Oh, I just recall where I found out about the slang term but it's not hte the most reliable of source, So, folks in Mexico (which turned out to be novel -- arrrggghhhh) is "Chipe" (pronounced "cheap-ay" actually a term for a warbler nad slang for spoiled brat? Ah, fevers and the confusion they can cause; hoping that i am getting past it now, though. We've had some very smart ones who also were very clumsy. Steve jokes that the brain area can handle just so much, but I wonder if they are just busy thinking so hard so much of the time that they lose track of their bodies. >>That is with 20 years of ferrets from an assortment of places. Most from >>anywhere make it to late in the 7th year into middle of the 8th year . >No disagreement here. I was ONLY addressing the point of the underage >babies. Then I don't understand why you got angry about my post on the longevity aspect. Very confusing. Oh, well. That's life, no biggie. The only thing I recall saying in relation to aging is that well known aspect that food deprivation early on stunts growth and affects behavior and health so that can confuse people therefore a more reliable method like dental aging is essential before conclusions are drawn. Think it's time to drop this back-and-forth stuff. It's not constructive. (BTW. in relation to the person who posted yesterday about the tiny Path Valley ferrets with bad runs, they could be very young or they might be suffering from nutritional deprivation caused by their runs so the shop should contact the breeder and should provide vet care.) The single best thing that has been done so far in this regard is Alicia's approach of getting a state law barring sale or transport of kits younger than 8 weeks, and then distributing dental aging charts. Yes, there will be some variability but this really tackles the problem and is a brilliant solution worth copying in the rest of the 49 states beyond New Hampshire. >Of course, in general they're also less docile than the MF ferrets, but >if you're only interested in longevity, you might want to contact him. If you meant that "only interested" the way that it reads it is uncalled for and you know well that it untrue. Heck, I 'm the one getting no sleep right now so why am I the one being civil? :-) The triumverate of health-longevity-temperament are what i care about as is well known and documented. Things like fancy colors and such are way down the line in things I personally consider important. Opinions may vary elsewhere; I don't know and don't particularly care in this instance. >>But Sandi, don't bash Sukie because you've had problems with MF. >What an interesting conclusion. Sukie claims that there are no ferrets >under 6 weeks of age in pet stores and calls those of us who know that >there, are liars (oh, oops, I guess that was Batman who said that). A. I did NOT say that nor did I call anyone a liar B. The Batman rumors stuff had to do with 3 false health rumors that were flying around. Didn't have squat to do with you or anything you said. Read more carefully and don't assume, please. Remember: my "thing" is health issues and I hear and then check into those health rumors as i also said yesterday. [Posted in FML issue 3796]