Steve mentioned ferret pinatas with raisins and dried cranberries inside...
What an idea!  They could be of some sort of safe material just in case
some is ingested, and interchangably hung from a string on a pole.  We have
not found that our crew is much impressed with those plastic balls that can
"leak" treats, but with what many of them enjoy we could imagine this going
over well.  Hmmmmmmmm... I wonder if the material from which Cheweasels are
made could be formed into a hollow ball shape, or alternatively, what sorts
of paper products would not cause any type of blockage hazard...
 
Charlie Weiss's tape is not ONLY of how cryosurgery is done.  It's got a
lot of diagnostic info, other surgical info and so on.  It's an affordable
way for a vet who is not a ferret vet to learn essentials easily --which
can make all the difference, or for vets who are ferret vets to learn
something new without the cost of a seminar or of travel.  Go to
http://www.ferretdoctor.com/
 
There are several thing that swellings in necks can be.  Of course,
something could be growing there, but that seems to be rare from what I
have read on the FML over the last dozen years.  Many ferrets DO have fat
tend to accumulate there, which can make it hard at times to know what is
being felt.  There are also lymph nodes there.  Like in humans nodes can
become inflamed from a range of things -- anywhere from milder infections
which will pass, to bad infections, to something serious like lympho.
Also, if it's an infection it could be a small localized one or a systemic
one, so other node locations should be checked.  In addition, people tend
to notice nodes more before they find what's normal for a given individual
(Meeteetse has "popped" nodes which have always been protuberant and has
also always had a rapid heart rate, yet at over 7 years she's still going
strong.) If unsure then see the vet and also have the vet show you to
axillary and poplitial nodes (Let's not trust my spelling today, okay?) for
future reference and monitoring.  Steve and I aren't vets, of course, but
this is some stuff we learned from them.
 
Another Debbie question: it pays to stay away from the arguments of others.
Been here a LONG time.  Sometimes people who on the surface seem wonderful
have some things they do off-list which would raise the hairs on a person's
neck.  Sometimes hearing BOTH sides of the story gives a totally different
perspective.  Know that sometimes you seem a bit innocent of things that
can happen on lists, and have been here pretty well FOREVER.  It pays to
stay away from disagreements unless BOTH sides are known and so on.
Otherwise, it is just too easy to get accidentally caught in the middle and
that can really hurt.  So, just take this as warning form someone who has
learned a number of things to hard way over the years so that you can avoid
similar pains.  It's friendly warning --like when someone who has stubbed a
toe on a particular protrusion tells the others coming later about that
problem.
 
I am REALLY enjoying the hard information from the recent FMLs, a trend
which June continued beautifully today.
[Posted in FML issue 2963]