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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2011 19:17:48 GMT -5
I am not sure if my boy Fenton has WS or not, but I suspect he does because he has the white stripe on his head and is deaf. As for his behavior, it's mostly normal, except he tends to be more calm than the average ferret. He is very sweet though, and out of my 3 he is the most relaxed when you hold him, and never has nipped or bitten. Out of my 3, if someone wanted their small child to hold one of my ferrets, the ferret I would feel most safe having them hold would be Fenton because he's the most gentle of them. Though he is calm most of the time, he does get excited and loves wrestling with other ferrets, and doesn't seem mentally handicapped, because he figures things out as quickly as the others or sometimes quicker, and learned to roll over on command for treats. For this reason I am not 100% sure whether he even has WS. DSC_0162 by walkerstop, on Flickr DSC_0147 by walkerstop, on Flickr fenton_nerd by walkerstop, on Flickr DSC_0196 by walkerstop, on Flickr
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Post by katt on Aug 22, 2011 19:34:56 GMT -5
hahah aww I haven't seen some of those pics! As a note: WB runs on a spectrum by my understanding, kind of like autism. You can have a variety of symptoms in any of a zillion combinations.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2011 19:50:29 GMT -5
I can post some of Hiko, a 3-4 year old silver I rescued last November. I think he has WS - as soon as I saw him, I thought he was ... different looking, and comparing to some pics I found, he does seem to fit the trend. Although he's not deaf (at first I thought he was because he was extremely vocal when I first got him), he does seem a bit socially awkward, as well as exhibiting a bit more neurological issues (he's wobbly, looser in the hindquarters, and a bit clumsier than my other guys), that seem somewhat common in some WS cases (else there's no other reason for the differences. He's been checked out by 3 different vets in the time I've had him ) But pics: The evening he came home with us (a little while after I brought him home)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2011 20:43:42 GMT -5
My nephew has a little DEW female named Stella who we think has WS. When you interact with her, it is really obvious that she is "special". She has some unusual habits and has trouble putting on weight, but is very sweet. Here she is playing with a feather:
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 9:27:32 GMT -5
Not sure if either of the guys I am going to share are Waardenburgs, but Im like 99% sure that SoCo has a neural crest abnormality of some kind because is is "Special" and pretty positive that Mojito is deaf. SoCo is socially awkward to say the least, I feel like he never fully was able to comprehend ferret body language. The only life forms he has 100% no fear of (so far) are humans and dogs, he will not bite another ferret, he tends to stay away from them (even the gentle ones) but he loves to play with my dog and can kick my dog, Tequila,'s butt. Occasionally if Tequila doesn't want to play, SoCo gets over excited and ends up biting so hard Tequila cries, but he didn't learn to bite till he was about 6 1/2-7 months old. Most of the time, though, SoCo just wants to be in my arms or sleeping with my foot as a pillow. I am his most trusted being, lol. He 'hides' between my feet around new ferrets and, like an ostrich, is constantly shoving his head either under my pant leg, (if im sitting) under my leg or (if im laying down) in my shirt. Mojito and him used to get along a lot better than they do now and Mojito even took the time to try to teach SoCo to play, SoCo learned the basic concept of biting from Mojito (open mouth and put it around body part of play partner-- he just never learned to close the deal until he started playing with Tequila lol) Back when he and Mojito got along a day came and they got into an argument, Mojito did a bite and drag on SoCo and since then SoCo avoided him like the plauge for quite a while. It wasnt even that bad, I think Mojito dragged him a few inches and that was it, SoCo wasn't even crying, but it was enough to freak him out. Now that we have Morgan things are getting better though, Morgan is a good teacher and SoCo is (very slowly) gaining a lot of confidance and is even starting to play with him a few nights ago. Some other ways he is unique: He can dook and hiss, but he does those noises rarely. However, he is extremly vocal and talks to me. I call his chatter goosing because he sound more like a goose than a ferret lol. If im holding him and he wants down, he gooses- if hes on the floor and wants up, he gooses- if hes bored? gooses- doesn't want a bath? gooses- tired of Tequila? gooses. If he is really scared he and he cant get to me, he will try to find a tight space to back himself into and then he closes his eyes and opens his mouth as wide as he can and you can hear a very high pitched whistle (kinda sounds like a boiling tea kettle in the distance) it is the weirdest noise I've ever heard and I think he freaked TTFR out when he did it at her house the first time, lol. He barked at me 2x because one day because I was trying to take his chicken wing away (he had dragged it over the carpet and it was covered in lint) though I haven't heard that noise from him since. He throws his head back, all the time and stares for ever at anything that makes a noise he isn't accustomed to (this is how we know he isnt deaf). He is also fascinated by basil leaves. No other plant phases him but he likes when I sit on the balcony with him and my back faced to the basil plant. He will sit on my shoulder and for hours on end bat at the leaves like a kitten with a string, he has been known to lick it too (but i always stop him, it don't know if basil can hurt him) however, he never trys to bite it. He wants nothing to do with a leaf if I take it off the basil plant either.. just the ones that move when he touches them. As afraid and insecure as he is with the ferrets is as confidant and brave as he is with Tequila. Tequila is a CKC chihuahua but most people think hes mixed with JRT because he is a big boy, he is 9lbs of all muscle. He isn't as quick as a ferret though which is why I think SoCo likes him. (Don't worry, not only are they always supervised but Tequila was raised with ferrets and is good with them- he treats them like he treats his own pups) He also has some potty issues, he doesnt understand that if he lifts his belly up when he goes potty I wont have to give him a wet cloth wipe down all the time He almost ALWAYS has pee belly. Its kinda gross... but he did used to be really careful not to get OTHER ferret potty substances on him.. lately though he has had a little on his neck/chest area (on 3 occasions) when I arrived home from work. He also isn't as much of a problem solver as the others and isn't/has never been a rambunctious terror as I hear other kits are, he is extremely relaxed almost always and has no idea how to begin to problem solve. He can watch Mojito and/or Captain Morgan climb the baby gate and get into the kitchen and then just sit at the bottom and scratch the carpet while goosing like the last-picked-for-kickball-kid. Annd he is a rag doll. When you pick him up he flops (no gripping and no tensing) just flops into whatever position you put him in and chills. Almost forgot to mention the way he moves, we call him the ferret ninja sometimes because although he is the fattest lil thing under the sun- when he runs he draws his legs up under him somehow so it looks like he is gliding/flying (only SUPER quick) across the carpet. Hes amazingly quick but its just weird how his legs like... suck up under him? Its hard to explain. SoCo @ exactly 8 m/o in the first one the other two are from 6 m/o I think (im not on my personal PC where they're organized by date lol) Mojito is my "deafy" buut, again, I'm not sure if he is waardenburgs or not, he seems normal otherwise (except the throwing his head back all the time and the fact that he has no real qualms about putting his head in poop or walking in poop) Mojito on SoCo's 8 m/o day in the first pic and back before he got sick in the others Both together when SoCo was younger And just for fun, one of my fav pics of SoCo when he was bitty
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 9:32:18 GMT -5
Oh yes, and Kenai also has a stub tail! I wish I had a better picture of when he was a kit! It has gotten a little longer as he has grown, but it's still shorter than Koda's. As a kit though it was so tubby! And the very tip is white, but it's hard to photograph. Also I forgot to add - I have been meaning to post this for a while. But when Kenai gets excited he poofs....backwards. Where most ferrets will get poofy tailed, then if they get REALLY excited, poofy bodied as well... Kenai is the opposite. His tail RARELY poofs. When he gets excited, his Body gets poofy! ;D I'm like "um...I think you're doing it wrong bud!" Omg Im glad you mentioned this. I swear I've seen SoCo do that, his tail has never poofed but I have seen his body fur seem to poof but I thought I was imagining things, its possible that I'm not?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 9:38:10 GMT -5
Oh and about www.wolfysluv.com/I contacted her about SoCo's skin issues (I saw on FHL that she had a similar issue with a ferret a long while ago) and she is amazing. She is so sweet, super helpful and just awesome all around.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 13:26:21 GMT -5
[ Also I forgot to add - I have been meaning to post this for a while. But when Kenai gets excited he poofs....backwards. Where most ferrets will get poofy tailed, then if they get REALLY excited, poofy bodied as well... Kenai is the opposite. His tail RARELY poofs. When he gets excited, his Body gets poofy! ;D I'm like "um...I think you're doing it wrong bud!" That's so weird, because all of my guys do this, so I thought it was how things are done - excitement - body puffs up; UBER-excitement - tail puffs up too
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 13:38:52 GMT -5
My girl Fiona totally puffs up her fur when she's excited! Fenton does it a little bit too, but it's most noticeable on Fiona. Usually it is accompanied by arching her back, and biting me ;D
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Post by Heather on Aug 23, 2011 15:23:24 GMT -5
Waardenburgs kids, I've had a few. Not all are deafies, some are just "special". Colours often give them away, blazes, white knees, flattened skulls, eyes not positioned properly on the head and unfortunately....a shortened lifespan seem to be trademarks. Deafies aren't always that lucky, sometimes you just have to be observant. Not all deafies are Waardenburgs and not all Waardenburgs are deafies This is Yuri, he's a deafy and a possible Waardenburg. He's been classified as a failure to thrive. He doesn't eat willingly, he's had some gastric issues but they're find now. All his blood work comes back as normal, his xrays are normal {shrug}...Waardenburg...good possibility...old before his time. This is Fun-Go and Lady Natasha, two deafies. Horrible biters, smart beyond reason and I don't believe are Waardenburgs Fun-Go is very sure of himself and leads his business. Lady Natasha is the smallest ferret that I have at present. She weighs less than a pound...a pound of pure nastiness, who rules with Fun-Go This is Thor, he is Waardenburg. Flattened skull, eyes placed too high, legs to short (giving him a dwarfish stance), thick, solid, heavy body, undersized...too short in length. He has behaviour issues, he's not too bright. He is not deaf, he's sweet but a total spaz, cannot be taught to use a litter box (they're for stashing stuffies). He's not a farm ferret but a BYB ferret This is Attila, a deafy and Waardenburg. Passed away at age 4 of a massive cardio infarction. Heartbreaking. Lady "B" Itchy....another deafy. Porthos....a deafy and Waardenburgs...note high forehead, eyes too close, blaze. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 16:00:09 GMT -5
Heather and others: not to derail the thread, but I have a really hard time distinguishing the Waardenburg features from normal ferret features, I guess my eye for facial measurements is not very good. It's hard for me to see the difference.
Those of you who have a good eye for this, could you look at Fenton's pictures and tell me if you think his features look typical of Waardenburg ferrets?
Curiosity about this is driving me crazy!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 16:43:54 GMT -5
This is my little deafie baby girl Trinity.. she's just about 9 months old now, and I'm not entirely sure if she has Waardenburg's but she is definitely a very "special" ferret. She is very much a loner ferret, and while my other ferrets wrestle and play, she will be off in her own little world, doing her own thing. She loves toys whereas my others do not, although she doesn't actually play with them.. more like she just moves them around the room. She has several special hidey places for her toys and she just continually moves the toys amongst those places. I have a little water spray bottle in my room, and I always have a fan running.. so when it gets hot (or they are being particularly naughty), I squirt them once or twice with water. My other guys will run away, freaking out, and she will just sit there and stare at me She also tends to move a bit slower than my other guys. She's very calm, for a ferret. She does get excited now and then and will bounce around and dook, sometimes she will wrestle with the other guys but I'd say 80% of the time she would rather be left alone. She loves her mama, though, and is always sitting on my feet or begging to come sit in my lap and watch me play video games. Also, one thing I've noticed about her is not only her stubby tail, but she appears to have shorter legs than the rest of my fuzz. I think it was Katt who once called her "the corgi of ferrets". It fits. She is incredibly sweet, the sweetest ferret I've ever known. She will give anyone kisses, let anyone hold and pet her. If someone comes over to my house who is new to ferrets and wants to see one, Trinity is the one I bring out because she always leaves a good impression. It doesn't hurt that she's got a d*mn cute face and fur like a mink!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 17:17:03 GMT -5
Whoah Trinity's legs are really short, noticeably shorter than usual! She's so cute though This is partly why I suspect Fenton is WS, his legs seem short for his body.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 19:37:19 GMT -5
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Post by acodlin on Aug 23, 2011 20:11:19 GMT -5
Suzie your sebastian sounds JUST like my Naobi. She has a weird pear shape that none of my ferrets have, she waddles, LOVES to hang her head upside down. She's slow moving 99% of the time (every now and then she gets a wild hair and goes crazy) Her favorite thing in the world? To lay on her back on my kitchen rugs and just flop all over it. She also gets hiccups all the time. At night I take her to bed with me sometimes and she'll lay on her back and let me rub her belly and she'll have hiccups almost the whole time. I also have a ferret that looks like Heathers Attila, her name is Church and while I know shes deaf i'm not sure that she has WS. She's sharp as a tack, nothing gets by her, full of energy and did I mention smart? lol she's a terrible biter, atleast where I'm concerned.. she loves and kisses all over my boyfriend but will bite the crap out of me!
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