Day before yesterday I brought all my four ferrets (I couldn't
keep the older ones out of the transport cage when they
understood what was happening) to the breeder of my young ones.
 
They had seen all other from the litter lately, apart from my
ones. Apparently they hadn't believed me when I told them Rustan
had grown big: The males are all the same size, except for him,
and he's got a lead of 0.3 kg to the one they kept.
 
It was great fun for everyone, and I showed them that it's
perfectly feasible to keep four ferrets on two leashes at the
same time.
 
They've also got a young male mink (the two females didn't
survive) who they took care of from he was 2 1/2 weeks old (mink
breeders say kits less than 5 weeks old don't have any chance of
surviving). They were found abandoned in an attic after the
mother presumably took her other kits and moved.
 
It's not normally permitted to have minks as pets in Sweden -- in
spite of them not beeing "genuine" wild animals, as they are all
escaped or turned loose from farms -- but in this case, and one
other I know of in Sweden, the relevant authorities have made an
exception.
 
He's very cute and has a nice disposition, but so far he's only
allowed to play with ferrets who they know are going to be nice
to him. The veterinarians here who know both minks and ferrets
say they should be treated just the same, but they do develop
quicker and open their eyes already in their third week. He looks
just like a ferret apart from the profile who is much like a
German Shepherd's and the claws which are slenderer and sharper.
--
 Urban Fredriksson  [log in to unmask]
 
[Posted in FML issue 0863]