Hi all,
 
I'm writing because our first ferret, Ruben, recently passed away of what
was apparently a chronic lung condition.  Obviously, everybody's been
grieving - but though my husband and I have moved on, I'm worried about
Ru's cagemate, Finley.  He came down with a cold a day or so after we
lost Ru, so we weren't surprised that his attitude dropped right off for
a week or so, and he was mostly interested in sleeping.
 
However, while he's now recovered from the cold, his mood doesn't seem
to have picked up.  He was always the younger and more active of the
two, always very playful and often nippy, but now he sleeps for most of
the day and never seems too interested in games.  I was expecting him to
mellow out a little - he's gone from a kit to an adult over the year, and
I know ferrets are subject to stress (did I mention that he dug himself a
hole and escaped a couple of days after Ruben passed away?) and
depression - but this change still seems extreme.
 
We thought that it was because he was lonely - Finn spent his entire life
with Ruben, so he wasn't used to being alone.  But even after we found a
new "brother" for him (a beautiful chocolate boy named Rowdy, for the
record - obviously not handled enough in his younger days, he's a savage
nipper, who makes me see why people buying pet-store ferrets often get
the wrong idea about them) Finn's mood hasn't changed.  We've been giving
him lots of hugs and attention and treats, but he still seems depressed -
I'm just not sure what to do at this stage.  And I'm very paranoid about
his health, after Ruben - who went from happy to incapacitated in a
matter of minutes, and only started showing symptoms at all a few hours
before he passed away.  The vets assured us that Ru's condition wasn't
contagious, but there are a myriad of other possibilities to worry about,
as you all know.
 
Finley has always been a happy, bouncy, exhuberant little guy who seemd
in perfect health.  Now I can barely look at him without becoming
terrified that he's suddenly going to keel over.  I expect this happens
to everybody when they lose one of their weasels, which is why I write -
does anybody have advice for helping ferrets get over depression?  I
keep damning myself for not having shown Finley the body, so he might
understand - but since that chance has long passed, I'd really appreciate
any tips you guys could offer.
 
Thanks in advance, folks ^^;
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Fox Lee: The Girl Your Mother Warned You About
http://hypercrescendo.net/foxlee/fls/
http://www.furbiddenrealms.com
http://blurty.com/users/leechimera/
[Posted in FML issue 5141]