>Proban was made to take internally ...  In my experience, it never
>worked very well, and it is farto toxic to be used safely in ferrets.
 
xxx Thanks Dr.  Williams, that would probably explain why it didn't affect
the flea population of the house :).  (by the way, although the vet said I
could use it on the ferrets, I never did.  I don't really like feeding my
pets thinggs that say "warning: wash hands THOROUGHLY after use on the
label...)
 
>I think we'd better get this one to the vet as soon as possible.  The signs
>that you describe are classic for glaucoma, which is uncommon in ferrets.
 
        Unfortunately, the owner of this ferret claimed her shortly after I
posted this message (not unfortunately that we managed to reunite them, but
unfortunate because I can't ensure she gets proper veterinary care for the
ferrets).  She did explain to me that the jill was about a year and a half
old and had been this way since they bought her as a kit from a pet store.
She had been taken to a very knowledgable vet for her spay and shots, and he
had not said anything about the eye.  Is it possible that it could be
something else or is this vet simply not aware of glaucoma in ferrets??  I
have dealt with this vet for a long time and he has always seemed pretty on
the ball as far as carching ferret problems goes.
        Thank you very much for responding, I guess my best bet is to try
and contact the owner and see that she gets the ferret into a vet as soon as
she can.
 
>Anyway, my question is what is going to happen to them? They
>really like each other, I don't want Gee to be all alone...
 
    Sorry about the bad news...this must be difficult for you.
    However I don't think your ferrets are going to be mightily affected
by this.  All my ferrets,  when seperated., don't really seem to give a hoot
and some seem to enjoy it immensely.  Especially since you have two to amuse
each other, they won't seem to really notice that the third is missing.
     I did know one couple who said that after their ferret died
(congenital heart defect) the other went off his food and was completely
lethargic and unresponsive.  He refused to play but would wander around the
house looking for his lost playmate.  I ended up selling them my brand new
ferret I had just adopted from the animal shelter because their story broke
my heart.  But that's the only one of its kind I've ever heard.
     You might suggest that your ex get himself a new companion for the
ferret he is taking with him.  But otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much
about your two.  Of course, you could always attempt to cheer yourself up by
... oh, say... adopting a third ferret??? :)  Good luck.
 
    One more question...  what could cause a strange, almost muceaous-like
diarhea in ferret??  I can only describe it as "phlegm texture" (sorry!!  I
know that's gross!!), like what you might cough up if you have a cold.  A
friend's ferret is going through this right now and he has lost some weight
and isn't too eager to eat.  It's not solid at all and the only colour to it
is a faint yellowy tinge.  He vomitted once but that's all and then this
came along.  Any suggestions??  He's a little lethargic now and looks
thinner to me.  She's taking him to a vet ASAP, of course, but for some
reason I always find the answers I get here to be equally as helpful, if not
more so, than any vet's.  It might be possible that he ate an
aspirin...could this cause these symptoms??
    Lastly, we may be on television!!  A person we know is very interested
in doing a pro-ferret story on the local news station.  This will be
excellent exposure for our Club as well as for ferrets in general.  We are
submitting the proposal this week, so I'll let everyone know how it turns
out!!
~~Sheena~~
p.s.  my friend Edith swears by this method to stop kits from nipping.  She
says they hate mint flavoured gum (chlrophyl??).  So she chewed it a lot
when her kits were young and everytime they nipped her, she put her gum
flavoured mouth over their noses and blew in their face.  Apparently, this
repulsed them soooo much, that they are now nip free.  Hey, whatever works
that isn't abusive, right??
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Ferrets & Friends Club & Rescue E-Mail:  [log in to unmask]
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[Posted in FML issue 1292]