Peri writes:
>In a situation like this (and they DO happen all too often), whare you
>must act IMMEDIATELY to by buying one pet from a "bad place" to save
>many, then I would say go ahead ... BUT!  As soon (and I mean AS SOON)
>as you have printed receipt and erret in hand, go IMMEDIATELY to a
>veterinarian ... preferably one at a regulatory agency wherever you
>are ... humane society or whatever ... and show them the receipt that
>you JUST purchased the animal, and from where ... let them examine the
>poor creature, and then RIGHT THERE (!!!) FILE A REPORT!
>
>That way, buying one from them will help to shut them down!
 
Yes!  And find out what state agencies licence and inspect pet stores and
who supplied the ferrets, then send copies of a vet letter (on veterinary
hospital letterhead) on the ferret's condition to all of those places.
That actually does work in many areas.
 
If these steps aren't taken then the bad places simply will buy even more
ferrets to torture.  There are good pet stores out there, but, you know,
they are hurt by the bad ones and the way bad pet stores make some folks
think of pet stores in general, too, so I expect they'd agree that such
actions to get licences removed when poor care is provided for animals
just plain make sense.
 
Breathing: If you mean a heh-heh-heh-heh sound during active play that is
ferret laughter.  If there is an actual breathing problem then make a vet
appointment and do have a chest x-ray done.
 
Mary wrote:
>Thanks for the post.  I think anything added to our foods/seeds/meats of
>an antibiotic, or pesticide nature will turn out harmful...animals and
>humans were just not designed for many of today's chemicals.
 
Don't forget that the alternatives can be worse.  There are fungi, for
instance, that can cause very serious problems.  During the Middle Ages
there was a reverse use made of walled towns -- when they were used to
keep people in instead of out during epidemics or other problems.  One
case was of a walled town that became a mental asylum when the wheat
supplied to the town baker turned out to have a serious fungal product
in it that drove everyone mad.  (BTW, it was thanks to isolation in a
British town during a round of the Black Plague that a genetic allele
was found which protects against the Black Plague and also turns out to
protect against AIDS making it very hard to catch if a person has it in
double and which helps people live well despite the Plague or despite
HIV/AIDS of a person has a single one of the alleles.  This allele offers
some important insights which will help others with these two problems
or with other diseases that have a critical mechanism in common.  Anyone
who has seen a loved friend or family member waste away, get secondary
disease, or suffer from AIDS related dementia will be hoping such work
makes progress rapidly.)
 
I have noticed a recent increase in people who are trying to replace vet
care with "answers" from correspondents.  That just doesn't work.  Simply
doesn't.  If your ferrets has an injury, or if your ferret has a possible
illnesses, or if you are thinking of making a large change to your
ferrets' care, or if you are thinking of adding a med -- CHECK WITH
FERRET KNOWLEDGEABLE VET WHO KNOWS YOUR FERRETS *FIRST*, PLEASE.  If you
aren't sure if an appointment is needed then call and leave a message so
that the vet can call you back when the vet has a chance and then do what
the vet says to do.  If it's a care concept you want to discuss then
letters can work, too.  If something is health related then go by what
the folks who actually have studied ferret health say -- go by what the
VETS say -- and forget the rest of us or ask them about what the rest of
us said and then follow the ferret-knowledgeable vets whether they agree
or disagree with what we said.  THEY are the experts.  You can also learn
from other vets without appointments when you want to know more.  The
Ferret Health List and the Critical References List at the International
Ferret Congress are great places to start:
 
  http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
 
  http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/
 
  http://www.ferretcongress.org/
 
and you will find a lot of info from ferret knowledgeable vets by using
those resources.
[Posted in FML issue 3965]