind is what type of litter are you
using?  If you are using clay or scoopable clay, that is your problem right
there.  Switch to either stove chow or a recycled newspsper litter and you
should notice the dryness going away on its own very quickly.  The clay
draws the moisture out of your ferrets paws.  You can rub a little vitamin
E oil on the pads, or even try some Vaseline (which will also act as a
hairball remedy if he licks it off).  Either one will make a total mess
if tracked on your carpets before it is really dry and absorbed, so you'll
have to either hold or cage your fuzzy after applying.  Can you see the
words of experience there?  :-)
 
Sukie--I have a 5+ year old blaze who is quite healthy :-)  You've met
him when you visited.  I have a DEW who is 6+ who has a variety of health
problems, however none that we think will make him meet the Bridge within
the next year at least.  Interestingly he is related via a paternal
grandfather to the blaze.  Call me if you want more info.
 
A response to the Morris family:
The adrenal tumor is not on her vulva, it is on her adrenal gland, which is
located inside the body cavity.  The reason the vulva is affected is that
the adrenal tumor causes the adrenal gland to produce too many hormones
which cause her body to think she is in heat, hence her vulva swells.  I'm
not a vet, and that was a VERY unscientific explanation of what happens,
I'm sure someone can explain in much better medical terms.  If your ferret
is totally, or mostly bald, regretfully you might be too late to help her.
The longer you wait for surgery, the higher the risk of the tumor becoming
malignent.  You don't mention the age and overall health of the ferret.  If
she is under 5-6 and generally healthy otherwise, I would proceed with the
surgery.  If she is over 7 or in poor health, I would have to think twice.
My suggestion is to get a second opinion from another vet who sees a lot
of ferrets, and has done these surgeries often, even if it means travelling
a ways for it.  There are several ferret knowledgeable vets in Florida,
perhaps someone on the FML could reccomend one is the Northern part of the
state.
 
OT: Disney and MGM are not really affiliates.  Disney had purchased the
rights to use the name MGM and some of the MGM movies for their theme park.
However the lease on those rights is coming to an end in the relatively
near future, and you will see Disney's MGM Studios renamed.  This is also
one of the reasons that the Great Movie Ride, which features a huge amount
of footage from film properties owned by MGM, is going to be shutting soon.
MGM had decided not to renew the name lease, as they were pursuing the idea
of opening their own theme parks.  However with the recent announcement
that they are considering closing their theme park at the MGM Grand Hotel,
this might be again up for discussion.
 
Anne
[Posted in FML issue 3208]