Hello!
 
        I know I keep posting with stupid questions, but I feel that something
isn't right sometimes.
 
        Rascal was in a "two-ferret family" before she came to live with me.
She and her littermate  got along great, as far as anyone can tell.  Her
sister was adopted before I got to the shelter, so the two were separated.  I
thought, hey, she'll be just fine, right?  She probably won't even think about
her.  Well, I think I might have been wrong.
 
        For the past few days, Rascal has been doing this strange movement,
which I have dubbed "Look ma, no paws!".  She tucks her paws under her body
and slithers along the rug or bathmat (whichever she is on at the moment),
being propelled only by her hind legs.  Sometimes she'll stop, sigh, go to
sleep, look up at me, or just lay there for a few moments in that position.
She sleeps a lot more, doesn't play for very long before hiding in the *one*
spot under the bed where my arms aren't long enough to reach her, and isn't
eating as much.  She's drinking equally as much (if not more) and has a
slightly runny stool.  She's only vomited twice total in the past three days,
and has this digusting habit of trying to eat it all over again before I come
to clean it up.  She isn't all that interested in her toys any longer, and
sometimes she'll ignore me or her toys completely.
 
        I'm worried about her, but my parents said I can't get another ferret
to keep her company for awhile.  I'm considering adopting a second ferret in
the summer (when I can work up enough money for more supplies and the adoption
fee), but until then, *NO MORE FERRETS*.
 
        Anyone know if she'll get over this, or should I get my friends who
own ferrets to visit more often with their fuzzies?  She's in perfect health
otherwise -- she had a vet appointment three days ago (it'll be four days by
the time you read this) and nothing is physically wrong with her.
 
        BTW, she's being fed the same stuff as she was in her previous home
and the shelter (IAMS), so it's not the food, and I change her water/litter
pan/food daily, change her bedding every three days, vacuum every week, and
bathe every Sunday.
 
        The only other possible thing I can think of that might be wrong with
her is that she has caught my strep throat, but I tried not to handle her
often (I isolated her in the basement) and I disinfected *everything* in my
room with Lysol, and I've been on antibiotics for 72 hours now, so I'm no
longer contagious.
 
        Thanks for listening me ramble on and on.  I'm just another worried
(sick :) ) "mom" about my fuzzy-wuzzy.
 
 
                                                Carinne Prest
 
                                                and Rascal the depressed
(maybe)
[Posted in FML issue 1075]