Hullo All,
Guess we should formally introduce ourselves, since this is the first time
we've posted, although Randy Bellair has posted on our behalf a time or
two.  The fuzzies' names are Mr. Bean ( "that's Princess Bean to you" ),
ACSL (pronounced "Axel" - it's AltoCumulus Standing Lenticular in
meteorologicalese, aka "the FurPig"), and Twist (aka Momahr - "I'm such a
little terrorist").  We live with a nice chewie Australian Shepherd named
Mattie, and a Siamese-mutt kitty named MS Mudpie, who is also a good
playtoy for the woozles.  I am the ferret-thrall, provider of waterbowls,
kibble & kitchen treats, cleaner of poopie, and resident teacher of kids,
both with fur and without.
 
Ferret math struck us in December when my dh decided to bring home an
adorable tiny badger kit just prior to Christmas.  ~Yes, I'd also
determined not to buy another baby out of a pet store, but he just brought
her home, how do I tell him "no, take her back"?  Even though I prefer
mature pets, and would rather not go through more baby training, I'm just
not that resistant to temptation.
 
~ We named her Twist, and went through a terrible bout of
coccidosis/helicobacter/colds and all the woozles and the kitty got it.
We spent a month medicating and visiting vets, and our vet said wait 'til
she's healthy to vaccinate.  The vet said little Twist still sounds wheezy
at our last visit, so now she's on Clavamox and still on no-fly status for
her distemper shots.  She's a hefty 1.8 pounds at 4 months, and she eats &
poops just fine, if not even prepositionally - she will poop in the center
of the floor!  Since she sleeps through everything, has NO reaction to the
squeeker, and actually tries to climb the vacuum while it's running, so I
had a hunch she might be deaf.  I asked my vet to test her ~ tuning forks
vibrating on either side of her head didn't get so much as a wiggle out of
her.  I'd also noted that she was one of the most loud, vocal ferrets we'd
ever seen.  She's a rather chocolatey badger, with a blaze on her head, a
mostly white face with dark bars at the eyes, slightly crimped whiskers, a
large white bib, white toes, and a white tipped tail.  My 'puter crashed so
I lost all my back issues and hadn't paid close attention to the
color/deafness debate.  Was there any definitive conclusion as to
color/markings/coat type tying in to deafness?  Do any owners of deaf
ferrets out there have any advise on how to train her?  She nipped hard
when we got her, we didn't have much problem gentling her out of it,
although she still does nip while playing, occasionally a little too hard.
Is there any possible way to recall train a deaf ferret?  And are all deaf
ferrets so terribly hyper?  I'd be very grateful to hear anyone's
experience with deaf ferrets and any advise.
 
Twist will also scream, very loudly when all three girls are eating in
their crate.  At first we thought the other two were bullying her (not in
character for either of them), but then we noticed Twist is doing it when
both of the others were a good 8-12 inches away.  Does anyone else have a
ferret that does this, or have any idea why she might do it?  She doesn't
always do it, and the other two have not hurt her.
 
I'd noticed posts concerning bowl digging, and Twisty also does that.  She
is so vigorous, she flips the water crock in her crate over, (we keep the
bottle full at all times), and she has even emptied the dog dish, flinging
water a good 2-3 ft.over the kitchen floor.  Does anyone have strategies
for discouraging this?  Because of her sneezy/wheezies I haven't bathed
her, but I'm hoping to have one that actually enjoys her baths, as she
seems to try to swim in the dog bowl.  It was alarming the first few times
I'd seen it, I was afraid she'd either drown herself or get ear infections
due to all the water in her ears.  (She snorkels an awful lot, as well as
just digging at the bowl.) Do you think the snorkeling could be causing her
to wheeze?
 
I know if I can find answers anywhere, it'll more than likely be here.
Thanks in advance for any help y'all can give.
 
~ dl jones
Bean, ACSL, Twist, (the Prepositional Poopers), Mattie & Mudpie
[Posted in FML issue 2614]