>Adrienne Boerger wrote:
>1) My vet said ferrets catch colds from humans, which I know is true, but he
>also said they get pneumonia very easily so if she catches a cold I should
>bring her in.  Is this true?
 
Adrienne, I learned the hard way that a "simple cold" can easily progress to
pneumonia if you are not careful.  I too had been told (by vets too!) not to
worry about the common cold.  I had a very sweet little girl I had rescued
from the animal shelter and she contracted a cold from my other fuzzies.
They all simply had sneezies and a little bit of runny eyes.  The little
girl's cold progressed to pneumonia (along with another girl I had rescued
from a different animal shelter two days earlier).  I did everthing I could
for both including (but not limited to) SQ fluids, oral antibiotics, force
feeding and heat pads.  Unfortunately the one died (the necropsy showed she
also had the start of an adrenal tumor, don't know if that made her weaker,
any thought from the vets?).  The other one pulled through and is the
sweetest thing in the world.  In fact, she is being placed in a new home
next week to first time ferret owners.  She will be a wonderful ambassador
for them (it also happens to be my daughters math teacher, so I'll be able
to get daily updates:)).
 
>2) Is there any other way of giving heartworm medication to ferrets besides
>chopping up dog pills?  And is it necessary at all?
 
Heartworm medicine can be given in liquid oral form as well. Ask your vet to
check into liquid ivermectin (usually labled for cow injections) and get the
formula to dilute it down. It's much easier to give this way, much more
accurate, and still only once a month.
 
>From:    Chuck Renaud <[log in to unmask]>
>A "map" showing the geographical locations of FMLers...
>-> I'd also like to take some of the FML "highlights" and make them
>available on my pages...
 
Chuck, if you can find Sidney, MI on a map, go ahead!!! (try looking next to
Greenville:))
 
>I asked him what he meant and he goes (paraphrasing): "I used to live in
>Michigan, where ferrets are indigenous, and they were all over the place."
 
There are NO indigenous ferrets in Michigan (but of course you all know
that!!) I have seen wild mink and weasels around my house.  They can look an
awful lot like ferrets, especially weasels during coat color changes.  They
run just like a ferret also.  They seem to stay fairly close to water (we
have a pond and stream running through our property).  It's pretty hard to
catch a glimpse but all of my family has seen one at one time or another.
In the winter they play on the frozen pond.  It's hilarious to watch these
ferret cousins acting so much like our loved ones at home!
 
>From:    "Irena Arthur (OPS|schwanke)" <[log in to unmask]>
>Has anyone else tried the PROGRAM without the results they expected?
 
Irena,
Program does not kill the adult fleas, only keeps the eggs from hatching.
Therefore it can take up to 6 weeks to see any significant reduction in
numbers. You may want to try Advantage instead. It's about the same price
(at our clinic it's $29.50 for a 4 month supply for one ferret) and will
kill the adult fleas. My dog and cat are both on Program, but I started them
before flea season and neither has had a problem.
 
These are all just my opinions, and you are all entitled to your own :)
 
Tracy and the 100 Fuzzbutts
[Posted in FML issue 1667]