From:
sukiecrandall@telocity.com
Date: 2001-10-24 12:57:00 UTC
Subject: Re: EH/ developmentally disabled fert?
Years ago Ruffle was in our family. She was seriously
intellectually handicapped. She found it almost impossible to
learn ferret or human body language (Took 3 years for her to pick
up that words meant anything and then she could only
understand a few but they made life much easier.)
In addition, she had a number of hard tissue and soft tissue
deformities, possible achrondoplasic dwarfism (Vet felt that it
was that but Bob Chruch thought it was a different problem on
examination of her skeleton), and was always in some degree of
pain, which made things harder for her. With very careful work
and loads of massages, asthma meds, special care, etc. she
was able to live to age of 6 and to actually enjoy most of her time.
She took the work of any other two or three ferrets.
When she died at age 6 she developed 8 things simultaneously
(Ticking them off on fingers but I am forgetting some:
cardiomyopathy, heart tumor, liver cysts, insulinoma, adrenal
tumors, and more.). There was a surgery to lower her seizures
from grande mal because we even had her on phenobarb at that
point to try to prevent a seizure from killing her, but I don't know if
we'd have risked that if she hadn't been on the verge of dying
form the liver cysts.
Bruce has her soft tissues, and Bob Church has her hard ones.
Bob said that her skeletal deformities were "right on the edge or
survivability".
Her behavior after she began to realize that words have
meanings was much better. Before that she would get
confused, scared and frustrated and would give panic bites --
deep canine bites in rapid succession so that for three years
Steve and i were always punctured and bruised. She couldn't
help it; she was just too limited. After words she even figured out
that she was better off giving herself "times out" and when she
was too upset she would move away, turn her back on the world
and just lie there till she calmed down enough. For her last
three years she never bit anyone, even though her limbs and
asthma were worse by then. She would gently get our attention
for back rubs, leg rubs, and antihistamines, though.
Oh, and she looked like a male in trunk size and face shortness
(though her limbs were incredibly short and her posture very
unusual), from the front her face looked like a malamute puppy
though shorter -- absolutely gorgeous, had the most glorious
coat we've ever seen on any ferret, any time, anywhere -- very
long fur that was at least twice as dense as the most dense
we've ever seen and silky soft. The breeders were trying for a
ferret with a spectacular long coat and short face, They got that --
and more. Appearance breeding can come with risks at times.
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., the return of weezilarchy
<weezilized@y...> wrote:
> this may sound odd, but has anyone ever experienced a ferret
*not* from
> an abuse/neglect situation that seems to have an emotional
handicap or
> developmental disability?