SAS' Miracle
- sasferretry
- Dec 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 8
On February 18, 2025, a special litter was born in the ferretry, to DCS' Avgi of SAS, and SAS' Steadfast Tin Soldier. Originally, 11 kits were born prematurely by 2 days. Most of these precious babies passed away within their first week, and mamma ferret Avgi ended up with 5 little ones.
The 5 fighters of this litter needed extra care beyond what mommy could give, so we supplemented the litter with extra feedings every 3hrs for 2 weeks. There was 1 extra special, extra small, extra struggling kit in this litter...
When she was 5 weeks old, little Mira still looked like she was 2 weeks old. Very little fat on her body, very little muscle, and always wearing an upset face because her GI tract was constantly in pain. To make matters more uncomfortable, one of Mira's siblings had eaten half of her tail at this point, during a meaty mealtime.
Mommy Avgi was very anxious about the health of her kits.
One very cold early morning in April, tiny Mira crawled through the cage bars, and ended up on the frozen ferretry floor. She crawled a few feet, then ran out of energy and began to give up and succumb to the cold.
When I found Mira, I thought she had already passed. She was stiff and cold, but she made a very small sound, so I put her on my skin against my heart, and fed the other ferrets while I waited to see if she would stir back to life... and around 45min later, she did!
We hand-fed Mira and put her back with Avgi and her siblings again. This time, however, Avgi held Mira up and gave her back to us. We call this behavior 'waving the white flag.'
So we took Mira again, and she lived against my skin for the following 2 weeks, while she struggled to gain fat to support her organs and normal GI function.
Mira slept quite a lot during this time.
We researched and consulted with our trusted veterinarians about what could cause Mira's GI struggles, because she would often choke on food and need assistance with food portions.
We treated Mira for H. mustelae, a bacterium that ferrets commonly contract around weaning age. It can sometimes grown out of hand and cause ulcers, and chronic gastritis... While she was being treated, we played with Mira when she was feeling well enough, and she seemed to think of us as big ferret parents.
Because she was having difficulty getting proper nutrition throughout her body, it took Mira a while to grow hair. She was a partially naked baby for some time.
While she was recovering, Mira joined us for the Easter holiday with family, all the way in southern Pennsylvania. She saw a children's play production of Beauty & The Beast during this time, though she slept though the majority of it and woke up only once to ask for more food. She was more focused on sleeping and growing than ever before, and she was finally experiencing less pain and more playtime energy.
At around 3 months old, Mira was moving more confidently, growing hair, putting on weight, and eating solid meat, bone, and organ, independently! She was finally ready to move into her own apartment in the ferretry.
At 10 months old, Mira continues to thrive.
She loves everything an average ferret her age loves! Salmon oil, freeze dried chicken hearts, long playtimes with fellow ferret friends.
Mira will probably always be a bit more of a special case than her fellow ferretry companions. She has a very long body, and still curls her stubby tail into a kick stand she can lean back on sometimes (it's quite silly looking). She loves cuddles and kisses, and never bites a human face or finger.
SAS' Miracle, named for her many brushes with death, will live out her life in SAS Ferretry, as a most beloved pet ferret.
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