To the person who seems to have a business growing/tending expensive
houseplants, or else a passion for same: Try cutting circles of screen (with
a hole for plant stems, and a through-cut and wire to slip on and attach)
and bending the edges over the pot rims.  LARGE (large enogh to not be
injested) rock mulch can also be used.  For orchids and the like hanging
planters combined with deflectors on any nearby heating/colling vents will
work.  They don't chew on most plants, but I have a few do so on rare
occasion with banana plants.
 
Someone elase asked quite a while back about using ferret waste in mulch.
If chicken stuff can nitrogen burn imagine how much any waste of a
meat-eatting Carnivora member can.  (When in doubt about this kind of thing
call your county Extension Service.)
 
Ruffle made it through another night; I'm not sure yet if I have.  When I
sleep enough to have a difference between sleeping and waking I'll know.
All (non-joking) nonsense aside, we had to up her Lasix yet again after the
start of another congestive heart failure episode last night.  Each one
comes on more rapidly and more severely so I doubt she'll be around till
week's end.  Today is Steve's birthday; I so want her to have today as a
good day.  We all suspect that she would have done better if she could have
paced herself, but even when we imposed rest periods she would at times
tantrum and wear herself to a frazzle.  Still, we suspect that hiatuses of
careful caging which forced rest periods have done a great deal to keep her
as happy, comfortable, and alive as she still is.  Meltdown is different.
She paces herself and is excellent at it most times.  When she's looking
like she'll push too hard we put her in.  Guess what?  She has turned out to
be what in weight-lifting is called a hard gainer.  She has MORE muscle mass
than now than she ever did before.  She just needed more rest in between
exercise bouts in which muscle could grow.  Perhaps this might be true for a
good number of other ferrets.  If so, then careful caging with short
exercise periods for a rehab strategy from illness, injury, surgery, and
malnutrition might be able to speed recoveries.
 
There is work from the 60s and 70s in primatology on the socially cohesive
and life saving (especially for for juveniles) aspects of yawning since it
tends to impose mutual sleep periods.  (Ever notice that you get tired when
other yawn?) We've wondered if the sleep smells might serve a similar
function at this point.  Ther certainly are relaxation aspects for many
ferrets of anything which romotely resembles a scruff.  (Some other yawn
functions include display and eye-moistening.)
 
It's wonderful that N.J.'s FG and W is so positive for ferrets and used to
materials gotten to them (Thanks Katie, Troy-Lynn, Dick, and Pam who
regularly send such to me so I can pass it on.  Do you have the latest
shedding one yet?  Also thanks to our NJFG&W which DOES pass such info on
the health department in hopes that all will learn.  That's the good news.)
In relation to the horrible news: if the judge's decision was based on
misinformation from the health department one approach may be to send your
legislators (Andrea, could you, please, do one to Jack Ewing who is a
reasonable soul since we can't manage much in the way of literacy till our
situation begins permitting sleep again -- right now I keep seeing double in
bouts and listing to the side, and mean right now --this is hard.) and Gov.
Whitman(n) a letter based on factual data and stating very clearly that you
wonder why the health department is undermining its own effectiveness, since
the dissemination of misinformation undermines how effective they would be
if an statewide health emergency of any type required their help.
 
Got to lie down next to Ruffle's cage and sleep.
 
Sukie
[Posted in FML issue 1606]