Accumulated replies from the last week or so (yes, I was out of town):
 
Michael Warner's ferret "can't stand up":
You mean he can't sit up on his back legs, right?  Some ferrets are just
better at this than others, they're shaped better for it or have better
balance or whatever.  Keep trying, maybe when he's a little older, and if he
still doesn't get it, try teaching him to roll over or some other trick
instead.
 
Lynda J. King wrote:
>You all seem to take extremely good care of your "children", but
>they seem extremely prone to diseases, and illnesses.
 
I know it looks that way, but it's not really true.  It's just that this is
such a good place to get advice about sick ferrets.  When people have only
happy, healthy ferrets, there isn't as much reason for them to write.
Certainly, ferrets do sometimes get sick, especially older ones, but they're
really pretty robust.
 
>[My friend the vet] was telling my daughter all the cons of owning a
>ferret, and they were to be cared for like a cat.
 
The rest of his opinions about ferrets don't sound very good to me, but I
agree that taking care of a ferret isn't all that different from caring for
a cat.  Not exactly the same, but not all that far off.  Am I missing
something?
 
Rob Roth asked:
>I wanna give him treats when he's particularly adorable or on a litter
>box streak but can't cuz he doesn't like them.
 
Keep trying.  Maybe a different brand of food could be saved as a treat, or
something like chicken baby food or Laxatone might tempt his taste buds.  And
in the end, if he only likes his food, well, cuddles and head-scratchings
can be good treats too.
 
>what's a lethargic ferret act like?  I don't really know the term and am
>waaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy too lazy to go look it up :)
 
This could almost be a joke, but... "Lethargic" means having no energy,
tired, lazy, sleeping a lot.
 
Someone wrote:
>experiences episodes of grainy poop.  A little Kaopectate gets it
>back to normal for a while but then the grainy poop comes back.
Someone else wrote:
>she is having these green, grainy loose stools from time to time..
 
I'm not a vet, and it's hard to tell without knowing the ferret's history,
but an occasional bout of loose, grainy, or funny-looking stools is usually
not a big deal.  It can be a reaction to some kind of stress, even just from
coat-changing, or to a new food.  A greenish color or a bit of mucous just
means the food didn't spend the usual amount of time in the digestive
system, for whatever reason.  As long as it clears up within a few days, the
ferret seems fine otherwise, and it isn't diarrhea that might cause
dehydration, it's probably nothing to worry about.
 
Laura Bosch asked:
>what do blaze and panda ferrets look like
 
A blaze has a white stripe on the top of the head.  A panda has a white
head.  Blaze and panda are patterns which can show up on pretty much any
other color (except white :).
 
Marti Smith wrote:
>Lucy seems to purr when I pick her up when she just wakes up from
>her sleep, I hold her and I feel a small vibration
 
Ferrets have a high metabolism and body temperature.  When they sleep,
they slow down and cool off (as do humans and many (most?  all?) other
warm-blooded animals).  They shiver when they wake up, to raise their
body temperatures back up.
 
Minta Ruark asked:
>what does it mean when your ferret is sick and he/she gnashes his teeth?
 
Usually, abdominal pain or nausea.  Sometimes mouth pain, maybe other things.
 
Glad to be finally caught up :),
[Posted in FML issue 1717]