"William A. Killian" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>From:    Maria <[log in to unmask]>
>>Subject: About these angoras again
>>Actually, this is a quite new breed. I don't know of any angoras in Sweden
>>(who aren't that many I might add) who are more than two or three years old
 
>There is a picture on Urabn's page from Autumn of 1995
>http://www.kuai.se/%7Egriffon/ferrets/img.stif/1995/sl9525.jpg
>Are you saying this must be one of the oldest angoras in Sweden?
 
If not in absolute terms, at least one of the oldest in possession of
non-breeders.
 
>>This is not entirely true. There *are* differences between for example the
>>Swedish bred ferret and the American bred ferret. Not only in size but also
>>in temperament, their disposition to diseases like cancer and life-span.
 
>No studies have shown this because no comparitive studies have been done on
>either side that I know about.
 
Neither do I know of any.  It's mostly anecdotal as far as I can tell.  (Me,
I "noticed" a difference in temperament when I travelled further south in
Sweden.)
 
>What would you say the difference in size is?
 
Most likely the only long term difference is the one between ferrets
neutered when very young (doesn't happen in Sweden) or when mature, but
someone else will have to confirm that, as I only have experience with the
latter.
 
I have noticed a noticable difference over time here in Stockholm: Five
years ago Alison and Natasja were almost the largest females I'd ever seen
("He's [Natasja] awfully small, isn't he?" "It's a _she_." "Oh...") Today,
they aren't remarkable at all, but those who were normal then would seem
small today.  (I've also got a feeling that males have gotten smaller since
then, but that's more uncertain.)
 
>If they don't die from the same cancers as Americans what do Swedish ferrets
>die from?
 
Trauma and foreign bodies; Diseases among older ones can be kidney or liver
failure.  Heart failure seems to hit young ones mostly, as do accidents.
But we have _no_reliable_ data on what causes are most common, partly
because the numbers I have lists "euthanasia" as the most common cause (more
than twice as common as any other) of death.
 
Apart from that, I do have some numbers for _other_ causes for _addmittance_:
Tumours are listed as the single most common cause, together with "trauma",
then comes "vomiting" and foreign bodies which together would be the leading
cause.  But the data is for a limited time and geographical location, and
it's uncertain how may died from each cause.
 
What's interesting is the age of death at that hospital: Less than 12
months: 15%; 1-2 years: 19%; 2-5 years: 0% (not even any euthanised); There
were a few at age five but most were six or seven.  This doesn't suggest
that ours are "old" when they're three, which I've heard goes for American
ferrets, or is that perhaps just an artifact of reporting (<30% aged three
or more get adrenal tumours; <25% aged three or more get insulinoma &c)?
 
>>The females in turn don't know how to take care of their kits.
 
>Maybe your friends just got unlikely and got bad mother jills.  It happens.
 
Perhaps, but I'm still waiting to hear from _anyone_ who hasn't had the same
problem with all their angora mothers.
 
--
 Urban Fredriksson  [log in to unmask]
 http://www.kd.qd.se/%7Egriffon/ (will be changed)
 http://www.kuai.se/%7Egriffon/  (will have pointers to new site)
[Posted in FML issue 1889]