I got a phone call from a man today asking if I could come and take his
ferret.  Seems his teenage son got it from a friend who got it from a friend
and didn't really want it or know how to care for it.  Also it kept getting
out of the fish tank they put him in and it insisted on chasing the wife
around the kitchen.  She is quite terrified of the we beastie and all agreed
that the ferret must go.  The man sounded a bit desperate so I told him I
would be there in an hour to get him.  I gathered up my travel cage, food
and water plus a very special sleeper given to me by Jackie, it is the
favorite of my guys and was full of their scent.  I was hoping to calm the
hyper/ troublemaking ferret with other ferret smells.
 
I got to the house in 45 minutes, spoke with the man again, asked about
shots, food they were feeding it, its history.... the whole family knew
nothing about it.  Didn't even know what to feed it, the teen tried to feed
it a few times bit it kept biting him so he gave up (didn't say what though
when asked, I said cat food?  dog food?  and he jumped on cat food but I
seriously doubt it.  After this he brought down the troublemaker..... almost
all black, 10 to 12 weeks old of the softest fur you have seen or touched :-)
He (I checked, they didn't know) went into the cage walked into the sleeper
I brought, dragged it and him to the food and stood half in the sleeper
eating.  He ate all the way home, the poor guy was starving.
 
Unfortunately I am not as well versed in ferretdome as I thought or hoped.
When we got home I introduced him to my two, Pepper and Stinky thinking this
is great.  They can all have some fun before I drop him off at the shelter
later.  Within 5 minutes he pooped and it was white with stings of green
(think of older garlic with a greenish center) in it.  I immediately removed
him from the fert room and have him isolated now.  Each poop looks a little
better then the last did... less green with some beige, then a bit brownish
with a little less green.  Once I saw the green I couldn't bring him to the
shelter and my own children have already grown attached to him so if all is
well with him we will have a new edition to our clan.
 
I've been feeding him TF and duck soup, he is eating me out of house and
home and is very playful.  I'm leaning towards the facts that he is just
stressed and having a poor diet causing his greenies rather than the dreaded
ECE.  If anyone has any suggestions or ideas for us we would appreciate it.
While you are thinking of us we are searching for his name.....seems he is
with out one.  I was going for Mr. Spock, he has the pointiest ears I've
ever seen, perfect little triangles.  He is also almost all black with just
a little bit of color in his face, sort of like a mask with specks of white
around his mouth.  What type of ferret is he, dark sable, chocolate, black?
 
Thanks for listening and your help,
Deanna
[Posted in FML issue 2177]