Remember that while I wrote:
>In areas where there are not as many good vets I do think that the death
>rate bell curve would move toward the earlier death dates because vet
>care matters.  Yes, I know some people can't afford it.  I understand
>that; we can't afford more room for the ferrets to bounce around in.
 
as part of my mentioning how very important good vet care is, that it WAS
exactly that -- part of a discussion of how important good vet care is!
Given the choice of more ferrets and less vet care OR fewer ferrets and
more vet care Steve and I have always opted to have fewer ferrets and use
the help of vets more often.  As I wrote, I think that also is one of
the reasons our typical age of death is higher than what some people
encounter.  It's like humans.  Some will just live long no matter what
due to genetics, but for the vast majority medical care is why we are
still around after our peak years (and sometimes even after just infancy)
whether due to emergency room visits, surgeries, medications (like for
those of us here who have serious things from heart problems, to
auto-immune diseases, to asthma, to...).
 
For longevity I put good vet care right up there with a LOT of physical
and mental exercise, and to paraphrase/quote Bob Church and a number of
others through the years, including some old ferret keepers (who used
different words but the same meaning): ENRICH, ENRICH, ENRICH!  That is
so important and I hope that everyone realizes that!  (BTW, do get that
issue of Ferrets magazine.)  You can also find a lot of enrichment tips
by going through past FML issues (though not all are in the archives at
least some (?) of the missing ones can be gotten using the SEND FERRET
nnnn function) looking for key words like games, play, toys, maze,
exercise, puzzle, etc.  Bob's posts in the last few years and his article
are the best compilations, and he has used a lot of inventiveness.
 
Oh, also two other people put up some sites with some toys that look like
ferrets would love them.  I'd love to hear if anyone has seen how they
are received long term.  Steve and I can't put them in the budget just
yet but DO have them on a wish list.  Also, does anyone have a way to
safely enough net the upper holes in the over-the-door toy so that they
will not jump?  Oh, and how many here recall that GREAT ferret activity
video with the J-pop song from someone's ferret play room?  Is that still
up?  If so, does anyone have the URL?
 
Here are the URLs of those toys I'd like to know more about:
http://www.tarzansferrets.com/hexapus.htm (though we get a similar and
more complex result by knotting multiple lengths of tubing together into
a big Gordian Knot so it isn't first on our list
 
http://www.tarzansferrets.com/seesaw.htm  (I really lust over that one
since ours already love the other teeter totter I made for them.)
 
http://www.tarzansferrets.com/spiral.htm  (This one also strongly
intrigues me.)
 
http://www.lakeside.com/details.asp?
ITN=CPT&ITMPG=1&ITMTOT=8&CAT=1&KWD=cat&ST=KWD&SS=SOR
 
Has anyone noticed how much ferrets like passing from one area into
another?  I wonder if hanging changeable curtain mazes (with the bottoms
weighted or perhaps run around rods and moveable side to side with
effort) so that the ferrets can discover that they can be moved only if
they work it would be another way to enrich a ferret room.  I wonder if
the panels of the various ferret play pens could be covered and used to
create mazes that can be changed...
 
Lynda wrote:
>This is something I also think, but when people are telling you 10/12
>years and you see such a shorter lifespan...you question your ability
>and care.
 
Remember when I mentioned following up with longevity stuff years ago
because I was hoping to find some incredible lines out here to buy from?
Well, it turns out that the very long lived ones are very rare, so they
can't be used for comparisons.  Now, I DO know two people who managed to
have 9 and 10 year olds very regularly no matter what the stock and both
were able to provide a large play area with a LOT of things for their
ferrets to do and had sleek, extremely athletic ferrets.  If we could
afford to add anything here it would be that because I do think that
would help the longevity results we get (which have been usually late
6th year to mid 8th year in our family through the decades).
 
Oh, and I recently heard from someone why I couldn't get longevity
results for one OW area.  Without permission of the person who told me
I won't narrow to the area mentioned.  It seems that in at least one
locale the local lore has been that ferrets have one good hunting season
and that it appears that they are not kept alive after that age by some.
(Obviously, we all know from shared info here that this is NOT
universal.) Hopefully, that sad approach is a very rare thing; I honestly
don't know.  It may be, though, that if those who hunt with ferrets get a
lot of publicity about older hunting ferrets and how well they do that
maybe it will help have an impact.  At least, I hope so!
[Posted in FML issue 4794]