Hi Everyone,
 
I know that the debate on caging may not be dead or may be on its way, but I
think that I have some food for thought on the matter.
 
Let me first say that we have 3 wonderful little fuzzies, 2 girls and a boy.
They are 4, 5 and 6 months old.  At night, we have them caged because they
would keep us up all night and for their own good.  During the morning, they
are kept in the cage when I am at school and my fiancee is there as well.
She usually gets home after lunch and lets them out.  They have free roam of
the house from 1 til 11 at night.
 
A couple of days ago, we went out food shopping and were gone for an hour.
When we returned, Pandora, our 5 mth, was limping around.  At first, we did
not think much of it because they love to jump off things and occasionally
they will hurt themselves.  After a while, they are fine.
 
The limp was worse the next day so we took her to the vet.  The doc examined
her and told us her bone below the elbow was broken.  The doc said that
depending where the break is, anything could be done from setting it and it
would be fine, to fixing it in a functional position.  Suffice it to say, my
SO and I were scared.  We did not want her to loose the use of her arm.
 
Well, the doc took an X-ray and it turns out it was just a dislocation of
the bones around the elbow.  Still, she has to wear a bandage that fixes the
arm and encompasses the ENTIRE arm.  The bandage is the size of one used to
fix a broken fingure (sp?).  Now, I have a three-legged ferret (she drags
the leg by her side).  We think she twisted it while she was climbing down
from the dresser where she takes her naps.
 
We can only imagine Pandora getting hurt and screaming.  When she went to
look for us, we were not there and she was all alone.
 
Hopefully, the leg heals properly.  We will know in three weeks.  In the
mean time, we need to give her extra love since she is not as mobile as
before and she cannot beat the others up as she once did.
 
This is not to say that ferrets that have free run are in danger.  We will
still let ours have free run when we are home and when they are asleep.  I
think that if you do let them loose, then you really need to watch them.
They will get into a lot of trouble, especially when they are small.
 
Just Food For Thought,
 
Ken and Anna
Andromeda, Pandora (The Tripod), Daedalus
[Posted in FML issue 1600]