Hi everybody!
 
SPRADDLE LEGS
And I thought Paleface was the only one!  When Paleface was a young lad, I
would pick him up and he would "spread-eagle." Silly little boy.  He outgrew
the habit as he came to learn that being held was pretty o.k.
 
LEAVING YOUR FERRET OUT ALL DAY
I would not recommend leaving your ferret(s) out all day, completely
unsupervised.  Just when you think that you have the house ferret-proofed,
they develop new interests!  : ) Whenever I am home and awake, Paleface has
free run of the house.  At night and when I am at work, Paleface stays in
his own (definitely ferret-proofed) room which is filled with toys, good
places to sleep, and good things to eat.  He knows my schedule and is
usually ready and waiting to come out in the morning when I wake up and in
the evening when I get home.
 
GREG
I too had tears in my eyes reading your story.  I am so sorry for you, but I
am sure that many people will echo what I have to say.  Clearly you were not
at fault.  You were doing your best to take care of the little one that you
have.  No one could have anticipated what they were going to do.  That poor
little one is at peace now; hold that thought in mind.  The best thing that
you can do is to keep reading to learn how take the very best care of your
fuzzies and keep posting and talking to other ferret folks to help share
your knowledge.  Think of all of the fur-babies that you will be helping!
 
MEDICAL QUESTION
I'm sorry to keep bothering everyone with my question, but we're still
stumped.  Paleface (5 yrs.  old) continues to be ill regardless of
treatment.  I am terribly worried about him.  His stools are very small in
volume and diameter.  They appear grainy and constipated, sometimes with a
mucousy coating (yucky, sorry).  The stools do vary from day to day; some
days they are more "normal" than others.  Additionaly, he is very lethargic.
The vet treated him for a helicobacter infection (amoxy and metronidizole
(sp?)) for two weeks with absolutely no improvement.  He is still eating
pretty regularly in pretty normal quantities, he is not vomiting, and he
does not strain to eliminate.  The vet does not suspect a blockage nor do I.
He is in a ferret-safe room when I am not around and is supervised when he
is out (see above).  Moreover, he is not prone to eating foreign objects;
he's a pretty mellow guy.  Should we pursue the blockage route
(x-rays/barium)?  Could any other illnesses cause these symptoms?  The vet
is hesitant to subject him to unnecessary trauma.  Please help...
 
Thanks so much,
 
Gina
and
Paleface (I feel yucky, mom)
[Posted in FML issue 1414]