Talk:Ferret/Archive 1

message: The article currently classifies ferrets as extinct. I would correct this myself except that I don't know what the status should be. Can someone fix this? Dmercer (talk) 07:04, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Review conservation status

message: My last post was taken down. But these are important subjects.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.85.160.89 (talk) 03:29, 25 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Ferret Intelligence and Ferret Tricks

message: Someone put up a picture of a ferret.  It was a very nice blackfoot ferret, an endangered species from North America.  It, unfortunately, aside from the name, has nothing to do with Mustela putorius furo, which this article is about.  Stargoat 00:51, 25 Mar 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd move it to the page for that animal then, then. :) Runa27 02:41, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Ferret Picture

message: Is "far more people-oriented than cats" really NPOV?   I've seen people-oriented housecats and not particularly people-oriented ferrets.  --Sommerfeld 21:33, 2005 Feb 8 (UTC)
:That should probably be removed. I've had ferrets ranging from "totally in love with people, sweetest thing ever", to "could generally care less about people compared to shoes and the remote control."  I've also had cats that were total sweethearts. My current cat, if you walk in the room, she takes one look at you, and she rolls over on her belly, ready for petting. Another cat I had until very recently was part Abysinian(sp?), and when we first saw him, he walked right up to us, purring and rubbing against our legs. If a cat is part-oriental, especially, they can be very "people-oriented." Runa27 03:12, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Cats vs Ferrets

message: What is the typical life span of a ferret?  Funkyj 00:06, 2005 Jun 8 (UTC)
: I have read that the maximum is 14 years.  My ferret recently passed away after 13 years, but the number seems to vary widely.  I will see what research I can dig up on this. Julianne 16:55, August 18, 2005 (UTC)
Typically ferrets live between 5 to 8 years though some have been reported to live up to 15 years old.  That is not a typical age.  Most recently heard of a 12 year olds passing & he was producing litters up to that ripe old age.
i've heard 10 from the pet store i got my ferret from and 9 from the vet i take my ferret to --Ditre 17:14, 22 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  life span? 

message: Only because ferrets do not appear too often in films like dogs or cats i thought this could be an interesting addition?!
Well i dunno, im only new here so i pass on knowing what to do correctly!
Its just an idea because i know a few things todo with ferrets
andrzejtch
I know one movie one appears in: Kindergarden Cop.--HistoricalPisces 18:07, 3 September 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: As it is now, the section is a perfectly good addition to the article I think, though one or two bits of trivia need to be cleaned up a bit. Runa27 03:16, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  How about a filmography 

message: Adding every popular culture reference to ferrets to this article is getting out of hand.  I think we should restrict it to major roles for ferrets, or minor roles in very high profile books or films. -- Danny Yee 07:00, 18 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Be careful what you delete: Redwall, Get Fuzzy, et cetera are reasonably high profile, but you removed them nonetheless. I agree that minor appearances do not warrant inclusion, but major characters (or persistent "guest" characters) deserve inclusion if the source is notable enough. I haven't reverted any edits yet, but I'll go through the list to check for entries deserving deletion, and the history for entries that are notable. Nihiltres 02:38, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  It's irrelevant how high profile the works in question are, the issue is whether they are notable in the context of an article on ferrets.  The Redwall article mentions ferrets only in passing; there's nothing there to suggest that ferrets are particularly prominent (qua ferrets).  Think about it from the perspective of someone reading an article on ferrets. -- Danny Yee 03:01, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

text: We should rewrite the section so it actually says something, rather than just being a list, perhaps along the lines of the equivalent section in rabbit.  Whether there's something notable that can be said about ferrets in a work - rather than just a statement of their presence - is a good criterion for a mention. -- Danny Yee 03:11, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  popular culture references for discussion 

message: It is the most common malignancy in ferrets, and this article should have a paragraph about it in the same section as the paragraphs on insulinoma and adrenal disease. Will someone who is a better writer than me please write such a paragraph?
:I created an article called lymphoma in animals which has a section on ferrets.  The lymphoma link in the ferret article directs there.  --Joelmills 17:03, 26 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  request- a paragraph on lymphosarcoma 

message: Since canine distemper is almost always fatal to a ferret, I would like to see it mentioned in the article.  Jrbart 21:48, 6 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  request - mention of canine distemper 

message: A couple days ago, someone (24.72.105.78) added the sentence that  "Of note;In 1978, a baby was killed by a ferret, and numerous children have been mauled." Without linking to anything that can verify that so called fact.  That claim really does require verification. Those of us who know these animals have an extremely hard time believing it.  If it is true, link to the source, but don't just throw away the request for citation.JeffStickney 04:11, 29 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I second this request.  I spent a couple hours yesterday on Google trying to find something ..anything to support this claim and came up with nothing. --Naha|(talk) 04:43, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

text: UGH. I just read the link and it is completely rediculous.  Do we REALLY have to include this utter nonsense in the article? And does the policy really say we have to include non-factual information if it is cited just because someone added it? That doesn't seem quite right to me =/ --Naha|(talk) 21:23, 29 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The link no longer works; the site has been moved and the redirect doesn't go directly to the article. Dang. I needed a good laugh.—Chidom talk 03:23, 6 September 2006
You're right. Years ago I saw a tabloid with the headline "snake tattoo crawls up man's arm and strangles him.  Leaving this garbage in would be akin to posting that "fact" in the snake and tattoo articles.  The only problem is it will be re-inserted as soon as it is deleted, and the edit-revert war will be endless.JeffStickney 22:03, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

text: Yes, I don't want to start an edit war. Its more trouble than its worth and a waste of time. I wish we could get some sort of offical ruling on the matter though.  Not sure what to ask or who to ask about that hehe. --Naha|(talk) 22:06, 29 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: There's nothing that says we have to include all content provided!  I say we just omit the whole silly article, unless it represents a common misconception about ferrets (which seems unlikely). -- Danny Yee 08:15, 30 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  It was already omitted :) --Naha|(talk) 15:20, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

text: Any animal that is abused badly enough will bite. Deliberately starving an animal to make it meaner certainly qualifies as abuse, and putting that enraged, starved animal together with a baby is asking for trouble.  I have no argument with what you are saying, but those are extraordinary circumstances that really don't apply to a properly cared-for pet.  The claim that was deleted came from an absolutely ridiculous article that was essentially a work of fiction.JeffStickney 23:15, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

text: I couldn't have said it better myself. Animal abuse leads to biting/attacking. Dogs, cats, humans etc. who are abused have issues as well. But I dare say that this is such a small percentage of the population it should not be stated as though it is the nature of the animal, because it is not. --Naha|(talk) 23:42, 26 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Please Cite that source> 

message: It was seperated by Terminology and Coloring from the other diseases.
Also expanded on the New Zealand controversy. Ransak 15:23, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Moved Waardenburg Syndrome up to the other diseases 

message: There are actually a number of diseases wherein hair depigmentation is associated with deafness, and Waardenburg is but one of those.  (physiologically, the 'hair cells' in the cochlea of the ear is remarkably similar to the hair actually on your head, only depigmentation of cochlear cells leads to a lack of function.)  However, Waardenburg denotes a specific genetic condition usually affecting the PAX3 gene.  To the best of my knowledge, a ferret homolog of this specific gene has not been isolated and inspected for mutations.  Thus I believe that claiming that these ferets have Waardenburg Syndrome rather then Waardenburg-Like Coloring errounsly implies that such research has in fact taken place.  As a side note, it was once (also errounsly) implied that deafness in dalmations was also related to Waardenburg Syndrome, yet genetic analysis of deafened dalmations disproved this theory.  Additionally, cleft palaets and cranial deformation are not noted to be components of human Waardenburg Syndrome.   
--Robb37 21:44, 22 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Renamed Waardenburg Syndrome as Waardenburg-Like Coloring 

message: The article lacks a section about Ferret lymphoma. I will ask my ferret's vet for info. Mikereichold 14:09, 18 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: There is a link, in the article, to Lymphoma_in_animals#Lymphoma_in_ferrets already. --Naha|(talk) 14:16, 18 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Added a subsection to the article.Mikereichold 13:44, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

text: While I agree that it may make it too long if we had a LONG AND DETAILED description of the disease, this article still needs the lymphoma subsection for consistancy.  The section's introduction mentions 3 types of cancer, and as the other 2 cancers have subsections, lymphoma needs one as well- otherwise there would be a mismatch between the introduction and the rest of the article, giving the reader the impression that something is missing.JeffStickney 22:16, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lymphoma 

message: "California, Puerto Rico and Hawaii are the only states that currently have blanket laws against ferret ownership."
Puerto Rico is not a member of the United States.
:While Puerto Rico is not a state, it is still a territory of the US. BioTube 16:30, 20 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Um. It shouldn't be referred to as a "state" then, but a territory. For example: California and Hawaii are the only states that currently have blanket laws against ferret ownership; the territory of Puerto Rico also has a similar blanket ban on ownership of the animal. Or something like that. Runa27 03:34, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Done. BioTube 19:08, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  error 

message: The "Travel with ferrets" article which began as a subsection of this article was proposed for deletion with the consensus being to merge. I renamed the subsection "Travel regulations".  As it was cut and pasted from the "Travel with ferrets" article there may be some redundancy within this article. Having originally been written as  a separate article, the section could probably use a little polishing to blend in with the rest of this article. JeffStickney 21:24, 29 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Travel with ferrets spinoff article was merged into here 

message: There are more than those colorizations. I've seen a skunk colored ferret, very pretty. Punk18
I have heard the "Black-Eyed White" more often called a "Dark-Eyed White" or abbreviated "DEW" Jrbart 21:37, 6 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Perhaps because too many people who don't, think that they know better. :) --Malleus Fatuarum 00:16, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Colors 

message: The article states that ferrets are the 3rd most popular pet in the US. This is probably from the California Domestic Ferret Association report that ferrets are the third most popular "interactive" or companion pet. This figure is disputed by the Department of Fish and Game. DFG Questors 03:16, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Months ago the claim was removed from the article.  The person who removed it cited [], which is fairly reliable. The person who re-added the information recently was probably unfamiliar with this article's history- that misconception has already been addressed with the actual numbers. On the other hand, I would not consider any information from California Fish and Game to be reliable as they are actively pursuing an agenda- their "facts" tend to be one-sided propeganda aimed at perpetuating the ban.  Since we have a reliable source with the actual numbers, I will edit the disputed claim out.JeffStickney 11:45, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Popularity 

message: Most of the statements in this article are completely unsourced, and references need to be added. I've added a few references and  tags (which show up as ), but I don't have time to review the entire article and add references or mark where they are needed. According to Wikipedia policy, statements of fact have to be sourced, see Wikipedia:Verifiability. Please take some time to choose a piece of information to source, if you need help with how to cite sources, start with Wikipedia:Citation templates; these are not required, but are generally good guides to what information is needed to make a citation useful. If nothing else, just put a note on this talk page about where you got the information and someone else will follow up and put it in an appropriate form.—Chidom talk  20:31, 19 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sourcing information is required 

message: Mustela furo, not Mustela putorius furo is the most widely accepted and probably most correct scientific name for the ferret.
The trinomial M. putorius furo suggests that the ferret is a subspecies of the European polecat, Mustela putorius. But the article admits that the ferret could instead be a domesticated version of the Steppe polecat, Mustela eversmannii. In which case it ought to be called Mustela eversmannii furo.
So in the absence of any genetic evidence to prove conclusively whether ferrets are a domesticated form of M. putorius, M. eversmannii, or even some hybrid of the two, the name M. furo ought to be preferred.
-- Eric 23:13, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I concur, and I just asked another scientist in my office, and she uses the name Mustela furo in her research. Onco_p53 23:29, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

text: I really don't think so. For instance, I believe that the proper name for the ferret is given as Mustela furo in Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd Edition, Wilson & Reeder 1993, Smithsonian Institution Press. M. furo is no sense an abbreviation. It would in any sense be absurd to abbreviate any animal's proper name by missing out the species identifier, it's a recognition that the ferret is not known to be a subspecies of M. putorius. -- Eric 23:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Correct Scientific Name 

message: I'm a newbie to Wikipedia, so I'm not sure how to go about correcting the glaring errors in this article without someone else who thinks they know better just reverting them.
Overall the article seems to be rather poorly researched and in some places looks like an advert for a pet shop.
Just to take one example, it's not true that the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment ever had a ferret as a mascot, that was an April fool's article in Soldier magazine. And the link given to an apparently official Web site confirming the ferret's mascot status is to a commercial defence directory site, not to a British Army or MOD site.
But why bother to correct the article if some clown who hasn't taken the trouble to check with the 1st Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment will just change it back to its previous nonsense again?—Preceding unsigned comment added by Malleus Fatuarum (talk • contribs) 20:20, 22 February 2007
:I for one would welcome more referencing and sourcing, and I won't argue with removal of unsourced material at all.--chris.lawson 01:25, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  The Overall Quality This Article 

message: Most of the present external links look to me like they should be removed WP:EL ---- Eric 19:15, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: External links

message: To the best of my resources, I cannot find a comedy by Aristophanes entitled The Achaeans, surviving or otherwise. Furthermore, Aristophanes' date of birth is stated ca. 446 BC in the relevant Wikipedia article) and similarly in my Greek reference publications. Might the play be The Acharnians instead,  produced in 425 BC? (I have no access to the text of the play at present.) --Buglicker 08:12, 11 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I think you must be right. There doesn't seem to be anything by Aristophanes called The Achaeans, and certainly he mentions weasels in The Acharnians - "Happy he who shall be your possessor and embrace you so firmly at dawn, that you fart like a weasel." Looks like one of those "facts" that gets copied from Web site to Web site. ---- Eric 03:52, 14 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I just came across a translation of The Iliad (ca. 800 BC); "He hung his bow over his shoulder, and as an overall he wore the skin of a grey wolf, while on his head he set a cap of ferret skin." http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.10.x.html ---- Eric 04:23, 14 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ferrets and Aristophanes? 

message: Hi. As part of the current project to compile a list of sources, I have started a list of sources for information on ferrets. If you have any magazines or books that can be used as a source of information, please add them to the list. Thank you. Galanskov 05:19, 12 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sources for ferret information 

message: The legality portion is still weak. There isn't a clear answer on why, for example, California (USA) has chosen to keep Ferrets banned/illegal.
--Gautam3 01:42, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: That is because there is no clear reason for the law. They are illegal now because years ago they were misclassified as wildlife, and the ferret restriction is part of a broader law  that makes "wild animals" in general illegal to own. If they were to be legalized  the Department of Fish and Game, would be conceding some of their power away, something NO beaurocracy would ever do without a fight, so they lobby hard (something a government agency should not have the right to do) to keep things exactly the way they are. But if we start cluttering this article with arguments (and rebuttals) from either or both sides, it would create a POV edit war that really would not be appropriate.JeffStickney 21:59, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Legality Weak

message: I have proposed the creation of Wikiproject Pocket pets, if interested, please visit the proposal page. thanks! VanTucky 05:13, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Wikiproject 

message: Yes i've seen the proposal above but i think a project of higher range is needed to i made another wikiproject better suited to include ferrets.
you can find it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Council/Proposals#Weasels
i also made a little template for the project,
	This article is within the scope of the Weasel WikiProject, a collaborative effort to improve Wikipedia's coverage of articles relating to Ferrets, Weasels, and other Weasel like friends. If you would like to participate, you can visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.
I hope you like it.
This wikiproject is for the superfamily of Musteloidea which currently and surprisingly does not have an article yet. This superfamily includes ferrets and weasels and all of our other furry little weasel like friends. Please put your name on it so this article could have it's very own wikiproject outside of wikiproject animals.
Not to discourage the project above, i ounced had a family of pocket mice as pets, there pretty nice mice.
Teh Ferret 19:51, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The family Mustelidae does have an article.  I don't see a problem with creating a project out of the articles, but I don't see much point either- it would just be a glorified categoryJeffStickney 22:08, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Wikiproject 

message: "In Greek mythology, ferrets were connected to women's birthing rituals."
For the lack of any supporting evidence being provided (flagged since April), I've removed this rather unlikely statement from the history section. If it can be supported though, then it ought, of course, to go back into the article. --Malleus Fatuarum 15:15, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Greek mythology

message: This page is overloading with too much cuteness. Did someone intentionally just google "cute ferret" and post the pictures here?  Should it be tuned down some? Maybe take an unneeded picture or two off? The captions under them are just making it worse.
:Something wrong with cute? Bus stop 03:20, 24 July 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: It's inappropriate for what's supposed to be an encyclopedia entry. I agree with the original comment: there are too many pictures not really illustrating any particular point. --Malleus Fatuarum 10:45, 24 July 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: A fairly recent edit added a lot of them, but there's definitely been image creep happening here.  :)  Judging from what I've seen on other pages, it's ok to have a "Gallery" section in a page for images which aren't used to illustrate the article.  So maybe that should be done here?  --Starwed 12:58, 24 July 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: That's not a bad a idea, at least for those pictures that have some merit. I'm not sure that many of them are worth keeping at all though. --Malleus Fatuarum 13:44, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

text: My favourite one is that guy in the blanket. Simply irresistible. Looks sleepy too. Dr.K. (talk) 02:35, 5 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Ah yes, what I wanted to say is these critters are so cute I am basically speechless. What can I say? Take them out? I can't bring myself to do that just yet. Maybe we can find a better reason for the blanket. Something like to prevent a cold or similar. Dr.K. (talk) 03:51, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

text: Thanks. I guess the blanket comes after the bath. Great. Dr.K. (talk) 19:18, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: To be honest I took that to be a rather colorful towel rather than a blanket. As such my mind lumped it in with the bathing section.  One picture of a wet ferret, one wrapped in a towel. -- Greyed (talk) 19:27, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Perfect. Thanks. Dr.K. (talk) 21:14, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  cute.com? 

message: I suggest that whoever it is that keeps altering "ferrets" to "weasels" in the Rudy Giuliani quote--"The excessive concern that you have for ferrets is a sickness that you should examine with a therapist"--might care to take the trouble to actually listen to the radio programme before changing it again. --Malleus Fatuarum 16:45, 24 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Rudy Giuliani quotation