re your questions on ferrets . . .
My wife and I have approx. 14 ferrets (plus some "kits", baby ferrets)
at this time. I have owned ferrets since 1981.
If you don't physically isolate baby and ferret, accidents can occur.
It might be baby grabbing ferret too roughly or ferret playing with
the infant as if she were another ferret -- which means gentle nipping
that could break the tender infant skin.
The horror stories you hear are of two classes: (a) made up, or (b)
not actually a domestic ferret. Some unethical fur breeders introduce
fitch, a fur-quality animal, into the wholesale pet trade. Fitch are
*very* similar to pet ferrets in look. Temperamentally they are closer
to mink, i.e., not suitable for pet stock. National ferret associations
have been trying to get the carcasses of animals involved in attack
cases in order to confirm the species, but usually the animal control
people destroy the carcass immediately after testing it for rabies.
This brings up a third issue, rabies. Currently there is no USDA-approved
vaccine for pet ferrets. Norden Laboratories has announced a vaccine
for 1st quarter 1990 release. If your ferret bites, breaking the skin,
or even scratches a human, local law usually requires a destructive
rabies test (sawing off the ferrets head, taking samples of brain tissue)
be performed.
We would recommend that if you cannot watch baby and ferret continuously
while they are in the same area, you forstall a pet ferret until the
child is older. This is for the ferret's protection as well as the infant's.
Also, some areas of New York State require licensing of ferrets. Check
it out with your local government. Buy Chuck and Fox Morton's book "Ferrets"
published by Barron's. If you get a ferret, join a ferret club. And
most importantly, buy the ferret from a reputable breeder or pet store.
Chip Gallo
President, Montgomery Ferret Club
#5 Honey Brook Circle
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
(301) 330-5492
[Posted in FML 0071]
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