Greetings to all who love ferrets!
We went to the Heart of Ohio Ferret Association (HOFA) ferrets Christmas
party just outside of Columbus on Sunday!  What a great time we had!
Chumba and Dessie both do great when thrown in the play pen with all the
other ferrets.  Ours were easy to see, since they happen to be smaller than
every other ferret there!  Chumba is always glad to have Dessie follow
anyone else around like a puppy dog, and he doesn't seem to mind that he's
attacking ferrets twice his size!  We exchanged gifts for the kids, and we
got a new roly ball to put the ends of our many tunnels in.  We gave some
buzy balls, and a pair of reindeer antlers on a hat (Dessie was soooo glad
we gave those away, he didn't wanna wear them!) Well, we got with all those
ferret people, and guess what happened???  Ferret math!!!!  The funny thing
is, it was Chuck who succumbed this time!  We got the sweetest, prettiest
little old lady.  Sequoia is a 6-7 year old little gal, rescued by one of
the founders of HOFA about a year ago, because she was in estrus and too
far along.  Apparently she spent her whole life in a cage, with very little
human interaction.  You would never know it now!  Bunny did a good job of
socializing this lady, because she is the absolute sweetest girl in the
world.  She even sits on my lap for short periods of time!  But she's very
soft and beautiful, and energetic for her age.  If it wasn't for this
list, and the recommendation of so many folks to adopt an older ferret, I
probably would never have considered it, but you were so right, she is a
special joy.  Although we are praying for lots of years with her, we
realize she might not grace our presence for that long.
 
Sequoia is the second intact female that we're going to have spayed in
January, along with Chumba.  We've been very careful to keep the light
levels low during the mornings and evenings, to keep either from coming
into estrus too early, although if necessary, we'd forgo some Christmas
money if they needed it earlier.  But this did bring a question to mind for
me, not that it will keep us from having the surgery, but does a jill ever
reach an age where they go through the equivalent of human menopause?
Sequoia went into heat three times in the last year, and was bred to bring
her out of it, but she had false pregnancies each time.  Do they continue
to do that throughout their lifetime, until spayed?  She's a pretty old gal
to be having kits, isn't she?
 
Sorry so long, but we are just so excited about both the ferret club we've
joined and about our great new addition!  Thanks!
 
Sherry and Chuck (willing slaves)
Dessie, Chumba and Sequoia (willing and able masters!)
 
--
http://www.geocities.com/southbeach/pier/8102/ Meet my fuzzy family!
[Posted in FML issue 2526]