When I saw the post regarding Chinese Polecats, and having never heard of
them, I ran to my reference books; I found nothing.  I called up a mammalian
data base, and found nothing.  Frustrated, I asked the source, and was told
they are steppe polecats (Mustela eversmanni) that originated in the inner
Mongolia region.  The Chinese epithet may be a local name, a reference to
origin, or a subspecies name.  None-the-less, they are steppe polecats.  It
is interesting to note that these animals have been reported to leap
distances longer than one meter, and can inter-breed with the BFF.
 
Regarding water in the ears.  This made me curious, so I got out the
'ear-looker' and surveyed the tympanic membranes of 13 not-so-cooperative
fuzzies, and saw nothing which would keep water in the ear canal.  I failed
to find anything on the vet school database.  Since the polecat is at least
semi-aquatic, and the domestic ferret displays many of those physical
qualities, I wouldn't consider it to be a problem.  My ferrets swim all the
time, and have even swam in marine tide-pools without problems.  The
combination of warm water and soap may tend to remove wax from the ears,
which could be a plus for some.  Problems could result if the water was too
hot--what might feel good to a large body can be deadly to a small one.  We
all know the dangers of soap ingestion (boy--could I tell some stories about
soap, boy scouts, and grape koolaid...), but some shampoos might be a
problem.  I have one question.  My ferts get so worked up when wet (its like
they are on speed!) how do you keep them from biting, you know, stuff?
Inferreting minds want to know...
 
While I am not yet ready to discuss dominance interactions (still reading
stuff and trying not to drool on the pages), I have noticed a few things
with the introductions of the Troy Four to the MO Business and I was
wondering if anyone else noticed this.  At first, the only ones bothering
anyone was the alpha males from each group.  For several days, Bear (MOB)
amd Gus (T4) took on each other and all other males.  Once those
relationships were defined, the other males started on each other, and the
alphas just watched, and only occasionally joined in.  The same occurred
with the females, but slower; alphas first, then others.  There was the
occasional male-female barking, but usually between any male and Tori, who
is an avowed ferret-feminist.  Actually, she is still young, and displaying
juvenile behaviors, so I have to consider her as the anomaly.
 
In any case, the relationships have just about been defined, and yesterday
there was only one squabble.  The only fuzzie having a hard time fitting in
is Apollo, who is missing his upper canines and can't defend himself very
well (yesterday's squabble).  One other thing, for the first day or so, NONE
of the beasties squabbled--they were too interested in sniffing each other's
butts.  Imagine a ferret daisy-chain of 11 ferts, each nose to butt, walking
in unison.  I have noticed this same sort of 'delayed response' in other
mammals and mustelids.  Any one else notice?
 
One last observation.  I have commented on Razz looking like a bowling pin.
Now that she has put on some weight, the effect kind of frightened me, so I
went over her physical condition quite carefully.  I noticed her upper body
to lower body proportions were different than the others.  Out came the
calipers, and sure enough, Razz is very different.  She was also declawed.
I have been watching her carefully, and find that when the other ferrets
jump up on something, they leap with their rear legs and pull up with their
front.  Razz can only use her rear legs--without claws she cannot pull
herself up.  Plugged the numbers in a stats program, and she was
significantly different in body proportions from the others.
 
I really noticed the difference over the scapulas and around the shoulders.
Playing around, I compared her body proportions to those from kangaroo rats
and mice, and they compared more favorably than those of her own species.
Its amazing.  I never considered this in my earlier objections to declawing.
I have since built her ramps to get up on everything.
 
Bob
Moose, Stella, Daye, Tori, Bear, Apollo, Foster, Buddy, Razz, Gus, Simon,
Nosette, and Balistic.
 
Remember pacheko (sp?) games? After a bath, Balistic highly resembles a
metal ball bouncing between hundreds of steel pins. I swear I saw her run
across the ceiling...
[Posted in FML issue 1406]