HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: bryan@kolsky.tamu.edu (Bryan Milligan)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Joey the Lemur (transcript, kinda long)
Date: 16 Dec 1992 16:10:15 GMT
Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
NNTP-Posting-Host: kolsky.tamu.edu

In article <1992Dec15.164243.11865@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu>  
franklir@helium.gas.uug.arizona.edu (Ryan J Franklin ) writes:
> In article <1992Dec15.041343.17227@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>  
jfurr@nyx.cs.du.edu (JKF) writes:
> >In article <1992Dec10.091345.13310@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu>  
franklir@helium.gas.uug.arizona.edu (Ryan J Franklin ) writes:

> >>Incidentally, can anyone tell me if a lemur's tail is partially  
prehensile?
> >
> >As far as I can tell from this book I checked out called "Lemurs And  
You,"
> >lemur tails are not prehensile.  Instead they use their little paws to
> >cling to things that need clinging to... ceiling lamps, Cindy Crawford,
> >Twinkies, etc...
> 
> Hm.  Then, apart from looking really nice, what purpose do their tails 
> serve?  They seem to be rather inconvenient whilst leeming, as I  
mentioned
> before, and even something as simple as being able to use it as a way of
> stabilizing themselves when climbing or clinging would go a long way  
towards
> explaining this prosimian puzzle.  

	I saw a show the other day that said they used their tails to tell  
where each other where they were, sorta like waving a flag in the tall  
grass.


--

Bryan Milligan
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Texas A&M University
bryan@kolsky.tamu.edu  (NeXT Mail accepted)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Sneezing rats
From: chelsea@oneb2.almanac.bc.ca
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 07:21:54 PST
Organization: The Old Coot's (Spare) Almanac
Keywords: sneezing, rats

bickford@jimmy.dfci.harvard.edu (Paul Bickford) writes:

> 
> I have a wonderful rat, but she has the habit of emmitting little sneezes on
> a regular basis. Her eyes/nose are free from discharges, and in all other
> respects she is a happy rat. Are her sneezes normal, or are they being caused
> by some allergy (too much dust?)? Her living environment is cleaned regular-
> ly, too. Anyone else seen similar sneezing in their rodent?

My rat, Mickey, does this sometimes.  I asked around too but no one seemed
to know.  I don't think anything is seriously wrong though 'cause like you
say about your rat, he is happy otherwise.  Just watch out for " spray on,
flea and mite control".  They should be avoided.  The vet said that they are
dangerous as they can get in little noses and lungs.




                     CHELSEA+MICKEY

> 


               chelsea@oneb2.almanac.bc.ca (Chelsea Graham)
                      The Old Coot's Almanac
               Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
                    Courtesy the old coot hisse'f!
From: hartman@thorin.cis.udel.edu (Nancy Hartman)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: ferret shots
Date: 17 Dec 1992 15:06:25 GMT
Organization: University of Delaware, Newark
Distribution: na
NNTP-Posting-Host: thorin.cis.udel.edu

In article <BzDLMH.L23@news.udel.edu> graziano@ravel.udel.edu (Lisa Marie Graziano) writes:
>
>About rabies shots, and other vaccinations.  I've heard that shots
>developed for dogs or cats may actually be harmful for ferrets.  Is this
>true?? That is the reason mine haven't been vaccinated.  But they spend
>about 6 weeks each year in the company of numerous dogs and cats, so maybe
>they should be vaccinated.
>Lisa, Hava, and Cheerio

IMRAB is ferret safe.  It's only been approved for about 2 years.
It's also commonly used for other animals, so your vet should have
it around.

Yes it is true that previous vaccines were harmful to ferrets.  In
fact about 1/2 of the cases of rabies in ferrets (of which there are
only around 12) were caused by the ferrets actually being given
rabies by the vaccine!  

While we're on the subject of vaccinations.  The distemper vaccines
for ferrets are FERVAC-D (actually for ferrets) or FROMM-D (for dogs,
but safe and effective).  FERVAC-D is preferable, since the testing
has actually been done for ferrets (again, this is largely political,
the more of the stuff they sell, the more incentive to make other
ferret-specific medication).  But if your vet doesn't carry it, and
you don't have enough ferrets to warrant a special shipment, FROMM-D
is more than adequate.

BTW, FERVAC-D is made by United Vaccines.  If anyone wants it, I can
look up their 800 number.

- Nancy


-- 
Nancy Hartman					CIS graduate student
hartman@udel.edu				U. of Delaware
        President and founder, Delaware Valley Ferret Club
                      Owner of Percy & Bree
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: viking@iastate.edu (Dan Sorenson)
Subject: Re: Finding a dog im not allergic to.
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 03:52:18 GMT

jwg0@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (JOHN WALTER GEWARTOWSKI) writes:

>Of course, dogs give better lovin'.  I would suggest a hairless dog.  I know
>that there is at least one breed of hairless dog, and possibly more.  I know
>for a fact that you are allergic to the dander which eminates from the dog's
>hair.  I'm an allergy sufferer too.  Without the hair, there's no dander to
>speak of, and no allergies either.

	Find somebody with a poodle and see if you can stand being around it
for any length of time.  For some reason, a poodle has hair that is more
like a human than a canine, and they do not shed.  My father had allergies
and poodles were the only dogs he could stand.

	And I know you're thinking, "Poodle?  What a wuss dog!  It looks
like a ballerina that hasn't shaved!"  Forget it.  Get a real poodle, not
one of those "toys" or "teacups."  Imagine a 40lb poodle that stands
mid-thigh on a 5'10" adult.  Remember, they were once bred for hunting,
and those breeds can still be found.  And for goodness sakes, don't
clip it with that silly poodle haircut!

< Dan Sorenson, DoD #1066 z1dan@exnet.iastate.edu viking@iastate.edu >
<  ISU only censors what I read, not what I say.  Don't blame them.  >
<  "This isn't an answer, it's a pagan dance around a midnight fire  >
<   written in intellectual runes." -- Rich Young                    >
From: hartman@thorin.cis.udel.edu (Nancy Hartman)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Ferret hair loss
Date: 17 Dec 1992 15:37:47 GMT
Organization: University of Delaware, Newark
NNTP-Posting-Host: thorin.cis.udel.edu

In article <1992Dec17.024527.13841@beaver.cs.washington.edu> goan@cs.washington.edu (Terrance Goan) writes:
>My ferret (6 years old) has fairly sparse tail hair.  Over the summer
>it was just about bald, but now its just a little sparse.  My wife
>was going to take it to a vet because she is a worrier, but I was
>hoping that I could find evidence that this is not uncommon. Anyone?

Symmetrical hair loss starting at the tail and working it's way up
the back can be indicative of an adrenal tumor (cushing's disease).

Don't panic.  Some ferrets just lose tail hair seasonally, from
stress, diet, old age...  If it's working it's way up his/her back 
though, it's probably an adrenal tumor.

Adrenal tumors are very common in ferrets, and are rarely cancerous.
Percy just had one removed in May, and I'm happy to say she's doing
fabulously.  It is a surgery that ferrets bounce back from very well
(although there is a risk, as with any major surgery).  It's almost
always the left adrenal that's the problem.  (they are located
just above the kidneys).  

One very common symptom in females is an enlarged vulva.  So if your 
female ferret is exibiting hair loss and an enlarged vulva, I would
be willing to bet money that it's an adrenal tumor (unless she's an
unaltered jill :) )  Unfortunately, there's no such indicator
with males, so they very often aren't diagnosed until it's much
more progressed.  

Symptoms are:  Symmetrical bilateral alopecia (hair loss), skin and 
muscle atrophy (thin skin, loss of muscle mass.  this causes weakeness
and makes it look like they have a "pot belly"), enlarged vulva
(female only, obviously), polydipsia, and polyuria (???).  (from
personal experience and James G. Fox's Biology and Diseases of the
Ferret)

Have your vet call:
Dr. Thomas Kawasaki
Old Bridge Vet. Hosp.
(701) 494-0094

He's one of the top ferret specialists in the country, and he
is more than willing to discuss ferret care with other vets.
It could save you a lot of money, too.  Most vets immediately
want to run lots of tests, the majority of which are inconclusive
with ferrets.  What's more, you have to anesthetise a ferret 
to get enough blood for most blood work, so you'll be saving
your ferret a lot of uneccessary stress.

If it is seasonal, you might want to try changing diet, leaving 
curtains open (i.e., natural lighting), conditioner/creme rinse,
or adding a little oil to their food.  But if s/he ever gets bald
above the base of the tail I *STRONGLY* suggest you have him/her
looked at. 

- Nancy


-- 
Nancy Hartman					CIS graduate student
hartman@udel.edu				U. of Delaware
        President and founder, Delaware Valley Ferret Club
                      Owner of Percy & Bree
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: sstockw1@cc.swarthmore.edu (Sarah Stockwell)
Subject: Re: Sneezing rats
Organization: Swarthmore College
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 06:29:31 GMT

In article <1gnej9INN55u@early-bird.think.com>,
bickford@jimmy.dfci.harvard.edu (Paul Bickford) writes:
> I have a wonderful rat, but she has the habit of emmitting little sneezes on
> a regular basis. Her eyes/nose are free from discharges, and in all other
> respects she is a happy rat. Are her sneezes normal, or are they being caused
> by some allergy (too much dust?)? Her living environment is cleaned regular-
> ly, too. Anyone else seen similar sneezing in their rodent?

My rats all did that too, and they were healthy.  They lived in torn-up
newspapers, not shavings, so I doubt it was dust.  Also, they did it while
riding on my shoulder or just exploring the room, not necessarily in the
cage.  I think it's normal.

--Sarah
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: "Amy Young Leith" <alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Papaya tablets for bun.
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 20:23:45 -0500


Well, I went down to GNC in the mall, and bought some.  This was the
only place I could find them.  Here's what the bottle has to day:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
These tablets are made from ripe papaya melon and papaya enzyme-papain
(protein digesting enzyme from papaya), protease (protein digesting
enzyme) and alpha-amylase (starch digesting enzyme from aspergillius
oryzae).  

Made with the following:
Fillers: sucrose
Binders: dextrose
Coating: none
Excipients:  Steric acid, FD&C yellow #6, artificial flavors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Someone please tell me these are the right ones.  I paid $20 for two
600 tablet bottles.  They are supposed to be $20 for one bottle, but
they were mismarked, so he gave me the other bottle.  =) 

Also, Dink LOVES them.  I sat on the floor with my packages, and he
just sat there watching, with that, "Got something for *me*??"  look.
I gave him one, and he sniffed it for a minute, and then chowed on it.
Then he went after the bottle.  I gave him another, and after fighting
him off of me, sealed up the bottle.  He then pushed the bottle all
over the floor, scratching and digging at it, licking it, biting the
lid... he wanted in there!  

That sure was easy.  He thinks they are a treat.  

How many should I give him per day?  

amy


















-- 
alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu for personal mail
			    All business mail to alyoung@silver.ucs.indiana.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Dislcaimer:I only speak for myself.  Anyone who thinks differently is a fool.
			(This means NOT my employer!!)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: gremlin@buhub.bradley.edu (Stephanie Udry)
Subject: bunnie is now a HE!
Organization: Bradley University
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 92 05:29:54 GMT

well, for all of you who wondered why my female rabbit was spraying urine..
here's your answer

buhub is a HE!

someone mailed me today and ticked off my curiosity....so i grabbed bunny in a
towel and upeneded "her".....not being fmailiar with bunny genitalia, i wasn't
100% sure what i was doing, but withing a few minutes i began to suspect
our bouncing baby girl was a bouncy baby boy.....

so, we took "he/her/it" to the vet.....he comfirmed it is a HE, and about 6mths
old...we will get HIM neutered after the first of the year...he aslso gave us
soem hints about building our own cage....

i told him about the papaya and acidophilus...he said she really didn't nneed
papaya if we made sure he ate plenty of hay....also said acidophilus wan't
real necessary, but recommended putting it on a banana instead of in water...


we plan to try to get her to eat the papaya...once we get some bananas to get
him used to fruit...

has anyone here had any problem feeding bunny acidophilus in water?  he said
that buhub would probably not drink the water...but you only put such a little
bit in...would it really make a difference in taste? what's your esperience?

sorry if i keep calling him a her...this will take a while to break! :)

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Stephanie Udry                tanha on IRC                        ~
~ gremlin@buhub.bradley.edu     goddess of mischief and grins       ~
~   "The innocence of sleeping children, dressed in white and slowly~
~    dreaming, stops all time."    "primary" by the cure            ~ 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: urf@icl.se (Urban F)
Subject: Re: ferret harness and bells
Organization: None. On USENET I speak only for myself.
X-Alt.reply-Address: n.g.u.fredriksson.swe2001@oasis.icl.co.uk
Distribution: rec
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 06:40:49 GMT

"karen mcmurray" <karen.mcmurray@canrem.com> writes:
>     - When Wasabi escaped from the house and a neighbour found a
>       fluffed-up, back-arched, hissing, aggressive little weasel under
>       his porch, he *knew* it was someone's frightened pet (and his kids
>       had seen us walking them and knew where to find us).

I rely more on the latter part. Every occasion I can, I bring one or
both my ferrets to local meetings ("Welcome to the meeting where we
will inform you about the plans for the nearby airport") in order to
get as many as possible to see them, and learn that they are harmless
pets.

The worst scare I've had yet, was last week when a small aircraft
crashed close to where I live, but they didn't say which street on
the radio (it crashed a few minutes after I took the bus to my job).
It's all very well that they said no humans on the ground
were hurt, but one house was smashed up, burnt a little, and some
apartments filled with foam. I don't expect anyone to go into a
burning house for a ferret, but as you can't breathe in foam, I 
sure hoped one of the neighbours were home and could tell the
fire brigade about my darlings, in case it had been my home.

This made me decide to put up directions inside the door telling
how many there are, and where they usually are found sleeping. If
I can find a nice sign with a picture of ferrets, I'll put it on
the outside and hope it will never be needed.
--
 Urban Fredriksson  urf@icl.se  
 (When writing about ferrets, please include "ferret" in the subject line
 as it guarantees I will read it (unless you cross-post to talk.bizarre or
 misc.test: I never see such articles.(If you use nn, I can tell you how.)))
From: gremlin@buhub.bradley.edu (Stephanie Udry)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: first days with bunny
Date: 15 Dec 92 05:46:12 GMT
Organization: Bradley University

well, pete and i aren't real sure how we are doing with buhub....but
we are trying!

1) she has not touched any of the sun dried alfalfa hay blocks we gave her, 
our the special lettuce flavored bunny treats....we even left them in her food
dish during the day to see if it was our presence....guess not...
2) the one thing i can tell she definately likes is "the towel game"....i
throw the towel on top of her so she is completely covered,....then she
takes about 10 seconds to find her wayout.....she seems to love it..she grunt/
oinks the whole time...and comes back for more....
3)after letting her run around the living room for an hour at a time while
we supervised for the past 3 days, we have decided to start limiting her so
we can start litter training.....
	we put her cage in a wide hallway which is between the back and front
of the house....during the day when we are gone, we keep her in the cage...
at night when we are home, we block the ends of the hall off with cardtables
(wish we had kiddie gates) and sit in there with her....we just did this today
and last night...the litter box is next to her cage....we wanted to put one
inside her cage too, but we couldn't find one to fit....

	she did good for the whole hour we were with her...then we went upstairs
a minute to talk to my roommate....when we came back down she had pelleted
all over and peed in 3 places......she does hop into the litter box...but
i don't think she's ever peed there....or pelleted there intentionally....i
think it's just another place to walk in...



we hope, once she shows progress in training, to give her access to two rooms...


so, the question is, are we doing this right?  how exactlyu do we train her>
when i'm in the hall with her, if she pellets, i pick her right up and put her

in the litter box...and put the pellet in there too....so far she ahsn't peed
when i'm around...

	are we doing this right?  i don't know how to reward her since she
isn't intersted in treats....

btw, she pellets when she gets excited....she just shoots them out one at a 
time, not really sitting in one place....there doesn't seem to be a pattern..
maybe we should just get some diapers!

any stories of how you all traind your rabbits would be much appreciated!

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Stephanie Udry                tanha on IRC                        ~
~ gremlin@buhub.bradley.edu     goddess of mischief and grins       ~
~   "The innocence of sleeping children, dressed in white and slowly~
~    dreaming, stops all time."    "primary" by the cure            ~ 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: "Amy Young Leith" <alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: House Rabbit Handbook.
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 19:45:14 -0500


I just picked this book, by Marinell Harriman, up at a local
bookstore.  Is this *the* House Rabbit Handbook?  If so, I agree, it's
great.  Cute as hell, too.  =)  Very informative, in every field from
"communication" to healthcare.  I have some GREAT ideas for toys.
Also a lot of ideas for bunny proofing. 

amy
-- 
alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu for personal mail
			    All business mail to alyoung@silver.ucs.indiana.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Dislcaimer:I only speak for myself.  Anyone who thinks differently is a fool.
			(This means NOT my employer!!)
From: hartman@oin.cis.udel.edu (Nancy Hartman)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: ferret rabies vaccination
Date: 16 Dec 92 22:18:47 GMT
Distribution: rec
Organization: University of Delaware, Newark
NNTP-Posting-Host: oin.cis.udel.edu

In article <1992Dec16.4227.7493@dosgate> "karen mcmurray" <karen.mcmurray@canrem.com> writes:

>In Ontario, if your unvaccinated ferret bites someone who reports it,
>your ferret will be taken from you and killed.  Apparently, there isn't
>much knowledge about rabies in ferrets, so they will *not* be quarantined.
>(This happened in Toronto about two years ago.  I doubt it has changed.)

Actually, in most places they will destroy the ferret even if it
has been vaccinated!  This really shows the intelligence of the
fish & game losers, er, I mean "officials".  And it doesn't only 
have to be a bite, some ferrets have lost their lives due to a 
scratch from their nails or a nip that doesn't even break skin!!!

This is in no means a reason not to have your ferret vaccinated for
rabies.  I contend that although it may not officially help your
ferret to have the vaccination, you'll probably be lucky and be
able to talk the person out of reporting the ferret.  Or, if
they do, you may be really lucky and be able to talk fish and game
out of killing him/her.  

There's also the very major point that having your ferret vaccinated
makes him/her a statistic.  If enough ferrets are vaccinated each
year for rabies, the powers that be have to notice and figure that "hey, 
people really do keep these animals as pets, maybe they aren't just
vicious baby killers..."

And then there's always the 1 in ten million chance that your ferret
might actually be exposed to rabies...  (not a real statistic, I 
don't have them handy right now)

- Nancy


-- 
Nancy Hartman					CIS graduate student
hartman@udel.edu				U. of Delaware
        President and founder, Delaware Valley Ferret Club
                      Owner of Percy & Bree
From: njl@drutx.ATT.COM (LaRocheNJ)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: fat bunny
Summary: Extra weight is NOT good for surviving furballs.
Date: 17 Dec 92 18:46:48 GMT
Organization: AT&T, Denver, CO

In article <RMURA.92Dec14215105@world.std.com>, rmura@world.std.com (Ron Mura) writes:
> We had one rabbit that died from fur-balls,
> probably of malnutrition, so I always feel it's better to err on
> the side of a bit too much weight than too little.

Fur-balls don't cause malnutrition--death is likely to occur far sooner than
malnutrition.  (Usually, by the time the hairball is detected via symptoms like lack
of appetite and small, hard pills, there has already been damage to some of the
internal organs.)  Extra weight is never a good thing when fighting an illness,
injury, or physical problem.  Apart from adding stress to the heart, it stresses the
body to convert the fat.

> The pellet ration charts are based on weight, but if you start with an
> overweight rabbit you would get too high an alotment.

Decrease it by about 10% and observe the weight to see if it's going down.  If not,
reduce it another 10%.

Nancy LaRcohe (HRS)
att!drutx!njl
From: jp@tygra.Michigan.COM (John Palmer)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: bunny's new favorite food...
Keywords: help! nervous bunny mom!
Date: 12 Dec 92 02:46:07 GMT
Organization: CAT-TALK Conferencing System

In article <1g8rvqINN7n2@overload.lbl.gov> horsman@geo.lbl.gov (Jennifer Horsman) writes:
"In article <1992Dec10.170624.12707jp@tygra.Michigan.COM> jp@tygra.Michigan.COM (John Palmer) writes:
"> 
">His one ear worries me. He never lifts it up or folds it behind his head -
">it just hangs there. It looks ok (no cuts or bruises on it and its not
">dirty on the inside). He does scratch it, though. 
"
"My first lop was like this. he was actually only 3/4 lop. One ear stood
"up straight and the other was "broken". I was told that I could train
"the other ear to lay down too, but I really thought it was kind of
"cute the way it was, so I let his ear alone. He looked like a heli-
"copter.
"Jennifer

Someone suggested that the cartilege might be damaged and as long as
it doesn't seem to hurt him, then leave it alone. I think I'll just do
that. He/she/it is going to the vet in a bit for a once-over. I may
get some info regarding the ear from the doc. (along with a determination
of wether its a he/she/it - he/she/it wont let me look. :-> )
-- 
Clinton/Gore in '92   | E-MAIL: jp@michigan.com  CAT-TALK IS BACK as a FREE
PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST  | SYSTEM!! 313-882-2209 300-14400 V.32/V.32BIS/TurboPEP
bye-bye Georgie....   | Anon-UUCP: System: tygra, Login: nuucp, no pw
Its been a bitch...   | Get file "/cat/pub/filelist" for a list of files.
Newsgroups: rec.pets