Bill Waters asked about sneezing:
We get ferret sneezes sometimes.  We don't use clay litter because of the
dust making the sneeze.  Flus can cuase them to sneeze to I believe.
Chronic sneezing you maybe ought to talk to a vet.  We don't over the
rare single sneezes.
 
Paul asked about Music:
I'm a amateur musician and have noticed reactions to high notes.  Especially
the recorder.  High [itched noises probably cause two different reactions
one as a hunter or one as a mother.  Obviously your ferret thought "squeeky
rodent - must eat" or something.  I've never had a bloodletting.  THe squeek
toy reaction in some ferrets seems to be a mothering instinct.  Several of
the local breeders do really good imitations of ferret kits and can drive
the jills wild.
 
Krista asked about Waardensberg:
Hopefully I'm remembering the correct spelling but my luck would say
probably not.  This is a gene (or set of genes?) that is present in several
species including ferrets, foxes, mice and humans.  It is associated with a
white mark in the hair on the head, smaller wide set eyes and deafness.  Of
course not all such ferrets are totally or even partially deaf.  The blaze
pattern ferret (shetland or badger) has a white stripe from the nose to the
base of the skull.  Or its supposed to.  Thats why I refer to those with odd
shaped or incomplete markings as "Wanna-be blazes".  I believe I've heard
that some call the dot version a "Star pattern" or some such.  The Panda
makring is a completely white head back to the shoulders.  Like the
"Wanna-be Blazes" there are "Wanna-be Pandas" that have only partially white
heads.  I'm not positive though but I believe the NAFA "Patches" pattern is
an incomplete Panda marking.  These are attractice markings sometimes.  I've
also learned (on this list) about there being two variations of the
Waardensberg of which only one is linked to deafness.  I first learned about
this gene in the books by Fara Shimbo.
 
Ferret as Mascot:
Hopefully someon from Massachusetts will fill us in on the ferret mascot in
Boston.  I know of it but not the details.  Hey Massachussets folks - wanna
come out of hiding for a moment and fill us in?
 
Anna Spear asked about Boarding Rates:
We've offered to do boarding before.  Our girls would charge only one or two
dollars a day depending upon the number and size of the ferrets for a pair
in a cage.  This is a hard number for us to figure out as well.
 
Yellow undercoat:
I did say "usually".  I've not seena bright yellow that wasn't a stain but
some sables have golden undercoats and some chocolates are creamy toward
yellow.  I was guessing based on the description that it might have been a
stain in this case.  Of course hard to tell without seeing the ferret.
Could easily be a yellow undercoat.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 1418]