Someone asked if the Angoras are different than our American ferrets.  I
have a pastel from Denmark, Pumkin (Lynda - see the spelling?) and I can
tell you about his "ways".
 
Pumkin is about 8 months old and very different.  He is just as lovable but
doesn't take anything off of any of the other ferrets and does pester those
that want to be left alone.  Since he's joined our little family I've seen
stress behavior in a couple of the others.  Pumkin will get into a bed that
someone is sleeping in and if they squeak he just agitates them by rolling
around on them, which makes them squeak more (maybe he thinks they are
playing but it seems like a brother/sister pick-on-each other thing).  I
will take him into the other room several times before I resort to time-out.
The time-out is the only tactic that seems to work with him.  Scolding does
not good, he just goes right back and bothers them again.  Scruffing and NO
get the same response.  But after 10 minutes in the time-out cage he is very
relaxed and behaved... till next time.
 
Pumkin also gets upset easily with the others when they get mad at him.
Being so young he sometimes doesn't know when to quit and when one of the
others disciplines him he gets upset and gives twice as much back.
Yesterday morning he was picking on Dusty and Dusty had enough so he tackled
him and scruffed him.  Pumkin did not take kindly to that and so the tussle
began.  I removed Pumkin to another area several times but he kept going
back so I put him in time-out.  When I let him out he went over to Dusty and
Dusty was fed up so he snipped at him and Pumkin took off running down the
hallway with Dusty hot on his heels.  Pumpkin had learned the lesson....
that time.  :-)
 
Pumkin doesn't intend to be obnoxious at all, he just is young and with his
higher energy and different temperment it causes a few skirmishes.  He will
eventually settle down.  Pumkin is a little love.  He adoringly follows me
throughout the house whenever I'm home.  When I stand still he is always
standing up on my leg for me to pick him up and cuddle, hug, and kiss him.
And of course as his ever faithful servant I do exactly as requested.  :-)
 
Someone asked what ECE is.  ECE is viral (possibly Corona origin) and can
cause severe diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration.  ECE causes the lining of
the intestines to be shed.  Symptoms range from mild to severe, depending on
several factors including the age and health of the ferret, underlying
health conditions and the strain of virus the ferret was exposed to.  Route
of transmission is fecal/oral and can be transferred by carrying minute
particles on your body (hands/hair, etc.), clothes or shoes or allowing your
ferret contact with another, or the same area, that is infected with the
virus.
 
Duration of the virus runs from 3 days to 3+ months (other ailments may
surface during this time such as ulcers or bacteria overgrowths) with the
average being 3-6 weeks.  During this time the ferret may appear to get
better then have a relapse and some may seem as if they just want to die.
Aggressive supportive care helped us pull them through at this stage.
 
The consistency of the diarrhea comes in many forms including watery,
cottage-cheesy, seedy, tacky and pudding.  In some cases at one point, along
with the diarrhea there will be a very foul smell.  Worse than you can
imagine.  Colors range in the green, yellow, orange, and brown categories.
One particular color that may be seen looks like antifreeze.  Not all green
diarrhea is ECE.  Ferrets will occassionally have green diarrhea due to some
type of GI upset.  If the diarrhea persists more than one day, is profuse or
accompanied by vomiting it is advisable to consult your veterinarian.
 
In my experience,ferrets can be contagious (perhaps a carrier)for more than
1 yr 9 months.  The hardest hit in our group were in the 2 yr age bracket.
I've heard this from others as well.
 
It seems the key to treatment of ECE is prompt, and sometimes aggressive,
supportive care.  There are several sites on the web containing ECE
information.  We also have a hand-out that I can email to you at your
request.
 
Hugs to all. tle
[Posted in FML issue 2227]