Greetings!
 
I have a 4-5 year old ferret, named Justin, that we received from a local
shelter who did not know how to care for him.  He is not in the best of
health and is showing he has lived a hard 4-5 years.  He is starting to
take to his new digs and is loving the affection he gets from us and his
other brothers and sisters.
 
Everything is good until it rains.  When the rain and thunder starts, he
starts a "yelping" / "screaming" noise.  We would take him out of the
cage and snuggle him but it wouldn't stop until the rain passed.  We were
really perplexed.  One night, during a storm, my partner opened up the
front door and Justin darted for it.  We couldn't grab him in time and he
made it out into the yard, where, he started dancing and "dooking".  He
runs and tumbles in the wet grass while it rains.  This freaked us out.
All the ferrets we have ever owned have been less than impressed with
water, let alone, rain.  This has continued through many rain storms (In
Florida, it's a way of life...).  Every storm, we let him out and watch
him, he plays in the rain and slides around in the wet grass.  When it's
done, he makes his way into the house to dry himself on the carpet.
 
Has anyone ever seen this type of behavior in ferrets?
 
Pax,
Jeremy
[Posted in FML issue 3581]