Hi all . . .
 
Here's a strange thing--I got Pepper (male, marked DEW) from strangers last
September and he's always had a weird coat.  All one length, coarse and
short, like undercoat but not as soft, with no noticeable guard hairs.  And
it didn't thicken up for winter.  His tail, especially, has always been a
bit scraggly, the rest of him well-covered but kind of thin.  I think he was
born last spring, so he's about a year old, no ear tattoos, no breeder
identifying marks at all.
 
NOW, in June, he's developed a beautiful, thick, soft coat, and his tail
hair has thickened up a lot.  Still no guard hair, but he's never looked
better.  I haven't changed his food, and the only new stuff in his diet is
hairball remedy and Natural Pet dog food pellets given as treats.  (All my
animals love this, btw.) And the baby, Mort, has not developed a similar
coat change--in fact, his coat is thinner than I've seen it since I got him
for Christmas.
 
Is Pepper, perhaps, just backwards?  Could the turning down the furnace and
opening windows have caused him to grow a winter coat now?  Or could the
longer daylight hours have somehow caused a nicer coat to grow in?  Or,
finally, does fur growth have anything to do with reaching the one year
mark?
 
I like it, but it seems odd.  My other ferrets have always been a bit
scraggly all summer and beautiful all winter.
 
--Sheri
[Posted in FML issue 1962]