>I am pulling out my hair and I need help.  I am trying to figure out how
>to transfer a photo/s from my computer which would be my digital program
>which is: ...  Please email me privately.  No I am not even a blonde.
 
Ah, well, I AM a blonde.  Somehow, I don't think you'd have put "No, I am
not even an Afro-american", "No, I am not even a woman", "No I am not even
Jewish.", "No, I am not even Irish." even though those would be as false
in implication of stupidity.  The "blondes as stupid" thing began with
bigotry against Scandinavians who were being sought to populate new and
cold territories such as Minnesota, the "Big stupid Sven" thing.  It is
aggravating to read such clap-trap.  I do realize that most people don't
realize the origin, and don't even realize that there are people who treat
those of us who are blondes as if we are stupid.  There are even blondes
who don't might such jokes because they didn't grow up in a place where
there were folks who treated them as if they were less intelligent, but
there are those who have lived with this bias, so, folks, please, don't
say this tommy-rot.  Okay?  That would be appreciated.
 
>I've read that ferrets do not need nor can use the *friendly gut bacteria*
>that is listed on some labels of ferret food.
 
Yes, I have also read that.  Yet, I have read another expert who has
pointed out that with a specific medical condition (IBD: Inflammatory
Bowel Disease/Inflammatory Bowel Disorder -- both seen used) probiotics
can be a useful addition to a routine built around the chemo-therapeutic
agent, Imuran, and several other meds used as per the individual ferret's
personal complications.  Both are by people I respect.  What I came away
with in the long run is that probiotics aren't useful for most ferrets,
but they might well be handy to give when certain specific pathologies
are present.  That may also explain the wide variation in personal reports
about using probiotics for ferrets despite their short GI tracts and rapid
transit time.
 
There are multiple foods or food modifiers that provide a diet which is
easier to digest for those ferrets dealing with disease or intestinal
damage.  The type depends on the ferret.  We have a ferret with IBD who
is well served by Hill's Feline z/d; it's part of a very restricted diet
that is defined by his apparently allergies, his damages, and his runs.
He does very well on it and it is tender to his digestive tract.  Those
needing special food approaches will find those by asking your vets, and
checking in back issues of the FML and the FHL.
 
On some topics or aspects of some topics we all are still learning.
Sometimes we are learning basics, sometimes refinements for specific
situations.
 
Do ferrets pick their own names?  Sometimes.  We have had at least three
over the years who rejected names they disliked, so we found new ones.
(Their final appreciated names were/are: Haleakala, Ruffle, and Sherman.)
Try sounds on the ferret to see what sounds the ferret enjoys and use
those.  While you are at it test for deafness and partial deafness, esp.
if the ferret is in a pigment-reduced grouping such as blaze, panda, etc.
where the rates are far higher.  If the ferret can hear, find a name and
STICK to it; reward when you use it for a while.
[Posted in FML issue 3605]