I'm a new ferret-enthusiast, by default.  As I have been raising exotic
birds for a number of years, and recently suffered an attempted rodent
infestation (they were eating thru the screen on my screened patio to
get to the bird seed), a friend suggested a ferret,  "... to keep the
damned rodents away - they're natural enemies!"  Rusty (a young male
sable who was previously abused, attacked by a dog, then thrown into
a cage at the local animal control facility, considered "unadoptable"
and scheduled to be put to sleep because he bites) escaped euthanization
by mere hours.  Yes, he balked at being removed from the cage (none of
the facility employees would handle him - I had to), but he just latched
onto me and wouldn't let go!
 
[Do you mean figuratively or literally?  ;-) Either way, good!]
 
Now for my questions :
1.   When Rusty gets frightened (by a stranger), he nips & sprays.
     Is this normal?  He doesn't behave this way with me.  Is this due
     to his previous mistreatment?
 
[Probably due to his mistreatment.  If you continue to treat him well he
will probably get over it eventually because he *trusts* you.  Though, when
you say "frightened" - did he have reason to be?  Or is he simply very
nervous?  Some of the books suggest that *some* ferrets are naturally a
bit nippy, but as long as you're prepared for it it's not all that hard
to handle.  The spraying is a little unusual, but give him time.]
 
2.   I treat him like a mischievous child (praise & scold accordingly).
     Is this correct?
 
[Perfect.]
 
3.   All he wants to eat is dry cat food.  I use Linatone as a treat
     for good behavior.  What should I add to his diet?
 
[I would suggest that you use a premium dry cat food (eg: Iams or Science Diet
Feline Maintenance - we feed exclusively the latter) because they are of
considerably better quality than most of the regular stuff.  Eg: low ash
content (tends to prevent various problems at least in cats) and better
protein.  Linotone is a good treat, though I caution you to keep an eye
on how much you give him.  Linotone contains vitamin A which is toxic in
"highish" doses - you will be fine if you restrict him to no more than
a couple of drops per day.  Our vet (an expert on Ferrets) approves.
There's also nothing to prevent you from giving him other treats (ours like
popcorn, peanuts and raisins amongst other wierd things) in moderation -
the variety may help a little.  Warning: they *really* like dairy products
like milk and ice cream, but they'll give him diareaha (sp?) - so watch the
amounts.]
 
4.   I was recently given a young female (silver-colored back & toes,
     sable legs) - what variety is she?
 
[Without seeing her, I imagine she's probably a silver, a silver variant,
or a light sable.  My sister-in-law's ferret is roughly the same (depending
on the season) and is a sable]
 
5.   He's about 2 yrs old, she may only be 8 mos, but she whips the
     tar out of him.  Normal?
 
[Yes.  Our vet has remarked that it is interesting to note that it isn't
necessarily the biggest ferret that's dominant.  When Toby was alive,
he wasn't actually dominant over our two females, he was simply so big
compared to them, that the females had to gang up on him.  Which they did
often!]
 
6.   Is there anything in particular I should watch out for if I cage
     the two together?  (Besides the obvious.)
 
[Are they spayed?  Particularly him.  If he comes into season he'll
likely become very antsy towards her, whether or not she's spayed.  And,
if she rejects his advances (because she's not ready or she's spayed), she
could get injured.  As far as your female is concerned, if she's not spayed
I strongly recommend that you buy one of the good books on ferrets
(Wendy Winstead's or Chuck and Fox Morton's books) to find out about
females being in heat.  It's a fairly long story which has been hashed
over in this mailing list before and I won't repeat here unless someone
wants me to.  In short, unless you plan on breeding her, get her spayed.
Period.  If you don't spay or breed her, she will probably not live long
enough to get thru her second heat cycle.  This is *not* a myth.
 
I'm being silly, you should have one of these two books no matter what - they
have far more detail on breeding than I can give you.
 
If you do intend to breed them, keeping them together should be okay
*until* he starts coming into heat.  Then, at least have them sleep
separately until she's in heat, arrange some privacy ;-) (for two or
three attempts), and then separate them til he's out of heat.  When
pregnant she may object to him being around - she'll keep him away, but
she's unlikely to be able to injure him]
 
One plus - she is litter box training him!  Oh, the ferrets are living
with 3 Rottweilers, 2 cats and about 100 exotic birds.  The birds were
quite nervous at first, but now accept their furry friends.  The ferrets
are curious about the birds, but keep a respectful distance from those
huge mandibles.
 
[Sounds like quite the managerie!  Good luck!]
 
Barbara J. Bowen                                  Phone: NCR  656-1314
EMAIL:  [log in to unmask]             (407) 323-9250 x 314
        (...ncrlnk!ncrorl!bjb)
                        "Bird-brain is a misnomer!"
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0044]