Posted in 2 parts [combined. BIG]
Looks like I have been busted about my new additions. *lol*
A week ago last Thursday I went up to Jackie's place to meet & pick up my
new kids.
What a blast! It was so nice to finally meet Jackie after all of these
years of just knowing her through email. And it was like walking into a
fuzzy lovers paradise. Ferts all over the place!
She had let most of the Utah kids out just before we got there. The only
ones still in their cages were the ones that didn't get along with other
ferrets. She has a room just for the kids to play. I think it use to be
her den, but now it is theirs.
When you walk in her front door you are in her living room, but there is
no furniture in there, it's in the carport. She had to move everything
out to the carport to make room for cages for the Utah kids. Of course
this being the rainy season down here, it rained quite a bit & now most
everything is ruined. What you see is wall to wall, well equipped,
stacked cages.
In with the ferrets I sat on the floor & let them come to me. It may
take her a few seconds, but she knows the name of each & every one, which
amazes me. I don't have any idea who is who. I could hold one for awhile
& put it down & pick it up a minute later & have no idea that I had just
held it. Spaz was a little guy that I could identify quickly, he was
white at one time but is now rusty orange with black guard hairs. He was
very vocal, he chuckled with every step he took. He came home with me &
is now Pumpkin. He had two buddies George & Nutmeg. They had to come
along with Pumpkin. See that's how it works, you fall for one & it has a
couple of buddies. Naturally they can't stay behind right? These guys
saw me coming! *S*
She has this large kids wading pool set up with rice in it, what a blast
they were having! Toys everywhere. Tubes & sleep sack almost covered the
floor. Some of the ferrets were greedy & kept hauling more & more toys to
their hiding places. All of them were so very sweet.
A little light chocolate girl wanted kisses & kept coming back. Since
Jackie had recently did a ADV test on her she had a pink mark under her
chin , so I knew her if I looked. Her name was Cassie & it is now Annie.
She looks very much like me Angel ferret Blossom must have looked when she
was young. It was love at first sight for both of us I think. She is a
mama's girl now following me around & wanting to be picked up. And a
little dark chocolate sable, with a very distinct mask, came out of hiding
to investigate Jack when he came in. Jackie said she has not done that
before with anyone. That was Tibby & she came home with us. Yesterday
she was coming by me to get & give kisses. She doesn't like to be out
when the other kids are out so when they go to sleep she will come out &
smother me with kisses. I call her Tip Toe Tibby. *s* Molly who is a
tiny chocolate with very fluffy fur. She is so light it is almost like
picking up a bunch of feathers. She sort of stays to herself to.
Cinnamon is a dark chocolate. Those are the girls. Oreo who is a large
sable color & can be a terror, Smokey who is a large dark sable, who has
very bad teeth & needs them cleaned. He also may be insulinomic, he is
getting a little pred twice a day, Rocky who is chocolate, Toby is a dark
sable with a white tip on the end of his tail. Sometimes he doesn't feel
too good & he has very bad teeth. & George who is a sable. A
Jackie told me to change their names if I want to because they don't
really know them yet, so there are a few I will change. I guess I will
let those guys pick their own names. *S*
I feel bad that I didn't help her clean out litter boxes but I did leave
her with empty cages. *LOL*
With so many ferrets so close in color & markings, I don't know how she
knows who is who. A few are very sick, there is Trouble who's only
purpose in life seems to be being held by Jackie or getting up on her
desk & messing with her keyboard, he has a heart problem. Tiny Pebbles
who was tucked in a blanket has a heart problem & is very inactive. I
believe she has a grade 3 heart murmur, Trouble is grade 2. Zack is a
sick little guy who didn't move from his sleeping position the whole time
he was out, & another was with him.
I have been watching for signs of stress, so far if any of them have
any, it isn't anything to worry about. I think that so many came here
together, that they will be ok. One guy is determined to splash all of
the water out of the water pan when they are out. I put him in the
bathtub so he could do it all he wanted to one in there, but that wasn't
as much fun as the one in here, that mom had to clean up. Today when
they came out, I put the pan in the bathtub. I learn something's quickly.
*lol*
They have a wonderful large cage with plenty of sleep sacks & hammies &
tubes & bedding. One level is for food & water. Where do most of them
want to sleep? All in a pile on the bottom, next to the litter box.
BTW, if you haven't met Jackie, she is so nice. I think her whole life is
the ferrets. All of their bedding was clean, they all had lots of food.
Litter boxes needed to be cleaned & I felt bad about not helping her, but
never even thought of it until we were ready to leave. She said she
cleaned the boxes while the kids were out of the cages & since she had
just let them out before we got there & I helped her put them back in
before we left, so we could figure out better who was who & where they
went, she didn't have a chance to clean them while they were out. And yes
there were litter box misses while they were out but as she saw them they
got cleaned up. All of the ferrets are very clean, soft fluffy fur.
Almost all seemed happy. Almost all were friendly. The only ones I can't
speak for were not yet out of the cages & of course some were not feeling
good enough to care. Elvis was a wonderful guy but a loner. I wanted to
take him home but knew I wouldn't be able to give him the attention he
needs. And Shelly was sooo pretty. The lady in AL is getting 2 great
ferrets in these guys.
There are more & they all need good homes. Yes many need vet care, but
you won't be sorry for adopting any of them, the love you receive in
return is worth it.
Today it was cool enough late this morning to let most of the Utah kids go
outside in the pen for a short time. WOW! I sure wish my video recorder
was working! Ferrets scampering everywhere. Then it happened, they found
the sand "box"! Someone ran up the ramp & landed in the sand. Oh my what
a leap into the air. Came down & immediately sprang back up, back arched,
legs spread. Then another followed & another & then they found the
tunnels other ferrets had been digging & discovered the world of ferrets.
Toby the guy with the bad teeth that sometimes doesn't feel good & seems
to be an elderly ferret, (to me) the very first thing he did was haul sand
backwards to he could dive headfirst into a tunnel. Then he'd dig like
crazy & scoot backwards carrying the dirt out & dive in again. His face
was so full of sand, did he care, did I care no. Back he went for more.
OMG my heart thought it was going to burst to see these guys enjoying
themselves so much. Couldn't take it, standing there laughing so hard &
crying to. They were whizzing through the tubes & bumping into one
another. I know because I'd see on go in one way & another the other &
hear them & then see one fuzzy butt backing out. Oreo, who I am naming
Hatu, (Utah backwards) probably jumped the highest straight up in the
air & it was like he couldn't stop. They were bouncing into one another &
bouncing right out of the sand box. Hatu can really fling the dirt to.
He seemed to be in every tunnel at once.
There just isn't time to tell you about everyone. I only let them stay
out 30 minutes today & let me tell you, when they came back in they all
went off to find a place to sack out. I am gradually putting ferts to
names & personalities. Each one is ever so special.
That's the FL Utah report from Clan War Weasels.
Get in touch with Jackie & give someone a home.
Jackie Hawley
[log in to unmask]
The Dook Nook
5226 Collins Road
Jacksonville, FL 32244
904-215-5234
[Posted in FML issue 3583]
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