From:
"Roger Vaughn"
Date: 2003-08-15 15:06:36 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Forgot to mention about Goku...
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <40049.161.254.5.251.1060959996.squirrel@mail.seaconinc.com>
> There is no hairloss of any kind, no marking territory, no actual
> "thrusting". He basically grabs, gets behind for literally one
> second, then drags.
Keldah,
This sound like simple dominance behavior. Dragging, "pinning" and
"alligator rolling" are all used for dominance displays. Ours are
generally more aggressive with each other in the confined space of a
cage than when they're out, too.
You would expect sexual aggression to last a bit longer, with possible
hip thrusting. (We have a little guy who does this but NOT the biting
part...we're suspecting a retained testicle.)
In any case, if you have the money to spare, you certainly could check
for adrenal disease. They don't have to have hair loss to have
adrenal disease. (They don't in fact have to show any symptoms at
all.) If you choose to do this, your vet should draw blood and send
it to the Univ. of Tenn. for the actual testing, so he won't have to
know ferrets well himself to do this. I don't have the particulars
right at hand for that though, but I can tell you it will cost around
$150 + your vets fees for drawing and shipping the sample.
Personally, I don't see much reason to worry here. My impression is
that Goku is just showing his dominance. But I'm not a vet and I
haven't seen your babies. Check again with your vet and mention the
adrenal testing and see what he has to say.
roger & the wolverine wannabees
missing bear and lancelot