In response to food shape - the QC+ I listed the ingredients of the other
day (and by the way I am in no way connected with this company) is shaped
like a solid triangle (w/rounded corners).  The 2 reasons I listed all the
ingrediants is that(1) in a taste test with Iams cat and kitten, TF and one
other I can't remember (SD?) my ferrets chose this and (2) I am sort of
ignorant about this stuff but to me the ingrediants seemed really good.  Not
only do they like the taste but must like the shape as well because this is
the one I always find in stashes.  It is also much cheaper than TF.
 
Also about that large breeder guy who has been posting - IMHO this seems to
be a ferret"farm" (with the negative connotations), maybe not but there's no
way to be sure - 1000 ferrets and some of the things he says?  And mink
farms are notorius for not taking "nice" care of their animals - just enough
to have good coats - anything more is a waste of money.  And isn't mink food
fish based which ferrets don't exactly prefer.
 
Help - anyone with experience with "gulpy gulpy" noises?  My female does
this occassionally and last night woke me up with not just gulpy gulpy but
also "wheezy wheezy" she's not doing it now though - seems to come and go.
Last not was pretty bad, or at least worse that usual.  I must say, I take
my ferrets to the vet at the drop of the hat (I think they think I
overreact) but they remind of cars, yes cars - when I take them in (after
insisting that I get in today with no appt) - they seem fine.  "Well Mr Car
man it's been making that noise for a week, honest".  The most extreme
example; when I got Boris I was totally inexperienced - my nephew gave me
his female when he moved to Hawaii and I wanted to get her a friend.  Now
she was so sweet and I never really gave a thought that all ferrets weren't
that way.  Well I bought from a breeder who never handled his ferrets AT
ALL!!  So I brought this wild 4 or 5 month old thing home after being bit
several times at this place (the woman was too scared to haul ferrets out of
cages so I did it, I mean blood is dripping down my hand and I am literaly
in shock at the ferociousness of these things compared to Giesela).  So
Boris goes in the seperate bedroom and I am terrified of him.  I go into his
room with my combat boots on (am in the military and scared of a little
ferret, some TAC Trained Killer huh:), pants tucked in, shirt tucked in,
heavy gloves tucked in shirt sleeves (I swear if I had had hockey gear I
would of used it) to handle and play with him.  Now in retrospect Boris
probably wasn't that bad but I was flipped.  Anyway after about a week and a
half I'm down to lighter gloves and he doesn't seem to be biting so I make
an appt with the vet and ask her "If he bites are you going to report it?" I
wanted to know because this is a kill and test state.  So she says well lets
just see how it goes.  I go in to the vets with a bag of two sets of heavy
gloves, treats, nutrical etc. and warn the vet when we get in the exam room-
she gives me a funny look and opens the carrier and pulls out Boris and -
he acts like a totally tamed ferret!  Talk about feeling like a fool.  I
mean on one hand I guess maybe I did a good job because he did bite me a
couple of times that first week but more likely he just got used to people
and quit himself and I was too scared to accept it.  So there is another
story of a ferret making a fool of a human that has a happy ending.  I
haveno qualms about kissing him right on his little nose.  BTW Boris does
seem to love this vet - all subsequent visits he lays in her arms while she
pets him like he wants to stay there all day.
 
Mary, Boris and Giesela
[Posted in FML issue 1525]