Wasnt going to post that we had an addition to our family, but Zhivago, a
red eye'd white, has come home with us from petco.  The day we purchased
him, the girls getting him ready for us, confirmed our suspicions, he HAD
BEEN THERE A VERY LONG TIME!  They were happy he was finally going home
with someone.  They cheered, yeahed, etc, for the fact that someone
decided they WANTED HIM!  So what does that tell you?  My husband and i
had been in and out of that store for quite some time viewing the rather
larger than kit size ferrets in that small octagon tank they have to call
home, and decided one day, that eventually, IF he hadn't already found a
new home, the biggest boy would come home with us.
 
Well, as we had been watching him, play...he seemed to walk funny, more
arch to his back, sometimes favoring his front legs, he w/also go down
on the front legs, and push with his hind quarters, to ambulate.  Decided
he had to go to vet, with Bandit (who still has a swollen spleen, and is
scheduled for surgery 2May) to be check by the Dr. for anything like
breaks, xrays if necessary, off he went with Bandit, Jupiter and mom.
(dad had to work).  Our vet checked him over and determined that his
conformation was off?  I am wondering if the size of the container that
they were confined to has anything to do with this, as they seldom got any
exercise if any out of that octagon tank, except to be held by someone
looking @ the ferrets, and the larger they got, as well as having to share
space with so many others, has conditioned him to arch more, to cover less
distance with a dash of ferrety play?  I feel that if he really would have
stretched out in there, he would most likely, if he hadn't already, run
numerous times into the sides of the octagon and therefore decided that
if he was going to get any activity in, that it had to be on a smaller
(more restricted) scale?
 
I hope you understand what i am trying to determine here.  Hopefully with
free roam, he will out grow this, but has anyone else noticed this?  Or
are there no more large ferrets (young adults) in tanks like Petco has
been keeping theirs in?  There are about 5-6-7-8 ferrets in there and
all about the same size, NOT the baby, but older?
 
Suggestions/comments welcomed.
 
regards
donna
[Posted in FML issue 3759]