So far Wiggy, my older ferret, has made me think he was dead once.  He
was in his hammock with his head hanging limply over the side.  My heart
dropped to my stomach.  I went over and opened the cage and petted him...
no movement.  I turned to my sister and just burst into tears, saying
"Wiggy's dead, Wiggy's dead." I picked him up and he still didn't move.
Then a moment later he yawned and rolled over in my hands and boy, was my
heart beating fast for a long time after that!!!  I dread the next time
he "fools" me because I know I'll react the same way.
 
My question is about silvering in ferrets.  I don't know much about the
colors at all, aside from basic "that's a sable" and "that's a panda" etc.
It just really doesn't mean much to me, since they're all wonderful :>
 
Well, literally overnight, my "sable" ferret Wiggy's head lightened..
considerably.  At first, I got him out and was like "What's different?
Your head looks lighter!" It turned from dark to light with darker tips.
Then my sister said "His head changed color!" so I knew I wasn't just
making a mistake and we both agreed it had been overnight, since we had
handled him the day before and he had had his originally coloring.  Since
then, he's lightened a little, but very slowly.
 
My question is... is this silvering?  can it happen that fast, with the
whole head lightening in 12 hours?  what's the pattern they silver in,
generally?  how can you tell in a baby ferret if it's going to silver when
it gets older?  Is there ever a different cause for their hair turning
color?  Wiggy is very healthy according to the vet, though I'm taking him
in for a weight check in a few days to see if he's overweight... he's
looking a bit plump to me.
 
Okay, so that's more than one question. *LOL*  But I'd really like to
know :)
 
Tserisa and her fuzzbottoms, Wiggy and Narf
[Posted in FML issue 2998]