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Post by kristin on May 2, 2011 12:36:21 GMT -5
Hi guys, I've been consumed by guilt over Cricket being an only child. She spends 22 hours a day outside of her cage, and I play with her for 2-3 hours (interactive toys, etc.) a day. But I still felt like that wasn't enough. I was planning to add another ferret at some point. And then "some point" became Saturday! I was at Petco buying toys and of course I had to say hello to the weasels. There was a little girl that looked so sweet. She was getting pummeled by these rowdy boys twice her size. She reached up for me, just like cricket, and I took her out. Immediately, she began to curl up and cuddle. I swear - she looked relieved for a break from the chaos! Then the woman who was helping me told me that she was an "adult" ferret and that nobody had wanted her and she'd been there for 6 months. I couldn't believe it. She was such a sweetie pie. Plus the kits in the cage were supposedly 10 weeks old and some of the boys were already twice her size. I felt so bad that this little girl had spent the first 6 months of her life in that little glass tank. And that nobody wanted her. Sheesh. So I brought her home. Of course. She is the sweetest little thing EVER. She and Cricket are getting along fine, though she's not as rambunctious as Cricket (who's only about 11 weeks now). I guess that's understandable. What's weird is that she seems unsteady on her feet -- like she's weak. She bounces and plays but seems to have a hard time climbing up or over. She also moves kind of slow and slides on her belly a lot. She received a clean bill of health from the vet, so I'm thinking it might be just muscle atrophy from being cooped up for so long? I guess I'll see if she improves, gets stronger. She's such a little love bug -- and seriously the same size as Cricket despite their difference in age. She's eating kibble so I have a new project for my mentor to help with! Here's some pics, and one of her and Cricket so you can see the size comparison. I think her name is going to be Sabine. She has this awesome white mark on her head -- it's like one of those psychological Rorschach tests because everyone sees something different in it. At first it looked like a lopsided heart to me. Sometimes it looks like a lightning bolt, which is kind of ironic given her slow speed. (Cricket top right)
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Post by fearless on May 2, 2011 12:42:38 GMT -5
Awww grats! I know how exciting it can be. She's adorable and I love the name.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2011 12:43:02 GMT -5
She's adorable!! Thanks for giving her a great home. Once ferrets get too told, most get returned to marshalls.
Congrats!!!
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Post by kristin on May 2, 2011 12:46:11 GMT -5
Once ferrets get too told, most get returned to marshalls. I thought that might be the case. I asked the employee and she kind of made a face and dodged the question, like she wanted me to know without saying it. I'm so glad I got her out of there!
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2011 12:47:30 GMT -5
Lucky girl! (Lucky you, lucky Crystal, and lucky Sabine )
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Post by angelfish on May 2, 2011 12:59:13 GMT -5
Sweet little thing. My two adults also seemed to be slower and less active than my baby when I first got them. Once they had been on raw for a month or so, they learned to jump, run, and be the same little terrors that they baby was.
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Post by Heather on May 2, 2011 13:16:27 GMT -5
What an adorable little fuzz. Ferrets that are returned to Marshals become lab animals (they do have ferrets specifically bred for this purpose we have a person on board who generously adopted a group of little females who were used to teach vets how to spay ferrets) Obviously, older returned fuzzes cannot serve labs in this purpose but can be used in other methods She is a real sweety. I will be interested to see if her staggering gait improves with exercise and care. Would you mind keeping us updated to this? It is nothing serious, it may be that she has Waardenburgs Syndrom...she is a blaze and not all blazes are Waardenburgs (Thor and Boris are both sables) just the same as not all blazes are deaf, sorry no example of this with any of my brats at the moment. Waardenburgs babies have a few "issues" deafness being one of them, but not necessarily having to be deaf. The staggering gait, weaknesses, being a bit slow, special. Any of these could be a sign. Did you run a BG when she was at the vets? That would be my only other concern. Did anyone actually know how old this little one was...I know you were told 6 months but I got very angry with a pet store when they posted a rescue ferret (as coming from another store) as being "under one year". He was 4 yrs old, deaf and blind in one eye. I told them all this when he came in, and had some real words with the owner about this "misrepresentation". I notice that they don't carry ferrets at all any more. His person loves him anyway but was really upset when she discovered this (I fertsat him over the summer, so I felt she should know). It's just a thought. Love her, she obviously is fitting in very well. She's a lucky wee thing. Congratulations. ciao
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Post by tayrawrrr on May 2, 2011 13:21:14 GMT -5
Awww. How cute...thank you for giving her a good home
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2011 14:08:47 GMT -5
Congratulations, and she's a sweet little fuzz, and Thank You for rescuing her!
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Post by shilohismygirl on May 2, 2011 14:36:32 GMT -5
She's beautiful! I am so glad you took her. She's a good girl, who deserves a great home. She's also beautiful, and I love the name Sabine. <3 I think her slow gait is probably muscle atrophy, but keep us updated. Her marking is like my Hiro's. His looks kind of like a question mark or exclamation point sometimes
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Post by therippletide on May 2, 2011 15:47:53 GMT -5
Thanks so much for rescuing her! She's so cute How could anyone resist a face like that!?
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2011 16:11:59 GMT -5
What a CUTIE <3 That's almost the same exact story as my Sari floof. She was at Petco for more than 4 months, trampled and pushed around by 6 huge boys in that tiny typical glass cage (her being only a little over a pound full grown). I visited her for a month (everyday after work) before getting her (because my ex bf didn't really want a third, but said I could get her if she was still there after a month : . She would pick up just her front half and look up at me and sniff the air. When the day finally came, the lady opened up the cage and reached in to get her, but she didn't jump up all crazy like the boys. She just sat there looking cute and sweet ;D I finally decided to put my hand in and called her by the name I decided on that second (she's named after the little girl in the new Transformers cartoons). She looked up at me and waddled over and stood on her hind legs putting her paws on my hand She, too, is a blaze with some inherent problems (and a few minor problems that were fixed with diet and exercise). She couldn't walk very well, stumbling a lot and mostly dragged her hind around My guess was muscle atrophy from the extended time spend in that small, cramped cage. She slept on the bottom level (mostly the litterbox : because she didn't have the strength to walk up the ramps in the FN142 She wouldn't sleep in beds and would just sit there when let out of the cage...she had no idea how to be a ferret. After a week on raw and plenty of exercise, she was walking normally and scaling the ramps in the cage just fine. Her personality started coming out more as she got comfortable (Reks and Pan taught her how to be a ferret) She's wired and wiggly, but super sweet (she loves giving kisses )...and plays and talks to herself while doing so ;D Her inherent issues started to reveal themselves though. She definitely wasn't deaf, but we suspected possible blindness (she was extremely scared of heights and being held...she would freeze up). I took her into work and my vet literally held a q-tip (with some eye ointment on it just in case) almost touching her eye, and she wouldn't blink or squirm. One of her eyes did have a faster reaction, but not too much better. She has two different colored eyes (one black and one dark red/ruby, which seems to be a waardenburg thing also), and my vet found a little cloudiness in the black one (which was the worst of the two). Despite this, she gets around just fine, although you can accidentally startle her easily if you reach for her too quickly She definitely not afraid of heights anymore to the point that she'll jump off of you or something without really thinking She has a slight jaw issue in that she can't open her jaw as wide as the others, but it hasn't affected her too bad other than being a noisy eater and leaving lots of crumbs That too is a waardenburg thing. The one thing she isn't is deaf (despite the 75% chance of being deaf as a blaze). Enough talking about my special girl...keep us updated on Sabine! Thank you so much for taking her in
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2011 16:19:58 GMT -5
What a sweetie!! I can't believe nobody wanted her
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Post by kristin on May 2, 2011 17:08:50 GMT -5
It is nothing serious, it may be that she has Waardenburgs Syndrom...The staggering gait, weaknesses, being a bit slow, special. Any of these could be a sign. Did you run a BG when she was at the vets? I hadn't heard of Waardenburg syndrome before but after reading about it on this forum, I'd say it fits her to a T! Being kind of slow and sweet -- weak and dopey. She's pretty dopey in general. And not super interested in Cricket (though friendly enough). Her face doesn't appear to be abnormally shaped, I don't think. I haven't taken her to my vet yet -- this was Petco's vet. The one I went to has a vet on staff there. I didn't get any paperwork stating her age -- just the employee told me she came in from Marhsal's about 5 months ago and they get them at 8 weeks. So all in all -- I know nothing about her!! I'm at work right now but I plan to test her for deafness when I get home (maybe try the vacuum cleaner test). I will, of course, love her unconditionally regardless of her issues or afflictions, but I do think it's kind of crazy that pet stores are selling so many ferrets that have genetic abnormalities. I'd heard about the white head link with deafness, but I didn't know about the blazes.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2011 18:31:48 GMT -5
Congrats on your Ferret MAth!!
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