Well, I've successfully taught my little firebat to teach ME tricks!  I went
to San Antonio to retrieve Reverend Maynard (who is doing MUCH better,
thanks to all who were concerned!) and I was showing the family how I'd
taught him and Edie to sit up for raisins...Edie does a passable job, but
Maynard is such a natural, sits up really tall and straight.  So I
demonstrate this trick and Maynard executes it perfectly, and then about ten
minutes later as I'm sitting on the couch watching TV, he wanders in front
of me and sits up like I'm offering him a raisin.  He must have sat upright
for a whole minute...I was so impressed I had to give him another raisin.
After that worked once, he tried it on me several more times during the
weekend...I'll have to learn not to be such a softy!
 
I took Edie to the vet to get her distemper shot, and the vet looked at her
tail (which has no underhair, only long guard hairs), treated her for
earmites (which Cosette brought home from whichever breeder she came from),
and gave her the shot for $8.  this was in San Antonio.  My roommate took
Cosette to the vet, got rabies and distemper at the same time (!!YIKES!!)
and earmite treatment and it cost her $92!  I don't understand how there can
be such a discrepancy!  (this vet was in Houston) Oh well.  The vet said
that the loss of tail hair can be stress related and he doesn't think it's
adrenal or insulinoma...no tell-tale signs of either.  Any experience with
this?  If anyone knows a reasonable AND ferret-knowledgable vet in Houston,
I'd love to hear about them, otherwise I'll keep taking all non-emergency
vet trips to Dr. Gates in San Antonio.
 
Well, dooks and all that.  Please if anyone has any info on early altering,
could they pass it on to me?  I want to be very thorough on this project.
Thanks!
                                   --->Kelly
 |\__\           /__/|          Head of Animal Optometry
 |  o o         o o  |          "Damn you, Let the Rabbits wear glasses"
/    =p=     =q=   \          University of Houston
     |              |
Reverend Maynard: "I'm not looking at you."  Edie: "Snore, squeak."
** "A man talking sense to himself is no madder than a man talking nonsense
not to himself." **
      (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead)
[Posted in FML issue 1757]