Healthcare Corner

by Debbi Walcker

One of the most critical tools any ferret family can have, especially one of our foster families with an ill or elderly ferret in the home, is an electronic (never the spring-style kitchen type) scale that weighs in grams. A weekly check of all your fuzzies' weights is the best early indicator of health issues. Keeping in mind that one good trip to the litter box can change a ferret's weight anywhere from 10 to 25 g, consistent weight loss of 50 grams or more that doesn't follow a particular ferret's established annual trend can alert you to a problem before it becomes critical. However, springtime weight loss is very normal for most. For some, this will begin as early as mid-January, while others hold on to their full figures well into March or April. (It seems that the earlier the weight-loss begins, the slower it goes. Which, of course, means the ones who hold onto their blubber the longest lose it the fastest � an unnerving process indeed!)

A healthy ferret will shed 10% to 15% of his/her heaviest weight over the course of the season change. Some of our really big boys can lose as much as 250 g, when they've started out with 1800 or 1900 g at the peak of their "fat season." Then, of course, there are those tiny little girls that never seem to get heavier than about 700 g at any point in the year, who can't afford to lose more than about 60 or 70 g in total.

Your best guideline for acceptable weight loss is to find the heaviest weight your little panic-monger has been at in the previous six months and simply divide by 10. Keep a notebook, electronic file, or other record of weights for the year so that you can establish the annual trend for your particular fuzzy. As always, monitor activity level, food intake, and stool quality when you have the slightest concern about their health. When these are all good, a little bit of weight loss doesn't have to send us racing for veterinary support.

Double Dip Rewards at Amazon and iGive

by Terri Peltz

Washington Ferret Rescue is registered at two online sites that will give us cash for your shopping purchases. We just learned that Amazon and iGive will combine their donation and give us 1.3% of your purchase total instead of 0.8%. These donations are so helpful for us and are free to use so we encourage everyone to take advantage of them.

iGive is a program that gives us donations for shopping you do online at a variety of sites (Bed, Bath and Beyond, Walgreens, Ferret.com, and many more). To get started, download the iGive app on your computer or tablet and register "Washington Ferret Association" as your charity of choice.

Use this link to install the button and get started: https://www.igive.com/button/

Amazon uses Amazon Smile to register your gift. You may have heard that it is only Amazon Prime members, but it can actually apply to everyone�s purchases. To learn about it and start giving, go to their website: http://smile.amazon.com/about. We're listed as "Washington Ferret Association" here as well.

In order for iGive to work, you have to enter through the iGive button. iGive will install on your browser and looks like a floating dandelion seed. Clicking on it will take you to iGive. If you�ve marked Amazon as a favorite, it will appear on the opening screen and you can simply click on that and be taken to the Amazon main page. Or you can search for Amazon from the iGive main page and enter Amazon that way. Once you are on Amazon you will see the iGive logo in the lower right corner. This is how you know your purchases will qualify for both donations.

This gives us money from shopping you may have been doing anyway and is no cost to our supporters. Please register us as your charity of choice today!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at washingtonferret@yahoo.com.

Calendar of Events

Be sure to check the website for up-to-date events

�Photos with Santa� Wrap-Up

We bade farewell to 2014 with our annual �Photos with Santa� fundraising event. Kudos to Kevin Farlee (Santa), Vondelle McLaughlin (Photographer), Ian Walcker (Lighting and Props) and Debbi Walcker (Editor) for creating some of the best ferret photos ever!

An agility course offered waiting families an opportunity to test their ferrets� skills in climbing, jumping and running while waiting for their turn in the photo studio. Delectable baked goods, a silent auction and holiday bazaar rounded out the two day event which raised much-needed funds for the shelter.

Our deepest thanks to the many volunteers and donors who helped make this possible. And to Totem Valley Business Park, who generously donated the suite for WFRS to use for our holiday event.

Total Wine Raffle

by Terri Peltz, Volunteer Coordinator

The class had so much fun this weekend. We were treated to �A Taste of Italy�: nine wines from all different regions. We sampled white, red, sparkling and dessert wines. We each had favorites but there was definitely something for everyone. We also learned some of the characteristics of wine so we have a better idea of what to look for in wines we may like.

Here�s something that I learned: low quality wines will add egg whites to extract some of the bad tastes � like high acid content. It�s a shortcut to aging the wine and letting it mellow on its own.

Total Wine has many types of classes � both beer and wine, by region, lots of variety. This was the second one I attended � the one on champagne was absolutely divine!

Thanks to all of you that supported this event, either buying or selling tickets. We always appreciate the support.

Volunteer Spotlight

by Terri Peltz, Volunteer Coordinator

Jo volunteered for about 4 months before she and her fiance started with their own foster kids. Their ferrets are doing great, and they go into the shelter monthly when Jerry requires a lupron shot. Jo loves having them; they're silly and adventurous and have very distinct personalities, which really began to shine when they got home. Ben loves playing with his toys and asking for cuddles (by trying to climb up your leg), while Jerry likes exploring and trying to outsmart them (which he's done on occasion!). Even though they have their fuzzlets at home and Jo is working full time (at Xbox), she still can�t give up her weekly shelter visit to see the kids in GenPop.

Jo would also like to say that she has a lot of admiration for is the level of dedication it takes to work at the shelter. You have people who work around their job and family schedules to make time for the fuzzlets, and sometimes people are there at all hours of the night to make sure that their basic needs are met to a high standard. It really takes a village!

Jo has been a great addition to the shelter. Not only does she clean cages, she also takes home laundry when possible, picks up extra shifts when we're in need, and helps at events like Dooktoberfest and the Woodinville parade. We are so glad she can't give us up!

The Ferret Scholar

by Dawn Gilbert

This time we are showing pictures of medieval mustelids! Just take a look. Our friends have been stalking the pages of documents for literally hundreds of years.

Detail of a miniature of a fox, afflicted with dropsy, being cured by a weasel, in Ulrich von Pottenstein, Spiegel der Weisheit: Salzburg, c. 1430 London, British Library

Miniatures of a weasel and other animals, including a cat and a hedgehog: England, middle of the 13th century (London, British Library)

Empedocles and Anaxagoras shared the antique notion that the weasel conceives by mouth and gives birth by ear, a notion which Aristotle called �a naive and rash utterance� in �On the Origin of Animals." Neither Albert the Great nor Brunetto Latini mention it but "Physiologus" still uses it as a pretext for a symbolic moralization. It associates the weasel with a man who willingly accepts the seeds of God's word but then puts them away through the ears and forgets what he has heard. The story of "Physiologus" included in the bestiary precedes the description of the weasel derived from Isidor. Isidor said that the name of the weasel, mustela, meant "a long mouse" from the Greek Mustela meaning "long." He distinguished two kinds of weasels:

• the wild ones living in the forest, now called ermines -- their Greek name is ictidas
• the ones dwelling in houses, now called ferrets

Bestiaries exploded in popularity in the 13th century. Artists and writers began transcribing the earlier work of Greek naturalists and adding in their own fables, parables and tales to go along with each entry. The weasel�s newfound popularity in the bestiaries actually worked in its favor. It was no longer simply killing though its noxious odor; now it used valiant biting to cure everything from tiny mouse bites to wounds suffered in battles with dragons. In Ireland, weasels and stoats were intelligent animals with their own societies, families and cultures often described in satirical tales and drawings. In Wales, the weasel's noxious odor, capable of killing a basilisk, merged with the story of the basilisk itself. Gerald of Wales� 12th century book Travels through Wales collected several traditional Welsh folk and fairy tales including one about the weasel that takes on basilisk traits such as raising itself up and spitting poison:

Medieval bestiaries were based on early Greek and Latin texts and were lavishly illustrated. The most well known of one is The Aberdeen Bestiary. This Bestiary was written in the North Midlands of England around 1200 AD and consists of 104 folios. The picture of the weasel is Folio 23v, with the description:

According to the medieval bestiaries, a basilisk was usually described as a crested snake, or occasionally a rooster with a snake�s tail. Its Latin name is Regulus, and it is considered the king of the serpents because its Greek name, basiliscus, means little king. Its odor was said to kill snakes, fire from its mouth was supposed to kill birds, its glance was enough to kill a man, and if it had to it could also kill by hissing. Basilisks were hatched from a rooster�s egg and only a weasel could kill it. This picture, taken from Folio 66r of the Aberdeen Bestiary, shows a weasel attacking a basilisk.

Next time: more on Medieval Mustelids...

Mustelids R Us!

by Dawn Gilbert

The European badger is a species of badger of the genus Meles, native to almost all of Europe. It is classed as Least Concern for extinction by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and large population.

The European badger is a social, burrowing animal which lives on a wide variety of plant and animal foods. It is very fussy over the cleanliness of its burrow, and designates specific places as latrines. Although ferocious when provoked, the European badger is generally a peaceful animal, having been known to share its burrows with other species such as rabbits, red foxes and raccoon dogs The species likely evolved from the Chinese Meles Thorali of the early Pleistocene era.

European badgers are powerfully built animals with small heads, thick, short necks, stocky, wedge-shaped bodies and short tails. Their feet are short, with five toes on each foot, and their limbs are short and massive. Their claws are strong, elongated and have an obtuse end, which helps with digging. The claws are not retractable, and the hind claws wear down with age. Old badgers are sometimes found with their hind claws nearly completely worn away from constant digging. Their snouts, which are used for digging and probing, are muscular and flexible. Their eyes are small and their ears are short and tipped with white. Whiskers are present on their snouts as well as above the eyes. Although their sense of smell is acute, their eyesight is monochromatic. Only moving objects attract their attention. Their hearing is no higher than that of humans. Scent glands are present below the base of the tail.

Contrasting markings of the fur serve to warn off attackers rather than to camouflage them, as they are conspicuous at night. Partial melanism in badgers is known, and albinos are not uncommon. Albino badgers can be pure white or yellowish with pink eyes. Yellow badgers are also known.

European badgers are the most social of badgers, forming groups of six adults on average, though groups of up to 23 have been recorded. Group size may be related to habitat composition. Badger territories can be identified by the presence of communal latrines and well-worn paths. Animals within and outside a group are usually very tolerant of each other. Badger boars tend to mark their territories more actively than sows, with their territorial activity increasing during the mating season in early spring. Badgers groom each other very thoroughly with their claws and teeth. Grooming may have a social function. They are most active at twilight and overnight. Aggression among badgers is largely associated with territorial defense and mating. When fighting, they bite each other on the neck and rump, while running and chasing. Injuries incurred in such fights can be severe and sometimes fatal. European badgers have an extensive vocal repertoire, far beyond the dooks of our little ferrets!

Badgers have very particular relationships; boars typically mate with one female for life, whereas sows have been known to mate with more than one male. Cubs are usually born in mid-January to mid-March within underground chambers containing bedding; these dens are called �setts."

The average litter consists of one to five cubs. Cubs are born pink, with greyish, silvery fur and fused eyelids. By three to five days, their claws become pigmented, and individual dark hairs begin to appear. Their eyes open at four to five weeks of age, and their teeth come in after four to six weeks. They emerge from their setts at eight weeks of age, and begin to be weaned at 12 weeks. Subordinate females assist the mother in guarding, feeding and grooming the cubs. Badgers live up to about 15 years in the wild.

Like other badger species, European badgers are burrowing animals. However, the setts they construct are the most complex, and are passed on from generation to generation. The number of exits in one sett can vary from just a couple to about fifty. These setts can be vast, and can sometimes accommodate multiple families. Badgers dig and collect bedding throughout the year, particularly in autumn and spring. Sett maintenance is usually carried out by subordinate sows and dominant boars. The sett chambers are frequently lined with bedding, which is brought in on dry nights, and consists of grass, bracken, straw, leaves or moss. Badgers are fastidiously clean animals, and they regularly discard old bedding. Spring cleaning is connected to the birth of cubs, and may occur several times during the summer to prevent parasite infestations. If a badger dies within a sett chamber, the other members of the sett will seal off the chamber and dig a new one. Some badgers will drag their dead out of the sett and bury them outside. A sett is almost invariably located near a tree, which is used by badgers for stretching or claw scraping. Badgers also designate specific places as latrines, which are located near the sett.

Like bears, winter sleep in badgers is not accompanied by the lowering of body temperature or bodily functions. Badgers begin to prepare for winter sleep during late summer by accumulating fat reserves. During this period, the sett is cleaned and the nesting chamber is filled with bedding. They typically stop leaving their setts once snow falls. In Russia, badgers start their winter sleep between late October & mid-November. In areas such as England, where winters are less harsh, badgers either forgo winter sleep entirely or rest with repeated interruptions. Upon retiring to sleep, badgers block their sett entrances with dry leaves and dirt. They emerge from their setts in March and early April.

European badgers are among the least carnivorous members of the Carnivora; they are highly adaptable and opportunistic omnivores, whose diet encompasses a wide range of animals and plants. Earthworms are their most important food source, followed by large insects, small or young mammals, carrion, cereals and fruit. Mammals preyed on by badgers include rabbits, rats, mice, voles, shrews, moles and hedgehogs. Badgers typically eat prey on the spot, and rarely transport it to their setts.

European badgers have few natural enemies. Wolves, lynxes and dogs can pose a threat to badgers, though deaths caused by them are rare. Badgers may live alongside red foxes in isolated sections of large burrows. The two species might work together; foxes provide badgers with food scraps, while badgers maintain the shared burrow's cleanliness. Raccoon dogs often use badger setts for shelter. There are many known cases of badgers and raccoon dogs wintering in the same hole.

In Irish mythology, badgers are portrayed as shape-shifters. In German folklore, the badger is portrayed as a cautious and peace-loving, who loves his home, family and comfort. In Kenneth Graham's The Wind in the Willows, Mr. Badger is a gruff, solitary figure who simply hates society, yet is a good friend to Mole and Ratty. A villainous badger named Tommy Brock appears in Beatrix Potter's 1912 book The Tale of Mr. Tod, where he is shown kidnapping the children of Benjamin Bunny and his wife Flopsy. A wise old badger named Trufflehunter appears in C. S. Lewis' Prince Caspian, where he aids Caspian in his struggle against King Miraz. A badger takes a prominent role in Colin Dann's The Animals of Farthing Wood series as second in command to Fox. The badger is also the house symbol for Hufflepuff in the "Harry Potter" book series. The Redwall series also has the Badger Lords, who rule the extinct volcano fortress of Salamandastron and are renowned as fierce warriors.

There are several accounts of European badgers being tamed. Tame badgers can be affectionate pets, and can be trained to come to their owners when their names are called. They are easily fed and have a weakness for pork. They generally do not tolerate the presence of cats and dogs, and will chase them.

The next newsletter will feature the American marten.

Medical Q & A

A: No specific food has been tied to the development of insulinoma. The disease has been found in ferrets consuming all kinds of diets. Years ago we even saw it in ferrets on mink diets or cat food. The popular thinking was that grains in commercial food provide sugars that cause it, but that is unlikely the sole scenario. Grain-free diets are touted as a way to prevent insulinoma but instead are fraught with problems of their own including the direct causality of bladder stones. Bladder stones can completely block the urinary tract and even with swift veterinary care may cause the death of the ferret. Theories as to the etiology of insulinoma are leaning more to endocrine genetics problems. The major commercial diets that the shelter feeds (Mazuri, Marshall, Totally Ferret) have years of good feeding data behind them and ferrets on them do not have any different incident of insulinoma than the ferret population at large. Many diets on the market have not had scientific feeding trials to back up their formulation so they may cause other problems including nutritional deficiencies.