From:
sukieferret
Date: 2002-02-18 23:50:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Any with NO health problems?
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., Steve Austin <kazpat1@j...> wrote:
> Unfortunately no one dies from old age
---
Yes, death always has an actual cause. Some illnesses are
more common with advanced age.
---
>Without necropsy or a vet diagnosis
> of what actually caused the ferret to die, we can only guess.
---
Agreed strongly.
---
> Also old age may be different to different people,
> 6 years may be old to some, 8 or 9 to others.
---
I've even run into some people who think that 5 years old is old;
then again, I have run into some who expect 10 years and are
disappointed that most ferrets don't reach that. If our experience
is any indicator late in the 6th year to the second half of the 8th
year is quite typical (over almost 20 years) with most passing
away during their 7th year (usually late in the 7th year). Some
have been older and some younger. That figure has been
independent of breeder or of abuse history here, but the ones we
have had with deformities have tended toward shortened lives
and more health needs.
---
> All but one of my ferrets over 4 have some sort of health
> issue, one is only a skin growth, but still the odds are
> against me :(
---
Right now we, too, are haivng a time like that, but we have had
ones who were marvelously healthy right into old age.
Also, with care even very ill ones can be active and happy. Warp
is approaching 8 years old, and is not a surgical candidate due
to almost dying in two past surgeries and other problems, so
she has several things managed medically, and she just
dashes around the place like a kit most days.
Sometimes, getting clumps of very healthy or less healthy ones
just fits in the probability model. That isn't comforting, except of
course, that at some point along the line you might well
encounter a clump of very healthy and very long lived ones.
Usually, the experience is somewhere in the middle.
---
> It makes me more cautious in taking in
> too many ferrets, I know that when they turn a certain
> age I may have many illnesses at once, a huge vet bills,
> stress in nursing them, or caring for them, but I know
> my limits, everyone has their own set limits.
---
Wow, is that ever the truth. We're in the awkward position right
now of having had a number of rescues in similar age brackets
join our family and it is a hard responsibility when a number get
sick at once -- emotionally painful, time consuming, and
expensive. There is also the painful fact that we'll likely lose
several close together at some point in the future.
I really pays to have the number for which good medical care can
be provided, no matter i f the chief limiting factor is temporal,
economic, or emotional.
---
> Don't get discouraged, your ferret may live a long
> life before developing anything, but play the odds and
> save money now- just in case.
---
Fine advice! There is also insurance available. If you check in
the resources in the Files and Bookmarks sections at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
you'll find info on that.