Hi, Wayne.  (This is a response to a cc I received of a new post on this
subject.)  Thanks for the very interesting info.  I have learned a lot
since acquiring fuzzybutts.  I'm sorry you had such a hard experience
with your jill.  That's sad.
 
I did clarify my position (just now, in fact!) to the FML regarding
bleeding to death.  I do know that aplastic anemia is the most common cause
of death in such a case, and I know what that is (I have read extensively
about it, and I am in the medical professional world for a living); I know
it is not bleeding to death-I don't think I ever said it was, and if I did.
that was an error.
 
However, from what I have read and learned, there is more than one way that
prolonged estrus can ultimately kill a jill (like a car accident will not
be listed as the cause of death in a human, but rather any one of a number
of injuries that may have resulted from it): It is possible that a jill can
die of infection, can die from being in a prolonged state of high hormone
levels, and, in some cases, prolonged blood loss.
 
I did reverify this latter possibility, and actually, one of the people
in disagreement with the possibility that a jill can bleed to death then
quoted a source saying "Hemorage [sic] is the most common cause of death"
(in a jill in estrus for too long).  Hemorrhaging IS bleeding; so one of
the people saying a jill can't bleed to death then said that they did;
apparently they didn't quite know what the term "hemorrhage" means.  (I
don't mean to sound as if that person is an idiot-they're not!)
 
I'm not just trying to be argumentative here-I really do appreciate your
information and respect your opinion.  I do feel, however, based on all I
have learned and read that it is a possible outcome for a jill in heat too
long to bleed to death.
 
Also, I guess the biggest thing is that Matan doesn't seem to understand
what to do; I thought that knowing that there is even a possibility that
she may bleed to death might get his attention and encourage him to consult
experts beyond the FML for help, or give up on the idea of breeding her
until he learns more about what is involved and is better prepared.
Bleeding to death probably sounds worse than "she'll be exposed to high
hormone levels" or "have trouble producing red blood cells" or anything
else, no matter how life-threatening those probabilities also are.  (Not
that I'm trying to mislead him, but as I said, I do believe that bleeding
to death is an option for her.)
 
The IMPORTANT thing here is that none of us is a qualified vet that has
answered so far and even if we were, we're not there to monitor this
specific situation, and I feel at this point that it is imperative that
this jill be taken to someone with professional experience with ferrets and
breeding and health care.  No amount of reading or speculation or personal
anecdotes is going to ultimately solve this problem if it is not dealt with
physically at this point.
 
Anyhoo, no hard feelings-just a disagreement of some semantics.  I hope all
of your fuzzies are doing well!
 
(I promise this is my last word on the subject, barring some fantastic
event.) ;)
 
Respectfully,
April
[Posted in FML issue 3351]