From:    Heather Ross <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: siamese ferrets?
 
>...the woman said they only had "Siamese" ferrets at the store.  The thing
>is, he looks pretty much like a sable although his coat is a little lighter
>on his body and his face is more of a light tan than a real brown.  Is
>there such thing as a Siamese ferret
 
Okay you perfectly described a Siamese.  Looks like a Sable with a lighter
body.  Well actually pretty close.  In a show standard, a Siamese or Point
pattern can be any color, such as Sable, but with a much lighter body than
points (legs and tail).  If I ever get the page finished the best place for
checking colors will be the AFA web pages.
 
All ferrets have a pattern and a color.  Sable is the common dark coffee
color.  Chocolate is the color of milk chocolate.  Champagne is a beige or
tan.  Cinnamon is a light reddish color.  Red sable is a dark reddish color.
Black is the color of 'silver mitts'.  Black sable is a sable with white or
grey undercoat instead of the cream to golden of sables.  Albinoes are white
with red eyes.  And of course a dark eyed white is all white with ruby to
darker eyes..
 
Standard is the pattern with dark legs and lighter body.  Point or Siamese
is dark legs with much lighter body (even to white).  Solid or self is dark
legs body the same color.
 
Extra patterns are like mitts with white feet.  Blaze with a white stripe
down the top of the head.  Panda with a white head.  (Blazes and Pandas also
have white feet and maybe tail tips) A Ferret with extra whitening of the
body and legs is a roan (medium silvers for example).  A dark eyed white
pattern is real close to all white.
 
Your 'un-named ferret' sounds like either a lighter Chocolate Siamese or a
Champagne Siamese.  Marhshall Farms just to be difficult <grin> uses Siamese
to describe any chocolate - which might be the way the pet store used the
description.
 
>From:    Sarah Moore <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Ferret Food
Among others asking about food for ferrets....  We use Iam's Cat food as the
base food for all of our adult ferrets and cats.  Iam's kitten is good but
not affordable when we use two twenty pound bags of food a week.  We use
Totally Ferret for our special needs (and sometimes Iam's Kitten) such as
ill, pregnant, nursing or kit ferrets.
 
Some folks seem to prefer mixing brands, there are good arguments for that
but our ferrets don't seem to want other foods much.  Ours like what we feed
them and reject some alternatives we've tried.  We do supplement with meat
and bones.  There are advantages to both a convinient balanced kibble and to
a more 'natural raw meat' sort of diet.  We try to balance the goods versus
ills of both.  Kibbled food is better than canned food for the teeth but
much harder on them than fresh meat for example.
 
For a kibbled food look for as high a protien content as you can.  Over 32%
is good.  Look for a fat content approaching or over 20%.  Look for an
animal protien source as first ingredient.  We prefer Iam's over other types
because it uses by-products.  There is good stuff in the animal besides the
flesh itself.  Calcium for example.  Corn and wheat are filler protiens for
ferrets so they pump up the protien content of a food without pumping up the
quality.  Taurine should be included.  Low ash is required as well.  Fiber
is mostly filler - no specific requirements are established.
 
I've gathered this information from animal nutritionists, biologists and
veterinarians off and on this mail list, and also through experience.
 
>From:    Ela Heyn <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: FW: Gas stoves ....
>My question then is - is it safe to allow them to continue to sleep under
>the stove, or should I try to block it off?
 
I would try to block it off.  Too much to get in trouble with.  Most of the
gas lines are metal but some are flexible and could be bitten.  Disaster for
all.  Pilot lights are hot and could be accidentally put out.
 
>From:    Stephanie Vermillion <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Request for Article posting re: Research Project
>I am looking for owners to participate in an independent study of ferret
>behavior.  The objective of the study is to characterize the behavior of
>domesticated ferrets, and attempt to assess if breeders have selected
>against certain feral characteristics during domestication.
 
I'm willing to help in this but its kind of odd to check with current
breeders on a species that has been domesticated so long.  None of the
breeders who specifically made these choices have been alive for hundreds
and thousands of years.  The only real choices made by breeders now are
whether to try to reintroduce wild traits.  This does ocaissionally happen
but I don't recommend it.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 1477]