Condolences to those with lost, sick, or angeled FWF (Ferret Wrestling
Federation) Super-Stars...
 
Well, I can no longer say that my ferrets haven't given me anything.
They gave me a cold.  Several (at least 5) of my ferts have gotten a cold.
First, Bump appears to have had it.  Shortly thereafter, Chewy got it.
Then Taz turned up with it, followed by Fuzzer, then finally Smokey.  All
of them have the sneezles and they all seem a bit more lethargic than
normal.  Also, since these are all the biggest ferts in the busyness, the
food consumption has gone down quite a bit.  They are also all seem to want
to climb up on me and lay down for periods of time--something they don't
normally do.
 
I called the vet and told him of the symptoms.  He said that, just like in
humans, there is no real "cure" for this.  It just needs to run its course.
I *did* get some drops to put on their little snouts (something akin to
Vick's vapo-rub) that seems to help reduce the sneezing and it also seems
to help them breath through their noses (otherwise, they appear to be
breathing through their mouths).  They also seem to sleep better when I
put the drops on.
 
Anyhow, because they spend so much time laying on my chest, or getting
cuddled because I'm *supposed* to cuddle a sick fert, they've sneezed on
my several times.  After a few days of this, I finally caught the cold.
However, also being the *extremely healthy* type, the cold isn't all that
severe.  Since I've had little contact with other humans during this time,
I can only presume that I got my cold from my fuzzbutts.
 
Lucky for me, I can take large doses of Vitamin C to help rid myself of
this virus.  However, I don't think that doing the same for my ferts
would be wise, since I don't know their tolerance to that product.  I was
thinking of dissolving a 1000mg tablet in their drinking water (32 ounce
bottle for each cage, and a 1/3-filled, 2-quart baking dish for Taz).
Would that hurt them?  I know that humans can discharge any excess Vitamin
C in their urine, but can ferrets do the same?  Since antibiotics don't do
anything for the common cold, this is the only thing I can think of that
might help.  Any suggestions or thoughts on this?  Dr. Williams?  Any
ideas?
 
I have added a good dose of FerretVite and FerreTone to the diets of those
that are sneezing.  They all are enjoying that little perk.  Interestingly,
only one ferret per cage-group has the sneezles.  Taz and Chewy are both
alone, of course, and both have the sneezles.  Bump has the sneezles, but
Run doesn't (she's smaller than Bump, too).  Smokey is by far the largest
guy in his group (consisting of Hershey, Stuffy and Rusti, too) and he has
them.  Fuzzer is the largest in *his* group (consisting of Ziggy and
Add-A-Kiss) and he has the sneezles.  Taz and Chewy are also chunky
fur-wagons, as well.  Only the large guys (they are all male) have come
down with colds.  Interesting, huh?
 
Todd and the (Ahhhhhhhh-CHEW!!!) Fuzzbutt Rodeo Clowns!
 
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[Posted in FML issue 3317]