Hey Ferret Lovers! I hope everyone had a wonderful week! We spent a lot of time with the ferrets last weekend (they got baths, which they love … well, not really). We're still amazed at how well our little Trixie gets along, being over 7 years old and blind now. She still climbs up on the bed and somehow always finds the litter box. She's a little wonder-ferret. In this newsletter, we have an article about depression in ferrets. I was responding to someone's question and just kept writing. I figured it would be good to share my thoughts with you, our Ferret News readers. We also have a quick tip about bathing ferrets and a reminder that Father's Day will be here before you know it, so you'll want to start shopping for that perfect Ferret Father's Day gift (hint: try a "World's Greatest Ferret Dad" T-shirt at www.FerretDesigns.com). --Mary
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In this Newsletter- Could My Ferret Be Depressed?
- Father's Day Gift Ideas
- Quick Ferret Bathing Tip
- Update on Modern Ferret Magazine
Could My Ferret Be Depressed?By Mary R. Shefferman If there has been a major change in your ferret's life or health, she could experience depression. Although, for the most part, ferrets adapt to new people, ferrets, surroundings, and situations very well, sometimes the changes affect the ferret's life so much that she is slow to adapt to the change. This can be especially true of older ferrets. Your ferret might become depressed if his cagemate or best buddy has died or is otherwise removed (if one or the other needs to be isolated because of illness or injury). It is also seen when a human in the family dies or leaves the home or when the ferret is abandoned by his owner (that is, turned in to a shelter). Depression can also occur when the ferret is ill or injured or if another ferret in the group -- or the ferret's cagemate -- is ill or injured. Of course, there will be some normal grief period when a cagemate or best buddy dies, but we can often prevent a serious depression by trying to involve that ferret in play and by giving her more attention. If you have several ferrets, other ferrets may also help in keeping the grieving or depressed ferret involved in things (it's amazing to watch this!). Usually with depression you'll notice the ferret is disinterested in play, food, and other things that she is usually interested in (for example, toys, games, or treats). This withdrawal behavior is a characteristic of depression in ferrets as well as in humans. Basically, it's a lack of interest in things that used to be enjoyable. Also like depression in humans, an important avenue of treatment is to keep the affected animal company and involved as much as possible. Sometimes we may think a ferret is depressed, but he is really stressed (and, after all, an excess of stress can lead to depression). Any one of the "life events" that can cause a change in the ferret's normal routine can cause stress. Things like moving to a new place, not getting enough playtime, getting less attention, or losing a friend (animal or human) can create stress, which can lead to health problems. (You can read more about stress in ferrets in Ferret News Newsletters #28, 29, and 30 at: http://www.ferretnews.com/archives.html.) Stress does not cause illness, but it can create an environment within the ferret that allows illness to flourish. We can pull most ferrets through depression or stress with TLC and careful monitoring of food and water intake (as well as litter-box output). If the ferret dies, it can be as a result of starvation or dehydration (this is rare when a caring human is attentive to the ferret) or, more commonly, because the ferret becomes susceptible to illness (as discussed above). You may need to force-feed the ferret or give (or have your vet give) subcutaneous (under the skin, also called "subQ") fluids to keep the ferret nourished and hydrated. A ferret that becomes malnourished or dehydrated is more susceptible to illness and can become confused, forgetting to eat or drink. In a depressed ferret, you may see a lack of will to fight an illness. Sometimes even with our best efforts to treat the illness, the lack of will to live gets the best of the ferret and he dies. In other cases, we are able to raise the ferret's spirits enough to bring him through the illness. So depression in ferrets is really quite similar to depression in people, without the higher-functioning symptoms seen in humans (such as difficulty concentrating or thoughts of suicide). It may be best described as despondency (in low spirits). Lots of TLC and keeping the ferret involved in play as much as possible are the "cures" for depression.
Quick Ferret Bathing Tip Warm the towels in the dryer before giving them to your ferrets for drying themselves. They really seem to appreciate this. It also seems that ferrets who can't quite figure out that towels are for getting dry (you know the ones -- they try to dry themselves on plastic tubes or the bare floor) are more likely to huddle in warm towels. There's nothing wrong with spoiling your ferrets! Just make sure the towels are not too hot.
Update on Modern Ferret Things It looks like we're finally in the home stretch with the magazine. I can't believe it has taken as long as it has to get this issue finished. But, I think, it will be worth the wait. We have a great story on a giant ferret (see Ferret News newsletter # 39 at: http://www.ferretnews.com/issues/ferret-news-39.html). If you don't already have a subscription to Modern Ferret Magazine (the print magazine we publish -- not this electronic newsletter), go to
http://www.modernferretstore.com
and order a subscription.
Or just get the current issue or a few back issues.
That's all for now. Go hug your ferrets!
-Mary & the Fuzzies: Trixie, Koosh, and Gabrielle
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
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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