Hello FML - have been reading up on back issues of FML & a few did not come in so have only bits and pieces of some of the action going on. And, yes, o.k. so some I scan thru pretty quickly. For Dr. Mick - natural selection on eating, huh? Will not over-eat, huh? Only humans do this. Well, please tell my ferrets about this. I advised them of your letter. They just snickered and went behind the bed to finish eating the can of Pounce cat treats Sweet Hart had opened for them. I have twice had bad tummy upsets in all or most of my ferrets when Sweet Hart stole 2 lb. cans of raisins and opened them in one of his secret hidding places so everyone could pig out. Ever see ferret poop made up entirely of raisin skins? Sweet Hart does not need to use tools as recently discussed on these pages. His large jaw spread mouth is his tool. He can open anything. This includes large storage cans in which I mix my feed -- Huge Iams cans designed to store dog food. He simply works around the rim until he pops off the lid. He prefers to eat directly from storage rather than bowls. Biting thru Nutrical tubes is o.k. for most of my hoyidans, but Sweet Hart can take off the top and squeeze the tube by standing on it or biting hard on it. Nothing in my house is safe -- and no place is good for storage since they can climb to cupboards and open the doors. A hiding place is just another short term challenge. Robin - I can sympathize with your frustration over having the litter box moved from the corner so a fuzzy could poop on the carpet. I have several who move the litter boxes out of corners because they are blocking their potty spots. Only solution I have found is to put down newspapers under the box and in the corner - a bit up the wall. Sunday advertising supplements in your paper are good for this. Chris - Sounds like you have either a cinnamon mitt, a chocolate mitt, or a silver mitt. The white hairs with darker at the hindquarters you describe, is feathering most frequently seen in heavy silver mitts or sable mitts. The white undercoat is more indicative of a silver or sable mitt -- but the taupe guard hairs are seen in chocolate or cinnamon. Cinnamon would have guard hairs showing red or reddish brown (Hold to light best to see color) and chocolate would have range from warm honey to deep chocolate. You probably have a "mixture" such as shading of chocolate and silver. Is all this clear? Sometimes it is hard for even the best experts to decide on color, and ferrets varying significantly from color standards set by various show groups are often referred to as "mutts". This should not be insulting. Many of us who have a number of ferrets and breed, vie heavily with other breeders in the Mutt Specialty for the Best Mutt -- that is the ferret most off on color standard. We breed for health and purity, but have fun with our odd colored ferrets. Go figure. Regarding ferrets scratching legs and feet under the covers, this is a chronic condition in my house. Since most of my ferrets stay out and many sleep with me, I have plenty of annoying experiences with this problem. My legs usually look like I've been running bare legged thru bramble bushes. I think it is natural for most animals to "scratch up their bed" before settling down. Also, since this behavior is often accompanied by little nips - it may be a form of affection too. Ferrets who scratch too hard usually end up suddenly on the floor. This, unfortunately, seldom deters them for long. Sigh. Theresa - Your crying baby is normal. After leaving his litter mates behind and quickly learning to love his new friends, he naturally does not want to be put away where he cannot reach you. Either he will outgrow this soon, or you will cave in and let him stay out with you as he wants too.. Of course, the best solution is to get him a young playmate of his own kind. Two ferrets are as easy as one : ) Bob - You are not alone with your "ferret virus". This is a very serious compulsive disorder often seen in ferret owners. I, too, suffer from this syndrome. Recently, I tried to join FAA (Ferret-aholics Anonomous), but was kicked out because I did not have enough. Seems that as ferrets go, you must own 25 or more to be considered to have a serious disorder. To give you an idea, I thought I owned 16 (they move too fast to get an accurate count), but was surprised to learn when making a role call list that I had 17! Help. I missed out on whatever caused the "flame" about big boned ferrets -- but my German and Canadian ferrets are larger and with heavier bones than their American cousins. I have an early neutered Canadian jill (sprite) who is in winter coat and tops four pounds. Just imagine how big she might have been had she not been neutered at 4 weeks. My German hob goes over 5 pounds at top weight, and this is all muscle and bone. My forefinger and thumb can barely circumference his tail. Black Hawk, an American bred hob is large boned and heavily muscled, but not as big as the German. My heaviest breeding jill is 2-1/2 pounds and my smallest is under a pound. All are American origin except one who is part German. One 3 month old part-German hob shows promise of being nearly as large as dear old dad. I don't pretend to know why imported ferrets are often larger than their American cousins - but I have some guesses. Debi - I could not finish reading your letter. It was too painful. You said the other day when you went in the room to see Logan.......... I was struck by that comment. How often does anyone go to see Logan and does he ever get any care whatsoever. How often is he fed? From your letter - this seems random. Of course he is not social. He is severely traumatized. Any of us who rescue have dealt with ferrets like Logan. It breaks my heart. You have to do something about this situation, or I do not see how you can live with yourself. I don't know where you are writing from, but get the ferrets to a shelter, if you know of one. If not, let us know where you are so we can help you. You were brave to write out on FML about this situation. Now be strong. Those of us who care on line will not let you down. Contact me at anytime. Contact Pam Grant for a shelter in your area, or any who have spoken out on line about this situation. You know what you have to do. My telephone numbers are 703-765-4343 or 703-765-3112. Pam Grant can be reached at STAR [log in to unmask] If your boyfriend attempts to abuse you, call the police. It is against the law to abuse humans or animals. You can file charges, or you can just get yourself and the ferrets away. Please do not delay. Please do something now. Honey, I stood down armed men to rescue two stolen ferrets -- you can get two ferrets away from your boyfriend. meg [Posted in FML issue 1403]