Message Number: SG7061 | New FHL Archives Search
From: Mohr
Date: 2003-12-12 05:11:29 UTC
Subject: Why is my weezil so...aromatic?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-Id: <6.0.1.1.0.20031211221741.0210be48@pop.central.cox.net>

Hi, everyone. Can anyone help me with this one? My 7 month old, Leeloo,
is a late alter (spayed in October) and she is not descented. All was fine
until about a month ago. We began noticing that she was very strong
smelling, as if she'd poofed recently. She seems completely fine
physically, at least from what I can tell. She eats like a moose and poops
like one too <g>, and she is like the energizer bunny when it comes to
playtime. She's just so, so pungent that at times -- it waxes and wanes
sporadically -- I can smell her from literally across the room.

When she was very little she poofed whenever she was startled, but she
quickly grew out of it. Now it seems like she's just poofing randomly for
no real reason, or perhaps her scent glands are "leaking," or
something...? I'm not sure what's going on, only that she is so stinky
that I can't even hold her before I go out somewhere, because the smell
lingers on my clothes. We had another late alter who was not descented, a
boy named Bear, who died several years ago, but he never had this
problem. He only poofed when severely startled or in his sleep when he'd
had a nightmare. Other than that he smelled... well, he didn't smell much
at all!

Is this a possible medical problem? I doubt her spay is incomplete,
because she is not showing any signs at all of being in heat. And I can't
even see any scent glands when I look, though I sure do know they're
there. What else could be going on? She's just a little Stinky McStink on
a level we've never experienced before, and we're pretty experienced ferret
moms.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. (If there were a "holding your nose"
emoticon, I'd use it now!)

-Natasha