Dawn Marie Szabo wrote:
>I was wondering if anyone had ever seen a ferret with a bobtail.
 
Most of the time a ferret has a short tail due to a mishap from mom.
Sometimes moms get a little carried away with cleaning and will
mistakenly nip the tail while cleaning the kit.  I have had ferrets with
various tail lengths due to a nip or two from the mom.  I once had a
ferret named Manxi because mom docked her tail at birth.
 
Another reason for shortened tails is a genetic defect mainly in true
born dark eyed whites.  Sometimes when two dew's are paired together
their offspring can have tail defects.  These can range from kinks and
bends to short curled tails.  I have seen a couple of these too.  I also
had a dew jill who was born with a one inch tail.  When she got excited
and puffed up her coat her tail looked just like a bunny tail.  Pretty
cute!
 
Hope this helps!
 
Vickie
Just a Business of Ferrets
www.mindspring.com/~jbferret
[Posted in FML issue 3889]