I've been told off list that ferrets don't usually have their eyes open at 3-4 weeks of age. Not being a breeder, nor caring to have any experience in that field, I've only had experience bottle feeding a couple of baby ferrets and one of those did start opening his eyes at 3 weeks. (The mom had died giving birth the day before they were brought to me.) A ferret breeder (or so he said) was also here when the ferret I reported about was brought in and he thought the baby was "under 4 weeks". Her ears were not fully extended but her eyes appeared to be almost fully open. I thought the gunk in her eyes was because she was ill and I've no idea if she could hear or not. Petco employees are just now telling people that this same group of ferrets are 5 weeks old, based on what their supplier told them. So I don't really need to worry about a libel situation since Petco is verifying their young age (whether accurate or not). By the way, these are not MF nor PV ferrets. Several years ago, when Petco began selling rabbits they did what appears to be a similar thing when they ordered a supply of baby rabbits from somewhere back east (that's where they got the best price). The bunnies were shipped at about 2 1/2 weeks of age and there was over 80% casualties just during shipment. Their buyers don't seem to always make the best decisions about how to stay "profitable". Sandi Ackerman Best Little Rabbit, Rodent & Ferret House Seattle, WA [Posted in FML issue 2581]