DARK POLECAT
Cream under fur, dark coated, usually Black/Dark Brown nose to tail, White chin, Black nose.
POLECAT
White under fur with Brown or Black guard hairs, Bandit type mask, small bib. No mitts or blaze.
ALBINO
Pink/Ruby Eyes, White coat to Apricot, Pink nose
COPPER
White under fur and white off white maincoat, Copper guard hairs. No solid markings such as legs or tail, and no mask. Black eyes
White/Cream under fur, Biscuit Coloured legs, shoulders, tail and mask.
SILVERS
White under fur, light grey or silver guard hairs. Light to Dark body hairs, Pink or Black or mottled noses. Silver Mitts have four white feet
COLOURED
This class is usually for those colours not covered by the main colour classes described above.
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TEETH | |
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Teeth should be clean and complete, that is, no canine tips broken off, cracked teeth or gum | |
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damage which would indicate that the animal has been fighting, malnourished, fretting at the | |
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bars of its cage etc. The upper and lower teeth must meet with the slightest amount of | |
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scissor bite. No tartar, plaque or discoloration. |
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Nails should be trimmed but not so short as to be too close to the nerve. The nails should | |
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not show signs of having been cut that morning, they should be nicely rounded indicating | |
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that you have prepared the ferret for the day in advance and that there is a regular maintenance | |
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routing in place. The toes should be straight and clean. |
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COAT | |
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The coat is the most obvious indication of a Ferrets general state of health. The coat should | |
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be clean, shiny, without any infestations and no scabs or wounds. The skin under the coat | |
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should be light pink (or blue in the case of blue Russian ferrets). There should not be any | |
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smell of shampoo or deodorants as these mask the natural ferret musky scent and a sick or | |
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wrongly fed ferret can be disguised after it has had a bath and shampoo. The whiskers | |
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should be Long and strong, Short , brittle, broken or curled whiskers will lose points. | |
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EYES | |
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The ferrets eyes should be clean, no signs of infection or infestation (as can happen | |
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especially with working ferrets) and shiny bright. Fleas and mites often leave debris around | |
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the edge of the eyes. A ferret does not have good eyesight but they should at least react to | |
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movement of the judges hand around him. The eyes should not be too small or protrude. | |
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EARS | |
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The ears are often a deciding point when choosing between potential champions. The ears | |
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generate a lot of wax and this can cause all sorts of complications. The ears should be clean | |
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and have no sign of mite dust and infestation. if there is a little wax deep inside then this has | |
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to be taken into account by the judge as unavoidable within reason as you should never delve | |
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deep into the ferrets ears to clean them but this is no excuse for dirt or dust, there are many | |
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preparations on the market to clean this inner dirt without physical probing. | |
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BODY/SHAPE | |
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The shape of the body can vary greatly between Hobs and Jill’s, Working ferrets and | |
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House pets, Youths and Veterans. Essentially a ferret should not be pear shaped or show | |
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signs of obesity, neither should they have concave sides by their rear legs. A ferret that has | |
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plenty of space to exercise, proper diet and vitamin supplements where the diet lacks, will | |
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have an almost straight body line from the front legs to the flanks. While holding the ferret, if | |
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you slide your hand down the body, a ripple is often seen from the muscles under the skin | |
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and this is always a good sign. Muscle tone is felt rather than seen, the characteristic arch of | |
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the back should not be too pronounced as this will indicate inadequate spaced living quarters. | |
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The ferret should not slouch or slide its body along when walking. | |
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