To Donna Austin - I was saddened to read of your loss of Koti. It is
always hard to lose a ferret, but I think especially so when they are
young. Please know that I think it takes a very loving and special person
to be able to make the decision as to when it is time to let your dear one
go.. My heart goes out to you. As I have said before on losses, and truly
believe - your Koti will never be gone from you as long as you live and
carry him in your heart and memory. Thank you for sharing his story with
us - your little frog catcher. What a love he was for you. You were
blessed to have him for the time you did. xoxo.
Dear BIG - I have a suggestion. When someone writes a letter specifically
targeting one individual on fml for criticism - anonymous or not - why not
just forward that letter to the person named? I really see no point in
having anyone chopped to verbal pieces in front of the whole fml, it that is
the only reason for writing.. Don't misunderstand - disagreement and
differing viewpoint is o.k. But smash letters serve no purpose, IMHO..
What do ya think, huh? BTW, thanks for your note - second half of Pistol
Packin' mama will be written soon.
Hi Barbara Carlson - I, too, have a silver mitt named Pepper. He is
middle-aged now, but a wonderful ferret-person and my "care" ferret - having
helped raise kits all his life. I hope your 6 mos. old Pepper will bring
you as much joy as my Pepper brings to me everyday. About the gate -- well,
I have no suggestions but note that others have. No gate has ever stopped
my ferrets - especially the Canadians and Germans.
Charlene comments on reports Canadian imported ferrets seem to have immunity
to ECE. Yes, I have been tracking this for over three years now. When we
had our first seige of the Greenies, all in my house were down with it in 18
hours except the Canadians. Subsequent infections of the Greenies have not
affected my Canadians, or Canadians in my house new since previous
infections. Also, I had one outbreak last summer soon after I brought in a
Canadian kit rescue. Several of us have been tracking the incidence of ECE
occurance and have linked some to the recent importation of Canadians to
that area. This does not at all mean that the Canadian imports are the
contagion source. Maybe, maybe not. But they do seem to have immunity. I
have yet to receive a confirmed report of a Canadian with ECE. If anyone
has experienced this, I would appreciate it if you would e-mail me
information and the history on affected ferret for my on-going data
collection on the ECE.
Roger - Problem of double teeth probably solved by now - milk teeth soon
drop out after the cannines arrive. It is totally normal for the permanent
canines to come in directly in front of the milk teeth. This usually occurs
at about 7 weeks, but also in normal time frame for 8-9 weeks. Since I
always note this in kits, I have often wondered if the canine milk teeth are
partially responsible for straight permanent teeth! :-) Like built in
braces.
Lynn - Early neutering is definitely a factor in ferrets overall adult
size - Disclaimer - IMHO. High protein and balanced diet is also a factor.
Another factor is genetic predispostion. Quite generally speaking, early
neutered ferrets may grow to fairly large size - but are not as large boned
or as heavily coated as intact ferrets. If you aquire a whole kit, I
believe in delaying the neutering until the kit has achieved adult size -
usually 7-8 months - or older.
Krista - greeny goop noted in your ferret's eyes is sign of infection -
don't think related to micro-opthlmalia, although this condition could play
a role in predispostion - advise to get your ferret to the vet right away.
Your question on the importance of poultry being listed first on ingredients
in food, is not because poultry is the king of foods, but rather that
poultry, or turkey, or lamb, or other should be listed first - because
ingredients are listed in order of their ratio in the feed. Protein source
listed as second or third ingredient means there is less of that protein in
the feed than the first listed ingredients.. When purchasing a ferret food
or kitten food for your ferret - protein source should always be listed
first.
Bryan - Deafness in a ferret is sometimes difficult to determine. One
reason is because deaf ferrets seem to accomodate themselves very well to
their environment and can get along as well as hearing ferrets. Also, it is
sometimes difficult to determine whether or not a ferret can hear, because
they can be "selectively deaf". In other words, they might not respond
because they don't want to, or because they are busy, or because they are in
such a sound sleep they don't hear. Also, sometimes a ferret can be "hard
of hearing" especially to lower range sounds, but might respond to loud, or
higher pitched sounds. When your ferret is awake, not busy and calm - try
having someone else hold him and provide distraction. Use a loud squeaky
toy, or car keys, or something that makes a loud sound - right behind the
ferrets head. If the ferret does not respond - might be deaf. I have one
deaf ferret and one hard of hearing. Although I am still not sure about the
hard of hearing one. He sometimes responds to noise or my calling and
sometimes he does not. Also, when judging at ferret shows, I will squeak a
toy above the ferret that I am judging. Many times, they will not respond
or look in the direction of the toy. And they are not deaf. They are
either tired, or on sensory overload, or just not interested in a squeaky
toy right at that moment. I probably have not helped you - but it sometimes
it really is hard to determine if a ferret can hear.
Chuck - My sympathy on your free-falling ferrets and on using your shoulder
as a launch pad. . I, too, suffer this in my house. I live with flying
ferrets who know not fear. A fall from the top of the closet is fun for
these tough guys. They climb me all the time, ride my shoulders and leap if
I get near a surface. My guys spend more time teetering about in high
places than they do on the ground. Something you might try. When the
ferret starts to let go - fall - or leap, scream. Scream really loud. This
has frightened a couple of mine into thinking falling might be dangerous for
them. Alas, it has not worked for the majority. Also, I have noted that
ferrets who ride shoulders, quickly get the hang of it. Some never do, and
might always have to be carried in arms instead of on shoulders. Cheers and
good luck.
Dr. Mike - When I saw your BOLD disclaimer, I really laughed. All this
nonsense. . I don't think, that after all the discussion, that anyone
believes a vet on line is magic or that the advice should replace a trip to
the vet. However, all of our doctors on line and participating certainly
enrich the FML and provide good information and learning experience for all
of us. On the other hand, sometimes maybe the advice is better.. Like the
example of Tracey's recent experience. Thank goodness Tracey had lots of
information, and realized she had received bad advice from her vet and so
she moved quickly to find another vet who knew that ECE really is a disease
and is not a myth. I shudder to think about the prognosis of other ferrets
with greenies under the care of her previous vet. I am at a loss to
understand why this doctor did not think Tracey's ill ferrets were in
serious trouble..
Gotta go, lots of snow, need to dig out. The only ones in my family who
like the snow right now are my ferrets. They think it is wonderful and
behave like perfect idiots. Actually, they are Always Perfect Idiots.
regards to all. Meg.
[Moderator's note: Regarding the suggestion about forwarding criticism.
Most of the individual personal attacks do not get posted. If they are
to an anonymous poster, I will forward them on request, the poster can
send it directly to the non-anonymous people.
Of course, if something isn't posted I tell the poster and often things
can be rewritten to be more general. And in general, something has to
be pretty bad for me to refuse it - some have accused me of being too
liberal in this regard. BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 1471]
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