Taz's New Buddies

[fazer72110]

Hey Everyone,

Taz has some buddies now! BUT it's already become a bit complicated.

Last Friday we brought home another ferret from the pet store. Dobby looks a lot like Taz, but he is younger and smaller. Dobby and Taz became friends very quickly, which wasn't too surprising since they had lived together in the petstore before. However, it wasn't long before we ran into some trouble with Dobby. My fiance noticed that he had very soft stools on day one, and then about two days later he had a bloody stool followed by many green diarrhea stools. So, today we went back to the petstore so he could be seen by their vet. They said they will call us soon to let us know the diagnosis, and once he is done being treated we can repurchase him. We are hoping it is a simple illness, and he will be just fine, but we are worried.

After we dropped off Dobby, we went to a nearby ma and pop pet store we haven't visited for a while. We decided on keeping 3 ferrets, so we went to see what they had. As soon as we approached the ferret enclosure, we knew we were going home with our third. My fiance and I could not resist Gus (name pending). He had only been in the store two hours before we scooped him up and took him home.

Taz is a monster compared to this 7-week old little guy. We were worried he would bully him, so we were extremely careful introducing them. It could not have went better! Taz was super gentle with Gus unlike when Dobby and Taz first reunited. It's like he understands he's more fragile, and he almost acts like a dad to him haha. We are still observing them closely to make sure no problems start.

Have you guys ever had a ferret with similar symptoms as Dobby's? Is it ok to house Gus with the bigger guys if they are getting along well?

Here's Dobby:


Dobby and Taz napping together:


Gus:



Gus and Taz right now:

[huronna]

oh how adorable....makes me want to go get some more.
I have never separated mine as long as they get along, I think it is their decision.

You might want to read this article ferretfamily.proboards.com/thread/14/ece
It's been a long time since I heard of a ferret getting the "greenies" but you never know

The two ferrets I got from pet stores both had ear mites. They were the only ones
So you never know what they might have

[fazer72110]

Sept 28, 2016 23:02:15 GMT -5 huronna said:

oh how adorable....makes me want to go get some more.
I have never separated mine as long as they get along, I think it is their decision.

You might want to read this article ferretfamily.proboards.com/thread/14/ece
It's been a long time since I heard of a ferret getting the "greenies" but you never know

The two ferrets I got from pet stores both had ear mites. They were the only ones
So you never know what they might have

Thank you for the link and information. After I read that article, I further researched what ECE poops exactly look like and I don't think they 100% resemble Dobby's stools. I found this chart on a forum from a Google search:
holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/2469#

His stools I think would fall under the mucousy or maybe green category. They aren't as green and explosive as the full blown "greenies" example. It says mucousy and green stools both can be caused by minor stress. So, hopefully that could mean he was just stressed from being in a new place, meeting Taz, and actually being played with for the first time. He did have completely normal stools this morning, but we wanted to be safe. The one bloody stool is worrying me most as that is harder to explain away. I actually didn't see it, my fiance did, and by the time I got home it was mixed with other poops and was hard to see any blood.

Their ears look clear to me, and they all appear to be at a healthy weight. It does scare me purchasing animals from pet store chains though. Normally it's my policy not to buy from them, but we couldn't find ferrets being sold elsewhere. Stores like Petsmart are rarely knowledgeable about the animals they sell, give horrible advice (like telling me to feed table scraps/junk food to the ferret), and they improperly house and care for them, especially the reptiles.

[dookcitygang]

Salmon oil on the back of their necks helps introductions. They start off licking each other instead of biting, hopefully. Doesn't always work, but usually does.

[smokeyoshi]

I was thinking a little stress from moving to a new home. While many ferrets carry the ECE bug, I've only had one active case, and there was no mistaking it. Poops smelled like dead fish and was the color of the inside of a lime.

As for housing, if The others get along with Gus, I see no reason they can't live together.
Gus is a classic blaze. He's beautiful, but There's a 75% chance he's hearing impaired. Have you checked?

[fazer72110]

Sept 29, 2016 12:33:31 GMT -5 dookcitygang said:

Salmon oil on the back of their necks helps introductions. They start off licking each other instead of biting, hopefully. Doesn't always work, but usually does.

Thanks for the tip! I'll have to try that in the future.

[fazer72110]

Sept 29, 2016 15:36:59 GMT -5 smokeyoshi said:

I was thinking a little stress from moving to a new home. While many ferrets carry the ECE bug, I've only had one active case, and there was no mistaking it. Poops smelled like dead fish and was the color of the inside of a lime.

As for housing, if The others get along with Gus, I see no reason they can't live together.
Gus is a classic blaze. He's beautiful, but There's a 75% chance he's hearing impaired. Have you checked?

Yep, sounds like Dobby doesn't have ECE then. I agree, I am thinking it was just stress from being in a new environment and being played with, but the bloody stool doesn't make sense to me.

And sure enough, Gus is completely deaf. He didn't flinch to my fingers snapping behind his head or the hidden squeaky toy. So, blazes are prone to being deaf because of genetics? Genetics are funky. I keep ball pythons, and certain variations of them have defects as well. Must be the same idea.

[smokeyoshi]

There is a condition called Waardenberg's Syndrome. The blaze markings are on indicator. Deafness occurs in 75% of cases. The biggest challenge is calling deaf ferrets, but you can do such things as turn on the vacuum, pound the floor or use a laser to call them. It's a matter of training. My very first ferret was deaf but she would come running whenever the vac was turned on, and would respond to a laser if she was awake, lol. She was a silver, so you don't have to be a blaze to be deaf.

Oh, and I really hate to mention this, but a lot of blazes, and most Silvers, lose their color and turn into DEWs. I've had 4 silvers go white, and one blaze, who was not deaf.

[huronna]

Scout is a blaze also and deaf as can be. Consequently he is a really hard sleeper. Nothing wakes him except picking him up and petting him.
He is always in the "dead ferret" slumber. But when he is awake....watch out he is a player like you wouldn't believe.

And you are right about them turning into DEWs. Mac who was almost like a brown sable, turned into a DEW but then he was almost 10 years old

[dee517]

It sure sounds like you have a deaf baby. Our Zeus is deaf but he comes to a flashlight when we use it to call him.
The first picture is Zeus when he came to live with us and the second is 6 years later(now).

[huronna]

Those color changes are amazing

[dee517]

Zeus is the only ferret we have had that changed his coat so radically. This is one of the reasons we take so many pictures of him. You never know when one may escape and we need the most recent picture to show what he looks like now.

[smokeyoshi]

Abita then


And now

[huronna]

AT least Powder won't change her colors, since she is an albino LOL

[dee517]

It looks like Abita likes to change coats too. Until we got Zeus we never saw much of a change in color. If they were albino they stayed albino and if they were If they were sable they may get a little darker or lighter. It looks like Abita and Zeus can't decide what they are.