>From:    Sarah Coe <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Please, someone respond!
>He is all white with a light sprinkle of black on his rear end and
>his eyes look black but they are really a blue/red.  Is he albino or
>black-eyed white??  Also, he has stains on his teeth (permanent) that he was
>born with.  Why??  One last thing, he is completely tail-less.  Did his mom
>chew it off?  Was he born that way?
 
If he has any black hairs he's a "dark-eyed white pattern" in American
Ferret Association terms or a "pattern light" in LIFE terms.  ALbinoes have
no pigment at all.
 
We've hear if the nursing jill is given Amoxicillan the kits get stained
teeth - can't say we've see it though.  Sometimes certain water sources have
chemicals that are harmless but stain teeth - again passed on to us but we
can't vouch for it.
 
Docked tails can be either mama tugging too hard at delivery, genetic flaws,
or an accident later in life.
 
>By the way, Two of my ferrets, Raistlin and Mordred, came with tattoos on
>their ears.  I was told they were because they were descented and neutered.
 
Yes, several breeders/ranches do this.
 
>From:    Alan Horne <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Male, Female Birth Rates
>Are the same numbers of male ferrets born as female ferrets?  Has research
>been done regarding this question?  Where is the research written up?
 
Anecdotally in our experience its pretty much 50-50 over time.  We haven't
seen formal research on this.
 
>From:    Sherrie Wilson <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: are ferrets color-blind?
 
We always recommend ferrets in pairs or more as they seem happier.  Well
after a bit of fuss at introduction sometimes.
 
>From:    Pam Grant and STAR* Ferrets <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: albino notes / zucchini / Flea Collars
>
We still have strong problems with even the concept of "REW" as you state
it.  Please explain why you think there are such things that are different
than "albinoes".  Where did you learn about them?  Where did albinoes come
from that aren't the same?
 
>I have seen a person breed a dark eyed white male to an "albino?" female,
>and the litter was 11 Red eyed whites.  Very unusual.
 
Actually its not tht unusual.  We're convinced DEW's have the albino gene
heterozygously (i.e. dilute if chocolate) so the odds are at least 50% would
have been albino.  Odds are against this; it is about a .09% possibility,
same as for a litter of no albinoes in that breeding and litter size.
 
>Color is not mentioned because the domesticated version of the polecat-ferret
>was an albino.  Find an old dictionary and it will tell you the ferret
>is a domesticated version of the polecat, usually white with red eyes.
 
The color not being mentioned in a non-sequitor.  White is as likely to get
mentioned as non-white.  Possibly more mentioned as it is unusual in
animals.  You hear more about polar bears being white than grizzly bears
being brown.
 
Dictionaries are not good resources for what is basically scientific
information.  Nor are general encyclopedias.
 
Okay so lets go back to an early source, what color did Carl Linneas say a
ferret was?  Mo' Bob?  Someone with a good library at their disposal?  I
miss being near a good university library.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1915]