Posted by matthew on February 16, 2003 at 17:55:02:
In Reply to: Picked up my new Ferrets today :-) PICS posted by Lyn on February 14, 2003 at 23:26:35:
nice pics Lyn, hopefully i will be getting mine sometime soon:) nice looking ferrets maybe you should nickname the old on Sabretooth, lol. i like the fang pic. c ya around
:I picked up the three ferrets I mentioned in my last post. They are wonderful and seem to be adapting to me and their new home. The previous owner was lax in some basic care unfortunately. The poor things had fleas, lots of buildup on their teeth, and an unreal amount of earwax in their ears. I gave them all baths and spent quite a while brushing and removing all the fleas I could find. I will get the spot on stuff that's safe for ferrets and treat all 3 plus my cat (who has never had fleas). I went through a ton of Q tips to get their ears all squeeky clean. I'm going to get them ferret toothbrushes and paste and see if I can keep their teeth from getting any worse. The oldest male has watery eyes. Unsure if it's allergies, infection, or maybe I accidentally got shampoo in his eyes. While I'd feel bad for doing it, I'm hoping it was just the shampoo. I made a vet appt for next Saturday so I'll find out for sure. He also has some pretty funky dental problems. Unsure if it's due to poor dental hygiene, old age, or just was born with bad teeth. The little row of teeth that should be on top between the long teeth is missing. There are only a couple teeth in that row and all are pointing in odd directions. He looks like either a sabre tooth ferret or a vampire. His two top teeth hang out very far over his lower lip when he closes his mouth. He does have his back crunching teeth, although they are brownish yellow with plaque. I've watched him eat and he seemed to manage ok. Haven't seen him drink from the bottle yet. Well, here are some pics I took today. They aren't the greatest, took them kinda quick. Will get better ones once their playroom is done and I can take them without holding them or having them on their leashes...
:This is the youngest, estimated at about a year old. His name is "Gentle".
:
:"Gentle" again...
:
:This is the 'middle child' of the group. Her name is "Jude". I estimate her at about 2 years old.
:
:"Jude" again...
:
:Here is my oldie but goodie. His name is "Pie". Going on tooth-wear to estimate their ages puts this guy at about 4 years old at least. He also has slightly thinning hair compared to the others. Not sure if that's a sign of age or from scratching at the fleas. Can't help the age, but if it's the fleas maybe it will grow back soon. I don't know what color / pattern he is. I know Gentle is an Albino and Jude is a Sable. Pie has a white face, but has two brown patches under his eyes. If his runny eyes have been an ongoing problem this could be discoloration from that. It looks more like a natural pattern than a stain though when you see it up close.
:
:"Pie" again...
:
:Here are Pie's 'sabre teeth'.
:
:I sure am happy with all three and hope they are happy with me as their new 'mom'. I'm still working my way through "Ferrets for Dummies", that's one long book! I'm skipping sections that don't apply to me like the breeding and stuff.
:Hope you enjoyed the pics :-)
