What I didn't mention is that she's a bit odd... ok, so most of my animals are rather odd in one way or another, but she is particularly odd!
It all started when she was still at the shelter and she went off to the vets to be speyed. She returned from the vets amidst much gossip and comedy comments. Basically they couldn't find anything. Now logic dictates that she's already been speyed - and I still stand by this but that's not the only odd thing. This is what her vet notes say:
"Very abnormal anatomy. Very small vulva but not normal shape. No ovaries found. No gonads found. Looks like underaged female."I was advised to keep an eye on her for signs of season just in case. So, it's possible that she had been speyed already - possibly when she was too young, or she could be a hemaphrodite and have been speyed and castrated already, or she could just lack reproductive parts altogether!
She lacks that tell-tale ferret odour - even when being tormented by Marigold - which lead to wonder if she may have been descented or prehaps her musk glands never fully developed.
Now descenting is not common practice in the UK, in fact it could even be illegal (unless for medical reasons), but that doesn't mean she couldn't have been. It is fairly common practice in the USA and so I did check her ears in case she is an American import. A certain ferret farming company with a dubious repution neuter ferrets at 6 weeks old and often descent as well - you can spot these ferrets because they have ear tattoos - one dot for neutered, two dots for descented. P has no such markings - thankfully!
She's incredibly long (as long as my boys, if not a little longer), her tail is also very long - longer than my other ferrets tails and very skinny. Her markings seem to be getting darker. She was pretty big (length wise) when she came into work but she's definitely grown since I've had her.
The other odd thing is how my other ferret behave towards her. They are not fully integrated yet and the introduction process has been interesting to say the least! P tends to scream when other ferrets get near her. She's getting better with this as I think she's starting to realise that screaming just excites the others making them more likely to harass her! I was supervising them all the other day when I noticed something I've never seen before. Marigold and Strauss don't try and dominate her, they don't leap on her and try to bite her neck and drag her - instead they back up onto her and rub their backsides on her!! She finds this quite distressing. I assume they are scent marking her but it is all very strange - I really need to try and video it. They approach her in a funny way - and I know I'm anthropomorphising here but it's like they are confused by her, that's the only way I can really explain it. Also, when P is out with the others, Marigold will wander about scratching at the floor - not in a hole digging way but more like dogs sometimes do on grass when they're doing scenty things - a kind of flicking motion of the feet.
I've had every suggestion from P being a hybrid (polecat x ferret) to a genetic mutant! Ultimately it doesn't really matter - she's adorable and I love her to bits whatever she is but I must admit I'm very curious!
No comments:
Post a Comment