HI,
I have a few quick questions and ferret problem we need help with.
 
First question: do animals that have been descented still do an anal drag
after defecating? Just curious.
 
Second question: Are domestic ferrets the only members of the Mustelidae to
have the aplastic anemia problem when in heat? I was wondering about
black-footed ferrets. If a female comes into heat and there are no males in
the vacinity available to breed her, does she run the risk that domestic
ferret females do when not bred?
 
Problem: we recently added an 8th ferret to our household. Her name is Tris
and she is, of course, incredibly cute. She chuckles constantly, even when
held, and thoroughly washes every inch of our exposed skin, and some not so
exposed (she really gets "into" ear canals). She was found wandering around
town and in heat so we do not know her age or history. She was spayed three
weeks ago and her vulva is finally almost down to normal. Our problem is
that when she is out of her cage, even if she JUST defecated, she leave tiny
little piles of feces and urine all over the house. At first I thought this
was an estrous behavior to advertise her condition, but her swelling is
nearly gone now. We are trying to introduce her to two other ferrets and I
was thinking it might be a territorial thing, but I have not seen this with
any of our other ferret introductions. Short of putting a diaper on her I am
at a loss of what to do. When in her cage she defecates and urinates with
normal frequencies and amounts. Any insights would be welcome!
[Posted in FML issue 1182]