I will start at the begining, that is why the stroy will be "a bit
longer".  I had a ferret (Kuna) for almost three years now.  Altough she
likes me and my boyfriend very much and superb gets along with our dog
(greatdane x labrador mix) we decided to get her some ferret company.
When we were said to be unapropriate ferrets owners, beacuse i didn't
agree to take babies with only five weeks (!) i got in contact with a
girl who runs ferret shelter in nerby Austria.  We were mailing for
almost a month and I decided to adopt two of the abandoned ferrets.
 
When we got them, they were of course withouth names (now they are
Gulo-he and Tidra) they were also hungry, dehidrated, stinky, coverd with
fleas and had earmites.
 
When i got them in better shape (not having diarrhoea anymore) I wanted
to vaccinate them first, but Tidra got in heat and since Gulo was trying
to do some male stuff (mate her) i decided to get her castrated first.  I
took her to the clinic where I had great experience with Kuna's
castration two and a half years ago...
 
But they reaaaaly disapointed me this time.  We got Tidra there in the
morning and pick her up in the late afternoon.  I wanted to stay her
there, so if anything would go wrong, the vet would be near and could
help her.  Well, this was the biggest mistake in my life.  When we came
to pick her up, i was horrified.  We got her with serious hypothermia -
she was cold and hard.  First i tought she was dead.  I dno't know, it
seems they just packed her into a carrier and left her there for whole
afternoon.  Withouth heating and chekcing her.  On the way back home, I
have her rolled in a warm sweater, the heating in the car was on max and
I massaged her, to speed up the blood circulation.  I called my dogs vet
(they don't have a clue about ferrets, that's why I didn't take her
there) and asked for the instructions.  When we got home i was seating
with her in the bathroom infront of a heather and continued with
massaging and warming her.  After a while she drinked some water and
licekd some vita paste.  During the night i kept her in a warmed bathroom
and rolled her into a warm sweater.  I gave her somemoist cat food (nutro
in little plastic bags, not wet kibbles).  And of course checked her few
times during the night.
 
Next day she was still a bit dizzy, but othervise she seemd ok.  For the
next few days I tried to make her to rest.  I separated her and Gulo
(beacuse of her wound) and just let them to play for short periods of
time (they really are fond of each other).  Everything seemd ok, and i
even let Kuna for a short time to be with them.  It seemd Tidra's hormons
are cooling down, and they weren't fighting.  I was even able to hold
them both (Kuna and Tidra) together in my arms and cuddle them.
 
Few days ago she attacked Kuna.  She must have bitten her pretty hard,
because Kuna got a bruise on her neck - I separated them imidiatly.  Then
in the evening she attacked Spela (the dog).  There was a mess (a crazy
ferret jumping on dog and big dog jumping around and tried to get rid of
a crazy ferret).
 
Ok, I forgot to mention, when we got her, she was i wild girl.  She got
herself a nickname Pitbull after making some "lovely" piercing in my hand
(read she masacred it).  She eventualy calmed down.  She was still biting
a bit, but it was more like just nipping (with controled power of a bite)
and there was no more blood and stuff.
 
For the last three days, she is like insane.  As I said, she attacked
Kuna, than Spela, than she made me some lovely wounds.  And yesterday
attacked Luka (my boyfriend).  And with attacking i really mean
attacking.  She literaly tries to jump on you and bite you.  And when
she bites, she bites realy hard.  Bites and bites and bites..  and when
she got a piece of you in her mouth she start to shake it - well it at
least hurt as hell.  For the last three days she is like made.  I can't
clean their cage if she is in the same room (i put them in the bathroom
inbetveen), i can't even pick her up.  I have to use towel to wrap her or
use the vita paste.  When she licks, I can touch her.  And hey, I don't
panick, when the ferret bites, I always tired to calm her down, but what
is going on, is at least a bit scary.
 
Ok, I think her hormons are getting crazy, beacuse she is also acting
like she will have babies.  She is like making the nest... Well, she
picked the strangest place for that - ferrets wc in our bathroom.  She
draged all the soft things there (my splippers, one of ferrets blankets,
also some pieces of meat).  And she somehow has Gulo for her baby.  She
always checks on him, when they get to sleep, she climbs on the top of
him (always on the top) and kinda embrace him with her front paws.  And
when i look at the cage, she is always looking back, like she was
sleeping with one eye open.
 
Well, the thing I am relly concerned about, happened yesterday in the
evening.  I noticed that one of the hammocks in the cage was wet.  One
of the ferrets pied on her.  First i tought Gulo was dreaming about
something (he is such a kid... a little polar bear)..  But when i got
them out to clean the thing, i noticed Gulo was wet on the back, and
Tidra was wet from below, so it must have been her, who pied... I put
them in a bathroom and in only few minutes (while i was cleaning and
changing the bedding) she urinated at least three times.  And when Gulo
was trying to get some relief on a ferrets wc, she was hissing at him...
 
Today the urine stuff seems to be ok, but she is still the hell of a
biter.
 
So... any advices?  Are these just the hormons?  Is this going on because
she was castrated after she got in heat (there was no other possibility)?
Could be that the vet did something wrong during the op.?  Could be
something wrong with her,because she was so long in hypothermia?  Could
her brain be damaged...?
 
thnx, for the future advices and sorry for all the mistakes i probbably
made... maja
[Posted in FML issue 4629]