Although I have been a subsciber to the list for almost a year now,
this is the first time I have sent in a message.  Concerning the
question of ferrets hacking/gasping-- when my boyfriend and I first
got our ferret, Sophie, we thought that she must have asthma.  She
would occasionally make a gasping or, as we interpreted it, wheezing
noise when we played with her.  I asked the vet about the sound, and
he told me that ferrets are known to make wheezing/gasping sounds,
but no one knows exactly why they do it.  From his reading on the
subject, it is thought to be "behavioural" -- whatever that may mean.
Sophie certainly doesn't seem to suffer when she makes the sound; she
just gets annoyed with us for fussing over her excessively when we hear
her wheeze or gasp, because she still wants to play.
 
By the way, Chris, my vet is Michael Taylor in Scarborough.  When I
was last in with Sophie, I mentioned to him that I was on this list
and that you were the moderator.  I understand that you two know each
other, and he sends you his regards and hopes all it well with you.
 
Tamara O'Callaghan
 
 
[Posted in FML issue 0611]