Coffee seems to have had a rather delayed reaction to her rabies shot.
She didn't have the full scale reaction, but rather the shot irritated the
flesh around the puncture and she gradually grew a very sore lump over the
course of a week.  Dr. Bock (our vet and the guy who takes care of most of
Ferrets, Etc's stuff as well) prescribed an anti-inflammatory and hot
packing until it goes away.  The question is, is there a way to prevent
this reaction the next time she needs a shot?  [As for the pills, the
little minx figured out that she just needed to place her tongue on the
roof of her mouth and she wouldn't have to swallow it, after ONE pill.
*sigh*  Why do I have them as pets again? Just kidding :)]
 
Daphne (our recently acquired, half-starved little baby) is already gaining
weight, after three days!!  Her bones are still very prominent, but her
tummy is feeling much rounder.  She's already getting attached to us and
she, Coffee, and Taz all adore each other.  Of course, here we go again
with little box training. :)  We think she needs her eight week
distemper shot, but we (with advice from Stephanie, the president of
Ferrets, Etc) have decided to wait until next weekend until she has gained
some weight -- so the shot won't make her sick.
 
As for pet stores, you basically need to shop around (so to speak) to find
a good one.  The one I work for hires mostly animal hobbyists -- people
who know about their animals and are more concerned with animal welfare
than profits.  I have talked quite a few people who have small animals
into buying cheaper bedding (pine or aspen) rather than the more expensive
and more dangerous cedar).  Jill often teaches people how to switch their
birds to pelleted food and so on.  I'm the local small animal expert (I
breed gerbils) and the only one in the store with a lot of ferret
knowledge, so I pass on a lot of ferret information to employees and
customers alike.  You need to look around to find such places.
 
Michelle
 
 
--
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Meet my pets.  The ferrets (Taz, Coffee, and Daphne), the gerbils (lots),
the zebra mouse (Racer), the rats (Timmy and Sue), and the fish (various).
[Posted in FML issue 1145]