> From:  "Iceland Boy!" <[log in to unmask]>
 
> as I'm not at home yet anyway...)  Or, does anyone know of a New England
> ferret association, or good vets in CT?  Any information at all would be
 
You are in luck!  FACT isn't too far away, and they are an excellent,
active group.  (Say HI to Ann & Vanessa for me!!!)  They also have a
shelter, so get in touch with them before you adopt!
 
  Ferret Association of Connecticut (FACT)
                    Ann & Vanessa Gruden      (203)247-1275
                              14-16 Sherbrooke Ave
                              Hartford, CT  06106
 
Also, I'm putting you on the American Ferret Association mailing list.
You will recieve one free copy of the American Ferret Report, which is
an excellent newsletter.  In the newsletter there will be an application
to join if you decide to do so.
 
BTW, if anyone else is interested in the AFA and would like to be put
on the mailing list send me your name, ground mail address, and phone
number.  I'll be happy to pass it along!
 
Suki and Family:  Bree is acting much better in the past week or so.  She
has a *LOT* more energy.  She still has the poor muscle tone and bad coat
(which is improving some w/ EFA-Z), but at least she's running around
acting like a ferret again.  Maybe she just had a bit of a virus that
took her a while to get over.  I'm going to take her in for blood work
as soon as I can make up my mind where I want to go.  There's one other
thing that I've noticed lately that I'm worried about with her.  She's
only 3 1/2 and she feels like an "old lady" when I pick her up.  Her back
is very stiff, like they very often get in old age.  I don't think that
at 3 1/2 she should be this way...
 
All this talk about inbreeding has made me think about Bree's breeding.
I got her from Doktor Pet (I know, I know, no flames please... I didn't
know any better at the time!), and now every time I go in, their babies
have weirder and weirder markings!  I know that they must be doing some
serious inbreeding to get them.  (we're talking *SPOTTED* ferrets, and
other markings you just plain don't see with respectable breeders)
So unless they've changed breeders since then, Bree most likely has
some seriously bad lineage.  Also, when I asked where they got their
ferrets, all they said was "Oh, it's the same place we get our exotic
birds...".  (Not to mention that they STILL keep the babies in an
aquarium with wood chips even after assuring me on more than one
occasion that they would stop! --- OH, how I abhor Doktor Pet!!!)
 
- Nancy
 
Nancy Hartman                     CIS graduate student
[log in to unmask]                  U. of Delaware
        President and founder, Delaware Valley Ferret Club
          Owner of Percy, Bree, & Popcorn, the ferrets
 
[Posted in FML issue 0447]