>From:    Sc Ellis-Blackwell <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Disaster Pointers/Need Lighting Advice
>A while back I had posted looking for advice for improving the lighting
>conditions for my boys.  Alas, I received none.  I am still interested in
>hearing of particular regimens or protocols people may follow, and really
>any input is welcomed.
 
Dayna Frazier should perhaps answer this as she knows more about this than
us.
 
Over thousands and thousands of years ferrets (and polecats before them)
evolved to match the light from outdoors.  If you are a creationist then
Good made them to match the outdoor lights without evolution - doesn't
matter...
 
The best light for ferrets matches the outdoor lights.  Ferrets have rhytms
that match the year.  Long days in the summer with lots of light.  Short
days in the winter with less light.  UV is a part of the natural light and
they seem to need some.  These light cycles with UV are very possibly a
crucial thing regarding problems like adrenal cancers.
 
Dayna uses tube lights that provide UV and white light and has them on
timers.  She will be setting this system up for our ferrets soon.  We will
write on this more as we learn more so its not a lot but its a start...
 
>From:    Laura Kline <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: distemper reactions/skin tumor
>Sasha was fine afterwards but Molly and Pepper began swelling at the
>injection site, Molly's was much worse.  [...] Until this reaction that was
>the worst my kids have had.  They got the shots on monday and the swelling
>started the next day.  [...] I noticed a slight decrease in the swelling
>wednesday but Molly and Pep started shedding about then.  They were somewhat
>lethargic also.
 
This does not sound like a reaction.  A ferret that is lethargic for a
couple days afterward is fine.  Vaccines induce what the body thinks is an
infection.  These means its working not that the body is having a bad
reaction.  This sounds like no problem.  When our human son gets vaccines
he's cranky and sore for days.  This too is not a "reaction" that needs to
be worried about but merely a sign the vaccine is kicking the immune system
into action.
 
>But friday I noticed a small green/black stool from one of them.
 
A green stool means the food was not fully digested for some reason.  Stress
from environment or disease.  A one time thing is absolutely nothing to be
concerned with.  This far after the shot it probably is not related.
 
The shedding has nothing to do with the vaccine.
 
>From:    Lorraine Tremblay <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: 2Q: Cancerous Working Ferret - Bottlefeeding Useful?
>I met recently a woman who uses 2 ferrets in her zootherapy practice.  One
>of her ferrets is cancerous and she wants to get a kit and bottlefeed it.
 
Well actually she doesn't - they don't bottle feed very well.  None of the
breeders we consider "reputable" would assist in this.  These same breeders
are the one that would be doing this human contact for familiarity anyway.
It can be done but its not easy to bottlefeed.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
mailto:[log in to unmask]  mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www.zenferret.com/
[Posted in FML issue 2032]