Susan wrote: >About 2.5 months ago, I went into a Petco here to get some supples for my >pets. While I was there, I was talking to the manager, who is also a >ferret mom, and the new ferrets were delivered. These babies came from >Marshall Farms. I waited while they got things ready and then put the >little ones out. I was shocked! These babies each fit in the palm of my >hand. There were 2 of them, one male and one female. They were crying >and confused and looked so lots. The manager guess them to be at best, 4 >weeks old, which my vet later confirmed. I bought the chocolate sable >male because her was so much smaller. I let him stay with the female he >came in with until she was placed a few days later. When I got him home, >he screamed to be fed,screamed to be held, just screamed in general. Susan, I would like to ask - how was it determined that the kits were four weeks of age? By size? Weight? Teeth? I ask mainly because, even though it *has* been known for very underage kits (such as four weeks) to have been sent out, these occasions are thankfully few and far between. At six weeks of age my kits from last year averaged 10 ounces. Those kits all grew to be over 2 lbs when they left me at 15 weeks of age - one has reached over 7 lbs, so these were *not* small kits, in fact were likely far larger than the average MF kit at six weeks of age. At six weeks, those kits, if taken to a vet, would have been seen as four to five weeks. They're tiny at that age. Their teeth are still baby teeth, ferrets don't *start* teething until seven weeks of age. Weight of kits varies so much that it isn't an accurate way of telling without having experience with developing kits - a big meal (or not eating in some hours) can change the weight of one of these guys!! The two kits that you saw... were their eyes open? Ferrets are slow developers up until six to eight weeks of age, and then they make up for that slow development by shooting up suddenly. At four weeks of age, ferret kits still have closed eyes. The youngest I've had a kit open their eyes is four and a half weeks, up to five and a half weeks. I have had one kit open his eyes just a couple days shy of six weeks (although this isn't 'normal'). If a kit has any signs of teeth coming through, they'll be a minimum of seven weeks of age, if their eyes are open, they are almost certainly five weeks or older. Vets are not gods. I know that they have training and that they do hold the lives of our babies in their hands, but they don't know everything. They learn more from experience than from the classroom, and a vast majority of vets have never seen ferret kits before. Even less have seen enough young kits at varying ages to be able to accurately age them. Unless the vet has had extensive experience with ferret kits they can only make a "guesstimate" of age, and they will base that guess on development and they'll compare to animals they have knowledge of - e.g. cats and dogs. Both cats and dogs develop faster (relatively) than ferrets, and so ferrets will look less developed, therefore younger, as a result. Just because they look younger than six weeks doesn't necessarily mean they are. Sam ----------- To see some awesome ferret cards, drop in on http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~fanmail/cards/ferretcard.htm [Posted in FML issue 2716]