Hello, I am new to this list so I believe that I should first introduce my
weasels.  Frosty and Bandit were adopted on July 13 of this year.  I feel
quite fortunate that they selected me from a large number of perspective
humans.  Both Frosty and Bandit are sable females, Frosty has a white bib
and two white patches, one on each knee.  Her guard hairs contain quite a
bit of white making her feet and tail look frosted hence her name.  Bandit
is very dark in comparison and has larger brown eyes in contrast to
Frosty's blue/grey eyes.  Bandit is quite a bit heavier and has a very
distinctive mask, hence her name.  Both weasels came from Marshall Farms,
but despite the negative posting about MF I have seen in the past I felt
that these two little ones are deserving of playing chase, tug-of-war,
bouncing and wooping.  They have been examined by the vet and declared
healthy and very wiggly.
 
Three times a week I take a small plastic teaspoon and put one pump of
ferratone into the spoon and call one of them who sooner or later comes to
the spoon to get her treat.  I don't think they know their names, but their
sniffer is so good that they smell the ferratone and by calling the one
closest to me assures that they get the treat.  Perhaps they will learn
their name someday.
 
Shortly after they get their treat they will lay on the floor folding their
front feet back and begin pushing themselves around the carpet steering
themselves on their chin.  I say they are wiping their chin off because
after a few seconds they will backup and sniff/lick the carpet.  After all
this cleanup is done, I notice that they both become mellow in comparison
to their bouncing and wooping a few seconds before the treat was given.  Is
their something wrong with the ferratone that would make them become so
mellow?  They don't act like they are drugged by staggering or just laying
in one spot with a dazed look on their face, rather their level of activity
drops in half but they retain full coordination and inquisitiveness.  Since
I give them their treat shortly before I put them to bed perhaps they
associate it with bed time.  The next day they are ready to jump, run, hide
and do what ever it is that ferrets do.
 
To sum up, is their anything in ferretone that will act as a mild
sedative to a ferret?
 
Thanks for any replies,
-Mark
 
Mark Steele
325 Broadway E/GC3
Boulder, CO 80303
voice :(303)497-6505
fax   :(303)497-6513
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[Posted in FML issue 1308]