>From:    malissa <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: more bags and any ideas?
>we all know ferrets have pink/ruby-black eyes and that they see redtones.
>well, what does a green-eyed ferret see in?
 
Well a green eyed ferret sees in what ever it looks in of course... No
really, Iris color should have nothing to do with vision really.  Its the
rods and cones on the back of the eye that affect color and black and white
vision.
 
>From:    Sue Savage <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Playing with a blind ferret
>Teriyaki isn't totally blind, she just can't see very well cause she has
>cataracts.  Since she can't see well, she doesn't play by chasing after
>things.
 
She wasn't much of a "chaser" while she could see.  Try whistles and bells.
Most ferret like high pitched sounds.  Teri is a sweetheart, isn't she.
 
>From:    "Jennifer D. Ellis" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Animal Breeding...  and HIV.  Not connected!
>While I tend to agree with your ideas here, I have SERIOUS problems with
>the idea of "improving the breed" by breeding only animals that "conform
>to the standard."  [...] These are essentially arbitrary decisions made
>by a group of individuals who decided what looked best.
 
Well... Kinda.  The AFA standard for example is somewhat arbitrary but most
of the standard isn't so much what looks best but what seems healthiest.
It was written specifically to avoid the problems of breeds in dogs and
cats.  The AFA is very much against the creation of breeds within ferrets.
The AFA standard in most cases strives for "average".  Not too long and not
too short.  Not too thin and not too fat.  I disagree with some of the
aspects that to me seem arbirary (for example over emphasis of large eyes)
but as a licnesed AFA judge I'm a part of the process of refining the
standard as needed.  I personally always push to keep the "standard" as
close to an avergage with an acceptable range rather than a specific magic
"perfect".  A four pound hob isn't better than a five pound hob (sorry no
metric translation) but a one pound hob is too small while an eight pound
hob is too big.  In general thats what most of the AFA judges all seem to
think - except that bit about the eyes.
 
Another thing the standard calls for as mentioned in a later post is that
the ferret should be free from flaws such as malformed jaws or blindness or
missing limbs.  Yes, if you state that you will only breed ferrets that have
all four legs than that is the (or part of the) "standard" you breed to.
 
So the fact of having a standard isn't bad - but the standard needs to be
carefully concieved and written to prevent the breeding of undesireable
traits that truly are undesirable.
 
Hopefully as long as us ferret folks avoid the pitfalls of breeds we can
keep ferrets healthier.  So far most non-scientific polls seem to show
private bred ferrets which are those most likely to have been bred to
"standard" are about a year longer lived than pet bred ranch ferrets.
Could be and most likely is factors other than the standards affecting
that.
 
BTW several years ago some computer folks were trying to create an image
of the "average" woman.  They took more and more females and graphically
avergaed them.  To their surprise the more they averaged in the more an
more beautiful the averaged image became.
 
>From:    Sharon Allen <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Cartoon Network
>I was taking care of my little patient today(I am a pediatric home care
>nurse) when I saw an advertisement for a new show called "I am Weasel".
>Anyone know anything about it?
 
Its yanked from "Cow and Chicken"... Any good parent of a four year old
would know.  Well if they have cable or satellite TV anyway.  I. M.
Weasel is the never failing overacheiving good guy to the buffoon like I.
R. Baboon.  The voice of I. M. Weasel by the way is Michael Dorn or Worf
to you Star Trek fans.
 
>From:    "Susan D." <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Donations to shelters - used items okay?
>Hello everyone.  To shelter operators: I have been wondering if it's okay
>to donate items such as USED old t-shirts, sweat pants, towels (washed of
>course!), used toys, etc. to shelters?
 
Should be.  Ferrets don't care.  We use all the clothes we humans outgrow
for the ferrets.  We have been known to buy up stuff at yard sales and even
Salvation Army stores.  Jeans.  Don't forget old jeans.  Talk about some
tunnels - Pant legs are great fun.  And extra holes in them just mean extra
'doors'.  And jeans tend to wash well lasting longer even when dicarded
than other clothes.
 
-bill
--
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2725]