Dozer

[quixoticwhit]

This is such a sad story. I feel deeply for you and your loss. Poor Dozer.

It's not your fault at all. I've felt the pain of losing a pet to something preventable. But if we don't know that it needs to be prevented, that there's even a risk, there's not much we can do but mourn and not let it happen again.

I didn't really believe that they could suffocate from getting their heads stuck. In the ferret books it says not to leave tp rolls out, as they could get their head stuck and suffocate. I never really believed it--there's a big whole on the other end, how could anything bad happen?

(do we have a ferret proofing thread?)

I hope you're holding up okay, it will get better.

[Sherry]

It's not so much the head, as the chest

[darlene]

I'm so very sorry I have nothing to add as everyone else has said it so well. Sending you lots of love and hugs. DIP Dozer

[Heather]

Ferrets, like many other animals can also suffocate from the stress of being trapped. If they would relax and wait for someone to help them escape...but like any animal being trapped often sets off a series of issues that cause death. I almost lost my wee Pooka when she climbed one of the cages (she liked teasing the fuzzes inside) and fell down the back. She normally shimmied down the back by pushing against the wall and the cage....she went down the back of one of the cages that doesn't have wheels and became trapped. When I found her, she was in shock, breathing erratically, her back legs were swollen and she was barely concious. It was a really scary half hour or so. I've seen pictures of ferrets who've managed to (somehow) slide a bathroom tissue roll around their middle....because of how tight it was, they would have suffocated if their ferrants hadn't found them. I've never had a wee jill that size but kits would be the issue, with that type of problem.
ciao

[FamilyOfExotics]

I am so so sorry I cannot imagine the pain you're in right now..

It is situations like this that stop me from recommending ferrets as a pet. They are the most amazing little critters, and lots of us could never live without them. But they get into so much trouble.. And we are only human. It isn't possible for us to detect every single possible accident.

It is not your fault. I'm sending some healing energy your way..

[Thérèse]

Condolences on the loss of Dozer.

One of the great tragedies of ferrets is that they can and do get themselves into dangerous situations. Further these tragedies often led great ferrents to doubt themselves. Don't let that be you, you are a great ferrent and I'm sure all your ferrets thank the ferret gods for the day they came to you.

[zeker]

im so very sorry for your loss, this was such a freak accident you cant blame yourself... Prayers for you and your family

[Tako]

The best and brightest of ferrets are often the most intensely curious, and therefore the most prone to accidents. It's a very sad fact of owning ferrets. You can't blame yourself for it at all, take this lesson and use it to keep the rest even safer from their own curiosity and antics.

May your heart heal with time and the knowledge that Dozer will DIP and see you again someday.