Hello All!  I have been lingering for a while and haven't posted until now.
I would like to introduce my very first girl ferret, Casey.  She's about 5
months old and I love her dearly.  She is on the small side, I think, at
about 1.25 pounds.  She eats Iams Kitten Food, although I am going to find
Totally Ferret and start mixing the two.  She seems healthy, is somewhat
litter trained although she gets lazy sometimes.  She has made significant
improvement on biting, although she still has a long way to go.  She bites
everyone new and she bites my husband more than me.  It seems less painful
but we may be getting used to it.  We live in Mass where, I guess they kill
to test for rabies so I want to train her out of it completely just in case.
 
I have a few questions.
 
1) My vet said ferrets catch colds from humans, which I know is true, but he
also said they get pneumonia very easily so if she catches a cold I should
bring her in.  Is this true?  I just want to be sure it's necessary in case
it's his way of getting me to spend money in the clinic.
 
2) Is there any other way of giving heartworm medication to ferrets besides
chopping up dog pills?  And is it necessary at all?  I know this has been
discussed but I'm still not sure of the answer.  I've heard dog pills don't
have the medicine distributed evenly so chopping them up could be a problem.
 
3) Does anyone know of a great vet in the Boston area?  I don't like the one
I went to at the Pet Club.
 
4) Will I be able to get Casey to stop biting?  I don't like punishing her
physically, however, since other ferrets bite each other to express
themselves, I don't mind imitating that.  She's a tough cookie, though, so
she can take it!  I've tried time-out in her travel kennel, flicking her
nose (doesn't phase her), pinching her ear (she just bites harder - she
either hates it or thinks I'm playing rough), and scruffing her.  She isn't
stupid but very stubborn.  She likes to bite hard while shaking her little
head.  It doesn't bother me that much anymore but I know I would rather have
her stop.  The funny thing is that she won't bite my fingers, just nibble on
them gently during play.  She will bite any other part of my body without
thinking twice unless I say NO and sometimes she'll stop.  But, not always.
 
It's a bit frustrating because I've read over and over that ferrets don't
bite and when people ask me if she bites, I have to say yes so they know to
be careful, but I don't want people to think ferrets are viscous because she
doesn't do it viscously and she's sweet otherwise (she licks ferretone off
my nose!)
 
Thank you.
 
There was a post recently from Bryan Hall in which he mentioned wanting to
give his ferrets away due to their depression.  If I understand correctly,
they play, but don't make the "dook, dook" noises.  Well, Casey made noises
when we first got her too, but now she only does it when she's in a new
environment or with another ferret friend of hers.  I honestly don't think
she's depressed because she still attacks my leg to get me to play and she
hides toys and explores everything.  She seems happy to me.  I think some
ferrets are just more expressive than others.  I just think it's sad if
Bryan gives his ferrets away because of one person's opinion.  Maybe others
can help on this subject.  I wish Casey would make her noises but she's
"reserved" that way, I think.  She does make a combo sucking/hiss noise
which I don't get - I think she's usually hyped up when she does that.
 
Bryan, please don't give up your ferrets until you're sure!
 
- Adrienne and Casey
[Posted in FML issue 1666]