Hello FMLers,
I'm looking for answers to two mysteries I have on my hands here. First, a
serious one. I have a ferret here at the shelter that was a stray, I call
her Gloria. She appears to be at least 5 years or older, and she is not
doing very well. She wasn't eating for a while, she now is eating A/D
regularly but will not touch solid food. The major problem is that she
will not drink water, or any liquid, whatsoever. To be more specific, if
I get water anywhere near her she freaks out (no I do not suspect rabies,
which is the comment I keep getting from non-ferret owners I tell this to.
Grrr). For a week or so I was able to force her to take water, 2-3 cc's at
a time, from a syringe, she hated it and fought me, but would take it. But
now she absolutely refuses, she writhes and twists and scratches me if I
even touch her lip with water. I get it in her mouth and she just holds
it there and then it dribbles out and she won't swallow it.
I've never dealt with a ferret that will eat but refuses water, especially
this adamantly. The level in her water bottle has not moved at all, and
she won't get anywhere near the water dish in her cage. She did splash
around in a water dish on the shelter floor about a week ago, got it all
over the place, but did not lick one drop of it, and it was actually
disturbing to see the way she was spashing around in it -- it wasn't that
cute splashing that ferrets often do, this was almost like she was trying
to splash it all out of the dish to get it away from her... I know this
sounds wierd but that's exactly what it was, I can't explain it and in all
the years of dealing with ferrets have never seen anything like it. As of
now, she's getting her only hydration from her A/D, which is sustaining her
but she is still somewhat dehydrated (I'm able to put extra water in the
A/D and she doesn't seem to notice, and gets it that way). I've tried
Pedialyte as well and that didn't fly with her either. If anyone has ever
heard of a ferret that refused liquids like this, I'd be very interested in
hearing about it.
Next thing: this one is equally bizarre but there's no medical emergency.
I have a ferret named Skittles. He's a darling boy, when he came to me, he
was a very odd color, kind of a cross between a dark eyed white and a
champagne -- he was white with a VERY faint tinge of champagne on the guard
hairs. It was pretty cool. Anyway... over the past few months, I've been
telling my club members and friends that he's becoming an albino and they
all said I was nuts. But he did. He now has completely red eyes and is a
completely white ferret. If I hadn't seen it gradually coming I'd have
thought someone switched this ferret with an albino and took my Skittles
away. Is this possible? I mean, it MUST be since it happened, but has
anyone ever heard of a ferret turning albino before? His eyes I'm guessing
were probably ruby to begin with, however they were DARK ruby if so because
like I said, I thought he was a DEW when he first came here.
Very odd... just looking for info to know if (a) anyone's ever heard of
this before and (b) what could cause this.
Thanks!
Kymberlie Barone
Director,
Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association
Montgomery County Branch
http://www.ferretrescue.com
Looking for a ferret club in Pennsylvania? Ask me about the Pennsylvania
F.E.R.R.E.T. Club and other ferret clubs in the state!
[Posted in FML issue 2741]
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