Hi FMLer's!
 
Like many of you I too have had to play catch up on the past 5 weeks of
FML's.  There are a few topics I wanted to reply to.
 
Insurance - good idea but my concern lies with who handles the cash and the
organization funds.  The shelter or club that gets my money would have to
be exceptionally trustworthy and bondable.  As a member I would want the
opportunity to "view the books" on occasion just to see if the money was
going where it should.  In September, my husband and I drove three hours to
see a ferret frolic.  Both of us were horrified that the majority of ferret
owners, as well as the frolic organizers smoked.  The arena, although roomy
and ventilated, reeked of cigarettes.  As I spoke with fellow ferreteers, I
was glad that I hadn't brought any of my babies.  I don't allow my ferrets
around anyone who smokes, nor do I let anyone smoke in my house.  The
connection I am making here is that, I couldn't help feel that some of
the money that had been donated to this organization went to fuel these
organizers and shelter operators with their nasty habit.  I was totally
turned off by ever wanting to go to another frolic.  And from talking with
some of the people there I won't be attending a meeting too soon either,
as they allow smoking at their meetings as well.  As I looked around I
thought, how could I possibly support a group that doesn't truly look after
the needs of their innocents?  Morally, I couldn't as it would go against
everything I believe in.  So, if you want to adopt an insurance policy that
works, you'll need to get people in the door.  If you want more people in
the door, you'll have to adopt some cleaner air policies, as well as have
competent bookkeepers.
 
Snow - Our ferrets love snow.  And given that I live in the Great White
North, they get their fair share of it.  They especially love the soft
fluffy kind.  And I love watching them tunnel through it.  Best time of
day - 3:00 in the morning, when no one is around and we can have all the
time we need.  Where I live, we get the warming winds of the infamous
Chinook.  That means that even though we get snow, we get warm temperatures
even in winter.  Chook loves the snow the most.  I look forward to letting
him have some fun as soon as we get some decent snowfall.
 
Waterbeds - Bear loves the waterbed but not the way Tinder did.  The bed
gives off wonderful heat in the winter and is just cool enough in the
summer.  Tinder loved sleeping with us in the bed.  Bear often slept with
her.  Now that Tinder is gone (bless her little soul) Bear only comes onto
the bed to play.  One day I noticed that there was a puddle on the floor
and wondered who had the accident.  It turned out to be a leak from the
waterbed.  What we discovered was a nice grouping of bite marks in one
corner where we saw Bear go and play on occasion.  From the look of all the
chew marks she must have curled up in the pocket where her body fit nicely
(sheets too tightly tucked!) and just laid there and chewed for goodness
knows how long.  Maybe the wetness finally got to her and that's what made
her stop.  Thank goodness for small miracles!  We patched it all up and the
bed is ready for the next test!  Bring on the Ferrets!
 
Light - I am a great believer in the amount of light affecting not only the
coats of the ferrets but in the adrenal controversy as well.  Of the 12
ferrets we have had, only one had adrenal disease, and he died at 9 1/2
years of age (this past May) and lived with the disease for at least 4 1/2
years.  That is the time when he was initially losing his hair and finally
diagnosed with this ailment.  Max and his mates lived in a room where we
rarely turned on the overhead light.  They got natural east light all year
long.  Every winter all of our ferrets' coats got heavier, thicker and
softer, their markings got stronger and their svelte summer bodies filled
out.  We always knew winter was on its way by how they looked.  Now Max
stayed in with this group until he lost his mates and then we moved the new
group into the room and he came out to our bedroom where the light is on
every night.  He never showed any real signs of adrenal disease until we
moved him.  Now that's not to say that he didn't have it before but the
hair loss and hind end weakness didn't materialize until after we had moved
him.  None of the other ferrets lost any hair other than an occasional
patch off their tails, and they all lost their hair together.  The ferrets
at present get free roam of the house and use many of our drawers as their
own personal condos.  They are dark and contain tons of lost socks and
various other "donated" clothing.  The ferrets have managed to move all the
clothes (which I have carefully sorted and folded many times) to the
drawers they like, in the order and fashion they like.  In fact I think all
the drawers except for the top ones on the three tiered units are theirs.
We have since moved our clothes to the closest which is bursting.  I think
I have lost my drawers to the ferrets forever!
 
Dirt - Someone posted about what to give their ferrets to dig in and I'll
tell you what we use... plant dirt!  They love it!  I give them a big
plastic sheet and one great big pot of dirt and tip it over and let them at
it.  It is hilarious to watch.  Sure, dirt gets onto the carpet, but that's
what vacuums are for, right?  And I thought I would add that I set it up
right next to my potted plants... for some reason they seem to understand
that when they get a pot that has no plant it's okay to dig away!  Don't ya
just love their obvious intelligence?!!
 
That's all for now.  My condolences to all of you that have had your little
ones cross over.  And my positive thoughts to all of those who are caring
for the sick fuzzies.
 
Betty and her Blur O'Fur (Missing Tinder)
[Posted in FML issue 2513]