Hi all . . . I posted bits and pieces from the article Dr. Steele quoted,
and I forgot something important that I questioned but couldn't find the
source materiel.  Paisley and Lauer's article also states: "Although
considered poorly adapted to survive on their own, they [ferrets] have
established self-sustaining feral populations that have been destructive to
local animals in several states and foreign countries (ref# 5-7).  Damage to
poultry has led to regulations limiting their sale in some states (ref# 6)."
 
I have been under the impression that ferrets have never managed to sustain
population in the wild.  Here are the references 5-7--if anyone has access
to these journals, reports or books, could you look up these articles and
give a quick report on what they say?
 
5.  Childs G: What to do with a ferret.  *Community Aminal Control* 1987; 6:
10-13 6.  Need for data on ferrets that bite, eat human flesh, or develop
rabies.  *Calif Morbid* 1986; 7:1 7.  King C: *Immigrant killers* New York,
Oxford University Press Inc, 1985
 
I realize these articles are old, but the Paisely and Lauer artical was
written (I think) with the intention of being alarming . . . and as Dr.
Steele proved, this old article is still being quoted as reason for parents
to fear ferrets.  I would like to see the proof of established feral
populations, and I'm sure others would, also.  The little paragraph I quoted
is claimed to draw its info from these 3 sources.
 
Autumn sleep:  Pepper (male, castrated) seems to be running on a 3-day cycle.
He's very active for two days in a row, with playtime lasting sometimes up
to three hours. The third day he only stays awake for  15-30 minutes, then
goes back to bed for several hours, with max 3 of those short playtimes
during the day.
 
The funniest thing about him is that he loves his cage!  He goes back to his
cage to sleep, even though he has dragged blankets and newspapers under the
couch for "cat naps!" He has a medium-dog size "VariKennel" that comes apart
easily for cleaning, and the cage door is open almost all day, unless I have
to go somewhere.  He gets locked in when I go to work in the evenings, until
my boyfriend comes home, and he's locked in at night.  He loved his hammock
in the old kennel, which was the stackable kind, with huge indents on the
bottom that made very uncomfortable lumps on the cage floor.  But now that
he has a kennel with a smooth bottom, he doesn't use the hammock at all.  (I
think he fell out of it one night).  Thanks to the person who suggested
plastic shower hooks for the hammock--they work great, even though he's not
using it right now.
 
Litter: I've been using clumping litter and checking his nose and heiney
regularly, but never thought about the rest of the respiratory tract, which
I cannot see.  I've never had a problem, but I'm switching to pellet litter
to *ensure* that I never have a problem.  <grin> Better safe than very sorry.
 
Oh, and thanks for the mention of rawhide collars shrinking when wet--I am
aware of this and of course remove the collar if it gets wet (and before
baths), I just forgot to point it out.  I'm glad someone caught my omission.
I've found that this sort of collar rides very low on the neck, and none of
my babies have ever face-dunked past their whiskers . . .  but it's a good
thing to watch our for with this kind of collar.
 
--Sherri
[Posted in FML issue 1734]