Hi Everyone-
 
I have two 6 month old MF ferrets, Maggie and Gatsby.  Maggie is very
healthy, eats well, has doubled her weight since we got her, and has a
beautiful, thick, shiny coat.  Gatsby, while eating about as much as Maggie
does, has not put on as much weight as Maggie and her coat is much thinner,
dull and dry.  She is very active and will be the first one to reward you
with a dook and a weasel war dance when she is playing.  I am concerned
about the disparity of appearance between the two.  They are, as I said,
both MF, bought from the same pet store (Gatsby came about 4 days after
Maggie).  Gatsby is not wasting away, by any means, she holds her own at
the food bowl and water bottles.  Her poop is good, and I feed them both
Totally Ferret.  It just strikes me as odd that two ferrets who are the
same age and come from the same place can be so drastically different.  Am
I worrying for nothing, is this just an example of the many different types
of fuzzies?  Any help from the vets and experienced fuzzie lovers wil be
much appreciated.
 
Also, I am thinking about attending a ferret show in a week or two.  Since
I have exhausted the local pet stores of most of their ferret supplies, I
thought this would be a good time to see what else is out there for my
little monkeys, and to learn to identify the various color phases by
looking at other ferrets.  However, as you may have guessed, I am terribly
concerned about bringing ECE home to my babies.
 
From what I have gathered from other sources, the best way to avoid
infection is to shower and change clothes after coming from a potential ECE
area.  This show is quite a few miles from my home, and I planned on
showering/changing once I arrived home.  However, I was wondering if I come
into contact with the virus at the show and then drive home, won't I be
contaminating my car, and then even after I shower/change, every time I go
back in the car, I'll be picking it back up again?  Maybe I am
overestimating this, but I really would like to spare the girls the virus.
Any advice on protocol for this situation would be appreciated.
 
BTW, I don't want to start a war about ECE at shows--I'm just
concerned for my fur snakes' health.
 
As always, my condolences to everyone who has lost a furry friend
recently--you are in my thoughts.  And Sheena,  I wish you courage in
helping Ancient Fang in his passage over the bridge.  My prayers go
especially to you....
 
Take Care,
Laura "See, look at the Modern Ferret...you're supposed to like
raisins, see, "They Grow in Cans"...you guys aren't going to fly with
this one, are you?"
Gatsby "Phuh, yuck, Give us Ferretone...."
Maggie "Snore"
[Posted in FML issue 1315]