Ferret News
Pet Ferret Care Tips
and Information
By Mary R. Shefferman & Eric Shefferman & Gabby, the ferret
www.ferretnews.com

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Modern Ferret News Mailing List Issue #26
http://www.ferretnews.com
August 8, 2002

by Mary R. Shefferman and Eric Shefferman
contact: marymodernferret.com
======================================================

Hi !*FIRST_NAME*!

Wow -- we put up a whole bunch of products on the

http://www.cafeshops.com/ferretdesigns

site, and now there's even more great news!

$5 flat rate shipping, with free shipping if you
spend $50 or more!
Plus you get $2 off on tank tops, women's tank tops,
and baseball jerseys!

Soon this new site will be integrated with our
www.FerretDesigns.com site, but until then the new
site has all the old Ferret Designs products plus
all sorts of great new ones!

- Eric


>>> In this issue: <<<

==> Sick Ferrets and Chicken Baby Food
by Eric Shefferman

==> Ferret Useful Tips: Set #3
from your fellow Modern Ferret News readers

==> Update on Modern Ferret Things


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---------------------------------------------------

======================================================

==> Sick Ferrets and Chicken Baby Food
by Eric Shefferman

Our boy Balthazar started having some bad poo this
past weekend. This is unfortunately a problem he's
had on and off for a long time. So far we've never
been able to identify a cause -- and no matter what
we do for treatment, he generally gets better in a
week or so anyway. Usually he stays perky the entire
time, he just has bad runny poo. We usually just
give him Kaopectate for a few days and watch his
behavior carefully.

--- Aside: ---
Always check with your veterinarian before giving
your ferret any medicine. Make sure you are getting
the proper dosage for _your_ ferret (many dosages
are based on weight).
If you are filling a prescription for your ferret
at a pharmacy, make sure that the pharmacist knows
he is filling a prescription for a ferret, otherwise
the pharmacist may assume the dosage is a mistake
and make up a child's dose of the medicine instead
of a ferret's dose.
--------------

This time was different. Balthazar got very lethargic
and even stopped being interested in treats.

When a ferret gets like this, it is important to
start providing supportive care right away. With their
fast metabolisms, they can quickly dehydrate as well
as start having problems from low blood sugar. You
can rapidly go from having a slightly ill ferret to
having a ferret at death's door.

One of the things we started him on right away was
chicken baby food. We use Gerber 2nd Foods Chicken
and Chicken Gravy flavor (we always keep some stocked
in the house in case of emergency).

To get Balthazar started on it, we watered some down
a little bit and heated it up a little bit to get it
warm. Then we put it in a feeder syringe to be able to
make sure we would be able to get it into him. He was
soon fairly eager to lap at the feeder syringe.

--- Aside: ---
At the same time, we started him on a low dose of
prednisone. This is what our veterinarian had
recommended to help reduce whatever inflammation
he has going on in his intestines.
--------------

Once Balthazar had started eating the baby food
regularly (we were feeding him several times a day)
we were able to switch to allowing him to lap it
himself from a small saucer.

We add a little water to the baby food and mix
it up so it has a slightly thinner consistency, and
then microwave it for ten seconds. We use a special
spoon (for human babies) that turns color if the mix
is too hot. We then also check it by finger (after
all, ferrets aren't accustomed to eating hot foods).
By warming it a bit, it helps make it give off more
yummy aroma to helps get a reluctant ferret to eat.

Within a few days, Balthazar went from being wobbly
on his feet to being his normal bouncy self.

It is a good idea to get your ferrets accustomed to
the taste of a supportive food such as chicken baby
food _before_ they get sick, so that they will already
like the taste. Our ferrets Gabrielle and Koosh both
consider chicken baby food to be a treat and they both
start begging when we are feeding Balthazar.

The easiest time to get a ferret accustomed to
different foods is while she is still a baby,
but even most adult ferrets can be brought around
to appreciating the taste of chicken baby food.
It's nice to have a food that can serve as a gentle
"comfort food" to help an ill ferret get on the
road to recovery.

- Eric

---------------------------------------------------
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---------------------------------------------------

======================================================


==> Ferret Useful Tips: Set #3
from your fellow Modern Ferret News readers

Wow! We've gotten a lot of great tips, stories, and
ideas in the email! Here's another batch of them.
More will be coming in future issues!

Big thanks to everyone who wrote in!

--- Ethie wrote: ---

Hi Eric and Mary,

First of all, I love your magazine. About the
Ferretone oil stain: Try baby powder. It works
with all kind of oil stains. Just put it on and
let is sit on your clothes and wash them the next
day. Trust me, it works.

--- ************ ---

Thank you! (For more information about the magazine,
read this issue's Modern Ferret Update.)

It's great to have some options for dealing with
Ferretone stains! That's the kind of thing you'll
only find discussed by ferret owners!

- Eric

--- Karolyn wrote: ---

You talked of things fuzzies like to push around
with their nose. Ours have always loved pushing
ice cubes around. We just drop several on the floor
and it's like an instant hockey game.

--- ************** ---

With all this hot weather we've been having lately,
that sure sounds like a lot of fun! Good and cheap
too -- as long as you have a floor you can get wet.

It's funny how many ferrets are interested in all
forms of water _except_ bath water.

- Eric

--- Mandy wrote: ---

This is a game I play with my Albino male. He
goes into one end of one of those stretchy plastic
tunnels and I pick up the other end and place it
carefully on my bed. Then he climbs up and waits
-- as he comes out the other end, I have to clap
and cheer as if he is really clever. He goes mad!
He bounces around and slips off the back of the bed,
then he runs around for another go. Sounds crazy but
he loves it.

--- ************ ---

I think that really helps to demonstrate that the
very best ferret toy is YOU! It's up to you and your
ferrets together to come up with neat games to play.
So perhaps the best thing to do now would be to
finish reading this and go off and play with your
ferrets a bit!

- Eric

---------------------------------------------------
Do you have any tips or ideas you'd like to share?*
Games you play with your ferret?
Tricks you've taught your ferret?



Send an email to feedbackferretnews.com

with your tips and we'll publish the best ones
in a future issue of this newsletter.

*We've already gotten a bunch of great ideas
and are looking forward to receiving more!
We'll be publishing them as we have space in
future issues so stay tuned!
---------------------------------------------------

======================================================

==> Update on Modern Ferret Things

Please tell other ferret people to go to our site
ferretnews.com and subscribe! The more the merrier!

We've been so busy working on so many projects that
we're a little bit behind on putting archived articles
onto the web site. Hopefully we'll get caught up soon.

Balthazar being sick this week gave us a lot of
worry, but he is now at least back to playing again.
He is still having some bad poo, so we're watching
him carefully. Tomorrow we'll have had Balthazar for
5 years!

Remember to check out the new Ferret Designs stuff!

http://www.cafeshops.com/ferretdesigns

See the site for free shipping offers and sale
prices on select items!

-- Modern Ferret Magazine

At long last, an issue of the magazine should be
printing this evening. We'll tell you more about it
as soon as we have a shipping date set.

-- Eric's Health

Tomorrow Eric will finally be having his drain
removed (it's been in since February). He will
then be starting on regular maintenance Remicade
treatments. Hopefully the Remicade treatments will
help to keep the Crohn's disease under control.

That's it for this issue!
Stay tuned! More great stuff is on the way!

Remember that shopping at
http://www.FerretDesigns.com
and at
http://www.FerretTradingPost.com
helps support this newsletter and keep it free.

======================================================

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Copyright 2002 Modern Ferret magazine.
All rights reserved.
http://www.modernferret.com