Hi everyone.  This is my first post in the FML.  I thoroughly enjoy reading all
the mail.  This is the best place I can get down to earth and practical advice,
facts, and new ideas about ferrets.
Our ferret is called Bandit.  He is a 2 year old neutured male.  We have a 1
1/2 year old cat named Buttercup.  Buttercup came along when I saw that Bandit
needed a playmate more his size.  Bandit seems to have a more playful nature
than Buttercup, and usually instigates playtime.  They will roll around the
floor in mock combat, and usually the cat will tire of the play first.  At that
point she runs away and Bandit trails after her to try and catch her.  They get
along fine, and eat out of each others food dishes.
I wanted to mention the trouble Bandit had when he ingested some rubber he got
a hold of.  It happened about one year ago.  I noticed that Bandit looked very
lethargic, and stopped eating, and stopped going to the bathroom.  I did not
find any vomit around and so didn't suspect that he had a blockage.  But, I
called the vet, and he said to bring him in right away.  This was the first
time our vet had treated a ferret.  He x-rayed Bandit after he saw how
dehydrated he was.  There was a shadow on the x-ray and the vet thought it
might be an elastic band.  The choices we were given was to have him operated
on, or let him die.  Well, at that point (3 months after bringing him home) we
loved him too much to let him go, and he had the operation.  The vet found 2
pieces of rubber and a small fragment of a towel in his stomach and intestine.
He couldn't have passed those.  Bandit recovered fairly quickly, but remains a
bit on the slim side even today (1 year after the operation).  I'm very glad we
didn't give up on him.  Bandit has had a few other ailments such as the bald
tail syndrome - spraying Solercain on his tail did the trick - his fur grew
back.  He was scratched by Buttercup on his genitals -oooh painful; he hurt his
back leg and was limping for a few days.  And he looks really itchy - but we
can't see any fleas or ticks.
One other substance Bandit likes to eat is styrofoam.  He found his way into a
box containing styrofoam padding and chewed off some pieces.  I fed him some
mineral oil to try to lubricate his system so that the styrofoam would slide
out and not cause a blockage.  It seemed to do the job as I found the styrofoam
fragments in his stool.
Cheerio till next post!  Luise
 
[Posted in FML issue 0950]