From:
"kblausman"
Date: 2008-03-03 17:07:37 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: BE AWARE FUNGAL ORGANISMS LIVE IN THE SOIL WHERE THEY DIG..............
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Ok where do we find information on what we need to worry about in our
region?=20
[Moderator's Note: One possibility is to look in the phone book
for your area's Cooperative Extension. It should have that info, be
able to get it, or know where to look for it.]
Also we used to use a little Albon in our drinking water for
all of the cats coming into the shelter as a precaution, is that
possible? Or something along that line...
I am beginning to think that keeping ferrets in a bubble is the only
way to have them safe. No much fun for us or them and for sure not
very practical.
But with all of the disagreements and strong opinions voiced on the
lists and in the groups I can see no other way to think about all of
this. I can honestly see why newcomers might decide a ferret is too
much trouble and too scary to raise when even the vets do not agree
on all of it.=20
We can start with simple light cycles and the fact that the can cause
future health issues. I have already covered their bedroom windows so
that they can sleep in and have the required amount of darkness.
Simple enough to do, but how many have your cages in the family room
or living room and can not make an area for total darkness? Like the
burrows they spend a great deal of time in, in the wild?
They have been to the vets for their shots, but even then I had 10
different people telling me how the schedule needed to be done and
what to do together, what not to do. And my vet disagreed with most
of them. Then blood work, he total was dead set against blood work on
healthy animals, I like baseline blood work=85 I even bought a vet book
to get the levels and numbers on everything.
Then we have to worry about the foods they eat, as no perfect ferret
food seems to exist (and why that is makes no sense to me, since they
have been domesticated for so long). I have been mixing brands,
getting mine off the cheaper stuff them came in on and onto ones with
higher proteins and fats. I spent and hour at the store reading the
backs of brands and when I found the right numbers, began then to
read the ingredients. And even the no food was completely what I read
I needed. And no one agreed upon what the BEST brand, was. Something
that seemed to me simple enough, which one best met their
requirements as close as natural?
Then let us not forget Duck Soup, I now have no less than 10
different recipes and none are the same. Some say add raw eggs shell
and all, some say no shell as it can pierce their intestines, some
say no whites, so now forget the whole egg thing.
Then there is the whole raw versus cooked debate. Raw some said we
might have bacteria and goodness knows what kind of chemicals and
hormones in store bought, But they can chew the bones and get a more
natural diet (if I am not using whole prey diet). But if I am worried
about bacteria then I can cook the meat. But if I cook it then the
bones will splinter and so I must pick the meat off and then blend
it, making mush to be safer. Then let's not forget the whole can cat
food debate, is it safe, is it good for them, and if not why must we
add it to their soup?=20
Then we buy ferratone, ferravits and find out that it says give x
amount per day but that is wrong and not safe I am told, that it
should be diluted with olive oil, but no one says how much, just to
do it. And then we argued about laz, vits and tone, which was needed
and which was not and does laz even work for hair balls at all? Then
I find out about vetasyl and how in the HECK can I get a ferret to
take 6 ozs at a time?
Then we have the whole outside debate, I am guessing if all of the
nasties are in our yard that we talked about, then all of our cats
and dogs should be dead by all rights already and forget my grandkids
ever digging in my yard again. And can you even begin to imagine what
the playground sandbox has, YUCK. Though I have heard of building up
some kind of resistance, by well by, being exposed to the outside
world. They got all of their shots, distemper I worry about, because
it is a real and nasty disease. But the rabies numbers I looked at
and we give those shots more for human complaint level than any real
problem with our ferrets having it. After all I have nothing in my
yard, not even squirrels for them to get bit by as I live in a
subdivision.
I am not even touching the spider debate again, because I am already
having nightmares about dark and scary corners full of spiders, IN
THE HOUSE. Webs I can see, hidden sneaky ones without webs, I can
not=85 My bug man comes by to inspect every couple months, he has NEVER
had to spray not once, because he has NEVER found any bugs in our
house or out=85
Then for possible fleas, mites, skeeters I used the revolution but it
is a poison should I not worry that I am putting poison on their skin
every month? What about carpet cleaners, bleach, floor cleaners what
about those on your floors and all the carpet sharks sliding through
that? Our should we just allow our homes to become filthy messes
infected with goodness knows what? I love my guys but my house is not
going to be nasty, though we do not use chemicals around them, like
in their room with them, I am not giving up house cleaning=85I use
common sense and keep them off of anything that might be toxic.
And you want to talk about disease, well how do you avoid dragging
all kinds of stuff into the house from where ever you go? Heck the
pet store has all kinds of people walking around with their pets, not
to discount the animals just in from breeders. Some diseases are air
born or tracked in on shoes or clothes. Do you ever go visit and
touch other ferrets, cats, other animals? What are you bringing home,
worms, disease? Did you visit the fair this year, did you pet
anything at the petting zoo, did you go to the zoo, the Humane
Society, the shelter, did you baby sit anyone's pets, did you pet
that cute little kitten at the adoption center outside the mall? Can
you promise that your children did not play with their friend's
animals or in their back yard? Now we are back to a bubble and not
letting out kids (human) out of the house.
Then what about the shelters bringing in new animals almost every
day, with no real quarantine rooms? I have rarely seen a shelter
setup (too limited funds and limited space) that had a separate area
and air system and for sure most were not using rubber gloves while
in there and changing clothes before going from room to room. I do
know that most of these in home shelters can not have the space or
the money necessary to do this. Heck the animals are lucky if they
have a cage away from everything else, much less a room.
Then we my house plants, who knows what lurks in the potting soil and
I do fertilize them, though I do not allow the fuzzies to play with
them=85
Then we have the debate over the very REAL diseases ferrets are prone
to and the treatments, whether to operate, when to operate, whether
to use drugs? Whether many of use do more treatment than is
necessary because a naked ferret bothers us more than them? Whether
the treatment and pain of that extends their life any more than
letting them live out the natural course of events without needles
and operations? If you will only live 7-9 years and over half of it
will be spend in treatment of one kind or another is that humane?
Even the vets do not agree on this=85
So again do we do the bubble bit? Or do we use common sense and raise
happy ferrets whose quality of life is better then lab animals and
much longer than those left to fend in the wild. I chose a life full
of good food, love and laugher, a life that makes the quality of
their lives so much better? Or do we turn them and us into nervous
little Nellie's afraid of life and the world around us? Waiting each
day for the proverbial show to drop?=20=20
[Moderator's Note: just think of many of the things as OPTIONS or
POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES, not as absolutes. Weigh risks, because
some are small -- for example, some approaches to prevent heartworm
have extremely low risk but when heartworm is common in a given area
( http://www.heartwormsociety.org/ may still be running up to date
maps and your vet will know ) then do what you can to prevent it.=20
Having options, weighing risks, and learning are "glass half full"
situations. Know, too, that data changes over time...]
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