A number of FML's back, a writer asked that we submit some data on any old ferts we might have been owned by. In my household, there were 2. My first ferret was Bubba, an albino, from, I believe, Marshal Farms. (He had the tatoo's!) Bubba was the most healthy ferret I have ever seen. Only problem with him, was...........he was blind. Didn't stop him though. As long as nothing was moved, he knew exactly where he was, at all times, both here at home, and at work..where he spent each and every day with me. He was my guard ferret..even said so on the door...BEWARE OF GUARD FERRET. (Got people looking down so they didn't step on him..he had to greet everyone at the door...it was a computer store) I digress....Bubba never had a sick day, to my knowledge..ate like a horse and aimed to please. He had 7 behavioral modifications that he performed almost every time on cue and was a cuddle ferret..I imagine that being blind, he was much more dependent on the tactile sense of touch for his security..he was very content to spend all the time I would permit in my lap. When Bubba was 10 1/2 (Accurate, as I purchased him as a 6 week old kit at a pet store) he went to sleep with his favorite toy (he had several and knew each by name and ALWAYS knew where each was!) and never woke up. Billy-Bob was a silver who entered my life a year after Bubba did..Bubba was a 6 month old ferret who was 'abandoned' by his owners to me, because he was deaf. Billy was a sweetie who learned to look around when ever someone stamped the floor...he was very adept at reading hand signals. Billy's first family purchased him in Canada from a pet store and I believe he was Hagen ferret...(Am I right..who is the big breeder in Canada??) Anywho... Billy was relatively (SP?) healthy until he was 8 1/2 when he developed adrenal problems. He had surgery and lived on for 6 months. He was active up until the end when he suffered a massive stroke and was completely paralized from the neck down. I was forced to put him down..I cried for 2 days afterwards...I may be man but my fuzzies are the same as my children. My ferrets have always had Mazuri ferret food or its Ralston-Purina predecessor. I never skimped on raisins and each fuzzy drank more of my milk and ate more of my chocolate than I did! Fatty foods were a treat..did I say that french fries are good training aids??!! For years, they got Linatone for their coats..until Ferretone came out...2 minutes of good licks each and every morning. As Pam Greene will attest, I have disagreed with her on diet issues. I believe wholeheartedly that if the base food is good, and the fuzzies get lots of good exercise, 'garbage food' treats will not hurt them in the least. ( I have never practiced moderation in the treat department as I am a pushover for a begging fert!) Sorry Pam :-) I DO agree with you on everything else!! I won't talk about Garret right now other than to say he is now 6 1/2. He thinks he's still a kit. My 'baby' is Snorkle. Snork is an MF fuzzy that came to me because he was inadvertantly shipped at 3 to 4 weeks to a good friend's pet store. Snork could neither eat or drink yet and fit in the center of the palm of my hand. He was dying. Mike asked if I thought I could help. I said hell yes....Well...Snork is now a 4 plus pound ferret, five months old whose sole purpose in life is, apparently, to please. I do believe he will accept more behavioral modifications than Bubba did. Already he knows 'kiss'..a lick on the nose. He also knows 'big kiss', where he will sorta half yawn and gently bite the whole tip of my nose. And, he will yawn on command. All with a simple, "Snork, do this or do that". In the privacy of the house, he will do all asked of him with no cajoling..in public, he has to be prompted a bit more...he loves it when we go somewhere...as he is still distracted easily. Oh yes..he IS a rarity for a Marshal Farms ferret..he is a Panda..with white mits and a white tipped tail. He doesn't talk much when he plays..he hisses! It is funny to listen to him run..hiss, hiss, hissssssss, hiss...hop, jump, hissssss...He has never had a penchant for nipping or biting..as many kits do..he has always 'mouthed' when playing but never clamped his jaws. MF sure sent me a wonderful friend to replace Billy. (Garret I love but he is my son's fuzzy...Bubba and Billy were mine..I was lonely without them) Oh yes..and for the ferret smell discussion, he smells like popcorn! Things happen in the most extrordinary ways and with the most amazing timing. What wonderful little creatures these ferrets be! Joe (The rude one) Garret.."Hey..I can kiss too!" Snorkle.."What is this? I have to stick my head down in three inches of water just to get a raisin??!!" [Posted in FML issue 2105]