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 Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:17 am
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I tend to go all quiet on the forums when out of the ordinary animal stuff is happening IRL. ninja I've had good reasons to be largely absent for the last few weeks!
My first update concerns Roland, my big albino boy. A few weeks ago I discovered a small growth on the inside of Roland's bottom eyelid, which necessitated a bit of a freak out on my behalf. He is only three and I am so not ready to deal with him getting cancer! sad
He went in for surgery today [with the possibility of him losing the eye if my vet decided it was necessary) and came through it beautifully. He got to keep his eye and the vet found the growth to be a harmless polyp, thank god.
He has recovered remarkably well and is treating me to the incredulous offended attitude that only my Sweet Greasy Weasey boy can manage. rofl
You let them do what? I will ignore you!!!
The second update also concerns Roland, in part. Last hunting season he made it painfully clear to me that his days as a regular member of my working ferret team are very much numbered. He has been getting progressively harder and is at the point where underground catches are a certainty, not a possibility.
He will still have enough work to keep him fit and feel included but his time as my #1 grafter has passed.
I decided it was time to seek out a new kit to integrate into the group and spent the last few months searching for and sussing out breeders. I very specifically wanted a well bred albino jill from a working background with no DEWs or silvers in the lineage. So basically I sent myself on a wild goose chase as nearly all breeders breed for DEWs and silvers and most do their best to avoid albinos. gonk I also wanted it to be weaned onto raw. GOOD LUCK, right?
And as luck would have it I did find my kit! Bred from a long line of albino only (!) workers, no DEWs/silvers in lineage and weaned onto raw. The only twist was that the mother fert had met an unfortunate end due to a freak accident and the kits had been hand reared from two weeks of age. That wasn't ideal but the litter had been very well cared for and I was more than happy with their condition. I picked the most ridiculous jill! rofl She is absolutely crackers and is perfectly convinced of her ability to tackle elephants, bears and jealous whippets. Her name is, tentatively, Morrigan. Morri for short.
Don't let the fluff deceive you. She looks cute but she's actually insane.
And that isn't all.
During the search I had to wade through a lot of rubbish [and here I clarify that I am talking not about ferrets, but inept, incompetent and cruel humans] and stupidity. I followed a lot of false leads, some more promising than others, and during this process I found a kit in dire need of rescue; it had been weaned onto bread and milk and was a day or two from death. This baby presented with classic symptoms of Kwashiorkor- protein deficiency malnutrition- fur loss, rolled skin, huge pot belly, swollen paws, stunted growth, lethargy, diarrhea, rolled skin- ugh, what a mess.
No eight week old kit should look like this.
An no eight week old should be outsized by a six week old. And this is her looking 100 times better after several days of care.
She started growing in a new coat after two meals. She's never going to reach her full growth potential- she is stunted and her adult jawset is the smallest I've seen in person- but I am quite certain she will have a good quality of life. It is amazing how they bounce back. Unbelievable.
You can tell me off now!
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:05 am
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Wow, I'm so glad that you found that kit and took good care of it. I tend to believe that everything happens for a reason, and it seems that you were led there on purpose. So thankful for awesome people like you. Not so thankful for the idiots that did something like that to that poor baby. How did you come across it? Was it someone trying to sell it or breed it? Furthermore, how did you resist the temptation to punch the owner in the face? Ha, I kid, I know sometimes people are ignorant and genuinely don't know, but come on, that ferret is obviously sick! Grr. Yay for happy endings. biggrin
Curious, is there a reason you seek out albino ferrets? Are they better at hunting? Would love to know more!
I was actually going to contact you a few days ago. At the dog boarding kennel I work at we occasionally have a client that comes in with her two ferrets and boards them when she leaves town. We've educated her on better food (we gave her 3 bags of Evo ferret food free of charge) and some better litter, but the last stay there they were there for over two weeks in a very small cage she brought. We'd let them run around once a day with supervision to get some exercise, but I was wondering if you had any ideas for ferret enrichment items that we could make for next time? They were absolutely entertained by simple things like boxes and cat beds, but some things to put in their cage when they're not out would be nice.
Oh, and welcome back! ^^
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:55 am
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:00 pm
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Ailinea Wow, I'm so glad that you found that kit and took good care of it. I tend to believe that everything happens for a reason, and it seems that you were led there on purpose. So thankful for awesome people like you. Not so thankful for the idiots that did something like that to that poor baby. How did you come across it? Was it someone trying to sell it or breed it? Furthermore, how did you resist the temptation to punch the owner in the face? Ha, I kid, I know sometimes people are ignorant and genuinely don't know, but come on, that ferret is obviously sick! Grr. Yay for happy endings. biggrin Curious, is there a reason you seek out albino ferrets? Are they better at hunting? Would love to know more! I was actually going to contact you a few days ago. At the dog boarding kennel I work at we occasionally have a client that comes in with her two ferrets and boards them when she leaves town. We've educated her on better food (we gave her 3 bags of Evo ferret food free of charge) and some better litter, but the last stay there they were there for over two weeks in a very small cage she brought. We'd let them run around once a day with supervision to get some exercise, but I was wondering if you had any ideas for ferret enrichment items that we could make for next time? They were absolutely entertained by simple things like boxes and cat beds, but some things to put in their cage when they're not out would be nice. Oh, and welcome back! ^^
Me too! I found her by contacting a breeder who didn't end up having anything I wanted but who knew 'someone else' who had kits and gave me a number to chase up. That person didn't have anything either but he knew someone else...and so on. The last person I dealt with from that line of communication had seven litters on the ground and that many more to follow, because having kits was cheaper than having his jills spayed or jabbed. He didn't have to worry about finding lots of homes partly because of the heat [keeps 'em down!] and partly because he had a very high turnover rate. Kits don't cost much when you feed them old bread and milk and when most don't live very long anyway. sad
If it had been a money making venture or even a pocket money venture I wouldn't have taken her. As it made no difference either way I had no moral qualms- only felt terrible about those that had to stay behind.
I have had a lot of practice in keeping my cool when dealing with abusive, neglectful morons.
Albinos aren't better at hunting but they are much easier to see in the grass and blackberry patches. Nothing more than that! They are also easier to see at night which comes in handy for those times when I'm too busy to go during the day. Night ferreting is quite new to me and I don't feel comfortable taking dark coloured ferrets out after dark.
Dig boxes are wonderful enrichment! Very easy to make also- just get a storage bin, fill it a quarter to half way full of long grain rice [the non instant kind], cut a hole in the side for access and away you go. Probably wouldn't fit in a very small cage but it would certainly get their weaselly minds working and tire them out.
Black drainage pipe is also a big hit. 3nodding
Thanks ^^ |
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:07 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:29 pm
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Skeksis Cowgirl-with-heart aaaawww so precious, I love DEWs myself xD I am so glad you rescued that little one, poor thing! maybe you could work her? being stunted she might be able to use her size to her advantage! I like DEWs too, just not the way they are bred. People use them as cash cows here and breed them indiscriminately. sad If she just ends up being small but otherwise healthy then I'll let her try her paw at shifting early season bunnies, however if she displays any lack of vigour or mental disability [a possible effect of protein deficiency malnutrition] she will just be a pet. smile We don't mind having a bludger or two. wink |
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:21 pm
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Cowgirl-with-heart Skeksis Cowgirl-with-heart aaaawww so precious, I love DEWs myself xD I am so glad you rescued that little one, poor thing! maybe you could work her? being stunted she might be able to use her size to her advantage! I like DEWs too, just not the way they are bred. People use them as cash cows here and breed them indiscriminately. sad If she just ends up being small but otherwise healthy then I'll let her try her paw at shifting early season bunnies, however if she displays any lack of vigour or mental disability [a possible effect of protein deficiency malnutrition] she will just be a pet. smile We don't mind having a bludger or two. wink oohh I see smile I hope she is healthy and can have a good try at bolting them, cant you turn that guy in for abuse?? I see what you mean about the DEWs it's so sad sad how is Rushie feeling after her run in with the barbed wire?
Unfortunately they had food, water and shelter which means the RSPCA won't/can't do anything. sad
Rushie has completely healed and is back in action smile |
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:18 am
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Skeksis Cowgirl-with-heart Skeksis Cowgirl-with-heart aaaawww so precious, I love DEWs myself xD I am so glad you rescued that little one, poor thing! maybe you could work her? being stunted she might be able to use her size to her advantage! I like DEWs too, just not the way they are bred. People use them as cash cows here and breed them indiscriminately. sad If she just ends up being small but otherwise healthy then I'll let her try her paw at shifting early season bunnies, however if she displays any lack of vigour or mental disability [a possible effect of protein deficiency malnutrition] she will just be a pet. smile We don't mind having a bludger or two. wink oohh I see smile I hope she is healthy and can have a good try at bolting them, cant you turn that guy in for abuse?? I see what you mean about the DEWs it's so sad sad how is Rushie feeling after her run in with the barbed wire? Unfortunately they had food, water and shelter which means the RSPCA won't/can't do anything. sad Rushie has completely healed and is back in action smile |
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 5:52 am
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Cowgirl-with-heart Skeksis Cowgirl-with-heart Skeksis Cowgirl-with-heart aaaawww so precious, I love DEWs myself xD I am so glad you rescued that little one, poor thing! maybe you could work her? being stunted she might be able to use her size to her advantage! I like DEWs too, just not the way they are bred. People use them as cash cows here and breed them indiscriminately. sad If she just ends up being small but otherwise healthy then I'll let her try her paw at shifting early season bunnies, however if she displays any lack of vigour or mental disability [a possible effect of protein deficiency malnutrition] she will just be a pet. smile We don't mind having a bludger or two. wink oohh I see smile I hope she is healthy and can have a good try at bolting them, cant you turn that guy in for abuse?? I see what you mean about the DEWs it's so sad sad how is Rushie feeling after her run in with the barbed wire? Unfortunately they had food, water and shelter which means the RSPCA won't/can't do anything. sad Rushie has completely healed and is back in action smile you mean it is perfectly legal to just let them die of malnutrition there?!?! that is horrible sad I am glad Rushie is better though
They would look in the cage, see a bowl of bread and milk and say 'they have plenty of food, no problems here'.
I don't have much love for our RSPCA. I have tried to report people for neglected ferrets before and they didn't want to know about it until I mentioned the involvement of other [presumably more 'important'] animals. |
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:46 am
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Skeksis Cowgirl-with-heart Skeksis Cowgirl-with-heart Skeksis Cowgirl-with-heart aaaawww so precious, I love DEWs myself xD I am so glad you rescued that little one, poor thing! maybe you could work her? being stunted she might be able to use her size to her advantage! I like DEWs too, just not the way they are bred. People use them as cash cows here and breed them indiscriminately. sad If she just ends up being small but otherwise healthy then I'll let her try her paw at shifting early season bunnies, however if she displays any lack of vigour or mental disability [a possible effect of protein deficiency malnutrition] she will just be a pet. smile We don't mind having a bludger or two. wink oohh I see smile I hope she is healthy and can have a good try at bolting them, cant you turn that guy in for abuse?? I see what you mean about the DEWs it's so sad sad how is Rushie feeling after her run in with the barbed wire? Unfortunately they had food, water and shelter which means the RSPCA won't/can't do anything. sad Rushie has completely healed and is back in action smile you mean it is perfectly legal to just let them die of malnutrition there?!?! that is horrible sad I am glad Rushie is better though They would look in the cage, see a bowl of bread and milk and say 'they have plenty of food, no problems here'. I don't have much love for our RSPCA. I have tried to report people for neglected ferrets before and they didn't want to know about it until I mentioned the involvement of other [presumably more 'important'] animals. |
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Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Crew
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 4:29 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 4:38 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 6:18 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:16 pm
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:13 am
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