Hello all.
 
This may be a very weird question but it is a concern to me so I will ask
it any way.  We have a male albino (7 yr. old) that is now neutered (at
age 4) but was whole when we got him at 2 years of age.  His first owner
kept him in a box with only a few air wholes for air and light and his
second owners kept him in a large wooden cage where he got lots of light,
air and space.  When we got him, he had extreme closterphobia.  He did not
like being in a cage.  He would stand at the door, hyperventilating, with
his tongue hanging outside the bars.  You could see the panic in his eyes.
It was a long rehabilitating process, leaving the door to his cage unlocked
so he could freely go in and out, along with constant reasuring from us.
He still cannot stand being in small places and when we do have to put him
into a cage, we have to give him hugs and talk softly to him and reasure
him (tuck him in if you will, like a child afraid of the dark) before we
can close the door.  99% of the time he is fine if this kind of care is
taken.  On the odd occasion he still has a panic session and it just takes
a soft voice and some reasuring to get him to settle down.
 
Can closterphobia be hereditary or was this the result of the treatment
(due to lack of knowlege I think, not because the owners were purposely
abusive) of his first owners?  The reason why I ask is because we have a
fairly new fuzzy (the one I wrote about a month or so ago that we got
nearly starved to death) that could possibly be Buddy's daughter (long
story) and she has begun to act in a very similar manner.  She didn't do
this when we first got her but has started this in the last few days.  I
think she has pretty much recoverd from her ordeal and is a rambunctious
little thing, raring to go and do what ferrets like to do.  Sure she
rattles her cage to be let out, like any of the others do when it is not
their turn to come out, but she is developing this closterphobic behaviour
that Buddy has.  To know this is not crucial to her rahabilitation but I am
just curious.  We think that she may be deaf so soft reasuring doesn't help
as easily as with Bud, not to mention the fact that she doesn't want to be
held and is a biter too (I think she bites because she doesn't want to be
held).  You cannot wrap Buddy in a blanket or towel and play with him but
you can with Misty.  She loves this.  Why would she be getting
closterphobic at this stage of the game?  Is is hereditary?
 
I have also written about Sadie and her problems with diarrhea and losing
weight, etc.  As an update, she is getting xrays and blood tests done this
Wed.  I am really worried about her and am afraid I am going to lose her
much before her time so please pray for her and send any good thoughts that
you have her way.
 
Thanks in advance for any comments.   Take care.
Tryntje Miller.
[Posted in FML issue 2438]