Hey Ferret Lovers! It's April already! Here in New York it looks like we're starting the month out traditionally -- lots of rain. They say that April showers bring May flowers, so let's hope that's exactly how it turns out. Clarification
It seems that a lot of people are confused about the Ferret News newsletter and Modern Ferret magazine. This electronic newsletter (e-newsletter) is just that -- a brief e-mail publication that brings you some ferret-care information as well as updates on what's going on with Modern Ferret magazine. The e-newsletter is free. Modern Ferret is a paid-subscription paper magazine that ideally comes out every two months (we've been off schedule for a while due to Eric's health problems, some computer problems, and my own problems with depression). You can learn more about Modern Ferret and get subscription information at http://www.modernferret.com We try to be clear about which publication we're talking about, but it can be a little confusing. So from now on we will refer to each publication by its name only, and avoid using the word "issue" if we can. Still confused? E-mail me at
mary modernferret.com
and I'll see if I can help explain better. - Mary
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In this Newsletter- A Little Q and A
- Mother's Day! Memorial Day!
- Update on Modern Ferret Things A Little Q and ABy Mary R. Shefferman Children and pets Q: How do I make my parents say yes to getting a ferret? They always say that ferrets stink, but then I tell them that I will give the ferret a bath and keep the cage really clean. Still they still say no! Help! A: Parents. Who can figure them out? Maybe what you need to do is show some initiative in learning all you can about ferrets. See if your library has current books on ferrets. If so, take them out and read them. When you come to information about smell or other things your parents object to, you can point out how the "experts" suggest taking care of the ferret to reduce odor. If you can't find current books in your library, save up some money and buy some current books about ferrets (make sure they've been published in the last 8 years -- the more recent, the better). Show your parents that you are learning all you can about ferrets so that you'll be able to take excellent care of one. Remember, ferrets need yearly shots and checkups, they have to eat high-quality food, and as they get older they might need surgery. If you can show your parents all the research you've put into ferrets -- and that you're willing and committed to caring for the ferret (which includes putting aside money in case the ferret gets sick), then they might be more willing to consider it. Most of the time parents say no to their kids about pets because they think the kid will lose interest in the pet and the parents will end up taking care of it. If you can prove to your parents that you're responsible enough to continue caring for the ferret even if you lose interest in it, then maybe they'd let you get one. Pets are a big responsibility. They're living creatures, with feelings like our own. Make sure you're ready to take care of a ferret and your parents will see how committed you are and they might just let you get one. I know that's not the simple answer you wanted. But it is the answer. NOTE: A lot of people don't think about whose responsibility a pet really is. Ultimately, the pet is always the adult's responsibility. Kids aren't any more prepared to take full responsibility for a pet than they are prepared to care for a child of their own. For some ferret book suggestions see: http://www.ferretnews.com/ferret_calendar_ferret_book.html Roaning Q: I have a 3-year-old silver mitt who was a very dark silver until the about 6 months or so ago. She has begun turning white from the tail up, with somewhat of a texture change in the coat. My vet has no answers, and I am frantic about why. Is this normal? A: Just like people go gray, ferrets of certain colors (gray, white, blaze, panda -- ferrets with white fur on them) go white (or "roan"). It's a normal thing that happens with age. Every one of our ferrets with white fur has gone from dark to pale. Balthazar had very dark legs and striking white mitts when he was young. When he died at 5 years old, his legs were almost completely white/pale gray. You could barely tell he had mitts on his back legs. Ralph (a blaze) went from dark on his back to pure white from about mid-back down to the tip of his tail. You generally don't see this on sable or chocolate colored ferrets. Why? I don't know. But it is a normal age thing. The fur is usually coarser -- just like human gray hair is coarser than colored hair. Ferrets can go through a lot of color changes over their lives and with the seasons. When you consider that ferrets are in the same family as the stoat/ermine (which goes from brown in the summer to nearly all white in the winter), it makes sense that you'd see color changes on them. So ease your mind, your ferret is just going through a normal coat change that occurs with age.
Food and litter digging; deaf ferrets
Q: Our new little ferret Scotty keeps throwing all the food out of the food bowl onto the floor and all of the litter out of the pan. How can we get him to stop? We also think Scotty may have some hearing problems, even the vet was not completely sure. Would him having hearing problems make it a lot harder to train him? A: I'll take the second part of that question first: Yes -- hearing impairment can make it a little harder to train the ferret, but not impossible. You need to use visual cues instead of verbal ones. Make sure your ferret sees you before you pick him up, so he doesn't become skittish. You wouldn't like being suddenly picked up by a giant either. Make eye contact (you'll have to get pretty close because ferrets don't see very well). We used to make an angry face (furrowed brow and squinty eyes) for our deaf ferrets when they did something they shouldn't. I'm not sure if they picked up on that. If you tell them "No" and actually talk to them, the angry face comes naturally. I think they pick up on it better when you smile and give them a treat, so they can associate your happiness with good things. Also, discipline such as scruffing (holding the ferret by the loose skin on back of the neck) can be useful with deaf ferrets. Do not hit a ferret - it only makes matters worse. Now to the digging problems. First, you need to give him an appropriate place to dig. We have a big plastic bin filled with clean white rice (not Minute Rice). You could also use clean sandbox sand (from a toy store), or any other substance that's safe for ferrets. Don't use litter -- it will only confuse the ferret. Whenever Gabby (who is also hard of hearing) would dig in the litter box, we'd take her out and put her in the rice box. Over time, she learned to get out her need to dig in the rice box. She only digs in the litter box when it's clean (more fun, I guess). Balthazar used to dig in the litter box -- but only when he was frustrated with being caged. He knew that digging in the litter box would get him some attention. He'd even dig a bit and then look around to see if anyone had noticed. The food is another story. You can try putting the food in a dish that attaches to the cage and raising it up high enough that the ferrets can get their heads at it, but making it difficult to get their paws into it. You can fill the bowl less full (but then you'll have to fill it more often). The rice box might also help with the food-digging problem. There may be another reason for digging food out of the dish. Our Gabby spreads some food out on the floor so she can more easily pick it up. As a result of falling when she was very young, she broke one of her top canine teeth very badly, so she just has a little polished down stub there. She finds it easier to pick up the food off the floor than from the dish. For the bowl outside the cage, we've put it inside a cardboard box, so when the food gets tossed out of the dish, it's in the box and easy to clean up. Another reason ferrets kick food out of the dish is that they don't like the food or, if you feed a few types of foods mixed together, they don't like a particular food. It could be that they prefer one of the foods to the others, so they kick a bunch of food out of the bowl to make it easier to find the food they like. When Trixie was doing this, we solved the problem by putting her favorite food in a separate dish by itself. Update on Modern Ferret ThingsWe're still chugging along trying to get Modern Ferret #34 finished. This past week Eric and I both got a horrible cold that won't seem to let go. I'm sure we'll survive. Our friends Sue and George and their adorable daughter Sarah came by for a short visit while they're here in the United States from the UK. They picked up a bunch of stuff from us including Security Cubes, books (The Wit and Wisdom of the Modern Ferrets and 500 Things my Ferret Told Me), and Ferret Faces Address Books. Stay tuned for more. You can always get updates by reading my blog (a blog is an online journal). I keep it sporadically and it usually runs to the more personal stuff. But you might like it. It's at http://www.modernferretblog.com/mary -Mary & the Fuzzies: Trixie, Koosh, and Gabrielle
Ferret NewsPlease let your ferret friends know about this newsletter and encourage them to join. http://www.ferretnews.com Shopping at these web sites helps support this newsletter so we can continue to send it for free to all who want it: http://www.ferretdesigns.com http://www.ferrettradingpost.com You can provide feedback about this issue at: http://ferretnews.com/feedback.html or by sending email to:
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The shortened version of the disclaimer is: If your ferret is ill or you think your ferret is ill, bring your ferret to a ferret knowledgeable veterinarian. Copyright 2003 Modern Ferret magazine.
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