Barbara wrote:
>This is interesting Lori.  My vet, who very recently had a "guided" tour
>thru the facility (we live about an hour and a half away), was told by
>MF that the back foot tattoo was their record of who took care of that
>particular litter and who did the medical work on it; a quality control
>measure.
 
That would make sense too.
 
Rene wrote:
>If marshall's in New York & I'm in New Jersey, why would they ship
>ferrets throughout the country only to go to a neighboring state?
 
Excellent point.  I never inquired further as the vet's explanation seemed
plausible to me.  Mojo has a toe tatt and we picked him up in WA.  Wilbur
doesn't have a toe tatt and we picked him up east of CO.
 
>My tattooed guy is a sable... maybe it has something to do with color?
 
Both my guys are sables so that's not it.
 
I received private emails that gave two reasons for the toe tatts and all
info was purported to be straight from Marshall's.
 
1. Quality control as Barbara's vet said.
2. To distinguish MF ferrets from fake MF ferrets.
 
There are some marked differences between my toe-tatted boy and my non-
toe-tatted boy.  Mojo (toe tatt) is much longer, leaner, and muscular of
build than is Wilbur.  He is also pointier of face.  Wilbur is rounder and
broader of face, but has little delicate feet and runs like a girl.  BUT,
this could have to do with nutrition and maintenance for all I know.
Mojo came to us as a wee kit.  Wilbur was a year old when he joined us.
 
And for the person inquiring "what have your ferrets got?"  Both of our
boyz are 4 and both just got a clean bill of health from the vet.
 
-Lo
[Posted in FML issue 3746]