Hi, folks. It's been many months since we've had a chance to post. I'll attempt to tackle some general info, specific questions, news from our 4, and a bit of wildlife stuff. A few weeks ago actually saw a female fisher or a marten around here, a very rare happening. Wound up having to report it to the state. First person said, "That's impossible." but when he realized my background put me on to one of the field people who would know better. He did. When he'd asked me all the needed questions to be sure that I knew what I'd seen and why I couldn't tell which of the two it was (Head and underbelly hidden from view, coloration in the overlap dark brown.) he told me that not long ago he got a fisher in one of his black bear tagging traps. The fisher was caught so close to the border of N.J. that it was almost in PA, but it had been tagged for study in upstate New York. How's that for a stroll? Black footed ferrets doing well. A lot of the old ones (about 8 years) have lympho. Breeding options have been improved by lighting controls and looks like a good year for kits. If all goes well with various forms and negotiations Canada will get some of the off-spring within a few years, maybe even next year. The narrow gene pool is turning out to be their worst problem. Report have come in of other colonies. They have varied from coyotes to prairie dogs to weasels, to reports that tightly fit BFFs which so far have come from miners who refuse to say more or they'll lose work. It's a shame, not only because of the serious inbreeding among captive animals, but because colonies can be wiped out in a few scant weeks by canine distemper and other illnesses or by illnesses which crash the "dogs" for instance plague. Re: hot cars. That was a real problem when we dealt with lympho and insulinoma in the past. We used blue ice or water ice in a SOLID container ane well wrapped in a towel and kept the critter with it in a carry cage when possible. During the hotest weather the ice went on my thighs (Can you say "uncomfort- able"?) covered by a towel with a nearby bottle of water with ice in it to rub on head and tummy for major cooling. Ask vet's advice when an animal has a respitory disease since too much cooling can sometimes also be bad then. Re: Ferret life spans. Typical is 7 -10 years , but specialists like Liz Hillyer (The person who figured out that ferrets should have Brewers Yeast daily to get enough chromium to reduce the chance of insulinoma) are complaining that all the inbreeding from suppliers is horridly reducing life spans. The chances of encountering this are greater with specialized coat or body types. As was reported by a member from Colorado running a ferret rescue they were seeing lives of only 4 to 5 years from that breeder. The bad press has had an effect, and the breeder is now bringing in some Swedish stock to refresh the bloodlines. The oldest ferrets we know of were 14. (Would the person who reported a Canadian small breeder mentioning such ages please see if the person is GETTING those ages and let us know who it is and how to contact if so?) The most recent 14 year old we know of was a convenience male who was neutered as a kit. There was once debate on whether being convenience (neutered as a kit) reduced life spans. From numbers collected personally, seen here, and from asking specialists who have worked with hundreds the consensus seems to be that being convenience may have no effect, but inbreeding is promoting cancers, deformities, and heart disease. One of our's is a "charity case"who is absolutely adorable with us now but must be kept from strangers. There is no reason to asuume that the following are associated genetically since they could be separate. The breeder was trying for fancy color ferrets with short faces and got a short face, alright plus the rest of Achondoplasic Dwarfism. Poor Ruffie has a long body, flat face, and short legs, etc. The only part of the syndrome that she does not have yet is slipped discs. Her lower legs and arms are deformed from uneven growth and have very restricted motion -- she can not even wash her face. Her ears have limited motion. She is often in pain and has to be massaged each day. Her second problem is intellectual retardation. This causes abberant behaviors and makes her likely (virtually always) to panic with strangers, with us if we don't smell like ourselves such as when we are ill, etc. Then she canine bites. The bruises are usually worse than the punctures by the way. She has several medical problems with her nose as well. Yet, you will never find a ferret who loves her people more (Oh, let me kiss you. Yes. Yes. I love you. and other sweet behavior) or is more attractive. She has -- bar none-- the thickest, softest (almost no guard hairs and pelage like a kit), longest fur (2" to 3"depending on season furI've seen and her face looks like a malamute puppy except for the slanted eyes. The person who asked about a ferret with a white streak on head and a few white toes could be seeing another genetic variant found in many mammals including some mustelids. It's only real problem if I recall correctly (Can't find my source right now.) is deafness or partial deafness. We have one who seems to have it who can not hear low sounds. Re: training. Praise and other positive training work better than any other training techniques. When you need adverse training for nipping or biting ferrets HATE the smell of toothpaste even more than that of bitter apple, bitter lime, of sour grapes. They are able to ingest small amounts if that happens without any worse problems than trying to gag it up, but perhaps some brands may be dangerous and have not been tried so you are best just having it smelled in case you try a brand which has something unsafe about it. Praise for going in the pot can even get them to the point of climbing in just to show off. (Accidents can still happen.) Don't be surprised that words work. Ferrets can put together words and subject- verb-object sentences. Fritter once overheard me say to Hjalmar, "Hjalmar, you stashed your fruitcake." She got up and began to search HJALMAR"S stash places till she found his cake on the third try. Hjalmar is having some problems. He looks like he has Cushing's Syndrome -- urethral infections, loose and wrinkled thin skin, pot belly, baldness, etc., but ultra sound shows that the adrenals are both slightly enlarged so that is not definite. He unfortunately has the enlarged liver and heart also seen with Cushings. (Also a large spleen but he's had that for 4 years so it means nothing.) Given that he's 7 and both adrenal glands may be working together on this, and he also has a probable mast cell tumor right over the knuckle of a toe which could be creating problems with histamine releases, and he has reduced nutrient uptake from previous colitis so must get his zinc supplemnents and have his pads treated with oil, and has possible mild insulinoma (most of his life was before the chromium precaution was known -- we will go with medicines. Unless a tumor shows up later and he can tolerate surgery it's NOT an option. Meltdown is carefully learning to be alpha ferret since Frit's death. It does not come naturally to her so she really has to work at it. "Choppy (from 'Chopper from Helicopter for her circular tail wagging and ability to climb anything to get anywhere) has had to cope with us finally designing a gate she can't cross so she has been moving and stacking (very unevenly and perilously) small boxes so that she can climb on the desk, steal disc, turn on the computer, move the mouse ball with her hands, hide under the printer hood if we come in, etc. Otherwise her favorite game is still to play dalek by lifting the edge of a light weight plastic basin with her nose, crawling under, and then dashing blindly around the room under it. Smell behind your little guy's ears and you'll find very active scent glands which they use when head rubbing (You're mine.) and face washing. The sneezing done when face washing pushes out extra musk. Their scent is VERY important for their self- reliance and identity. One of our's had NO scent and suffered greatly for it till we regularly put Deneuve perfume behind her ears and on her butt. Sukie Crandall plus Hjalmar, Meltdown, Ruffle, and Chopper [Posted in FML issue 0259]