>On Ferret Math--
>PLEASE, PLEASE QUARETINE!  Don't think your new pet store baby is purified
>and free from diseases like ECE or even distemper, just because it is
>young.  Ferrets have come from MF and other breeders with ECE.  Try to
>avoid an outbreak.  Keep your new ferret/s separated for 10 days.  Don't
>allow any fecal contact between quarentined and non-quarentined ferrets.
 
I agree completely, however, may I add something to this please?
 
Please, those of you bringing a new ferret into your home, don't fall
victim to the belief that quarantining will offer complete protection,
much as we would all like for it to.  I, too, was certain that I could
protect my babies by quarantining the newbie.
 
When I brought home baby RockStar (a Marshall Farms panda) last month, I
kept him quarantined, watching everything that went into him & came out of
him.  I watched his habits and examined him closely for 2 weeks.  When I
felt certain that he was "safe", I introduced him to the crew.
 
Guess what.
 
He did not have ECE; he was a carrier.
 
I've spent the past month nursing Dex & Mo back to health... Mo STILL
isn't her old self yet - she's a waif ferret!  :-(
 
Even my vet said that I'd done all the right things, but that there was
nothing that would've indicated to me his carrier status.
 
<sigh>  Sorry to be such a bright spot in the day.
 
Happy 1999 to everyone!
 
Melissa
 
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Happy New Year to All with LOVE from Melissa, Mykah & the ferrets:
   Dexter, Cocoa, MoJo, Dodger & RockStar  >^v^<-,--------,''''''
 
                ICQ us!  Our # is 6407420.
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[Posted in FML issue 2542]