Dear Ferret Folks-
 
Since BIG said this is on topic, as ferrets are involved, I will answer
the part about them here.
 
Yesterday, Cathy wrote
>Has anyone owned a hedgehog?  I've researched them a little on the
>Internet.  Please tell me the pros and cons.  Do they get along with
>dogs and ferrets?
 
I have had experience keeping Hhogs and ferrets at the same time.  I have
never had a bad "incident", but I do choose to keep them apart for
several reasons.
 
One, is that irrepressible ferret curiousity.  I have seen ferrets come
up to Hhogs and bother them just for fun.  The Hhog then tucks into a
ball of spikes, hisses, vibrates,puts on its show.  If the ferret is very
quiet, the Hhog will slowly emerge from its ball, at which point the
ferret goes into a happy dook dance, the Hhog immediately balls again,
and this can go on for a very long time.  I think it is mean to treat
the Hhog like that.  It is scared, that's why it's in a ball.
 
At some point, every ferret that has access to a Hhog will come up to it
and sniff that ball, at which point it is treated to a nose full of
spikes.  The spikes don't come out the way they would with a porcupine,
they stay on the Hhog.  The Ferret winds up with some painful red dots on
its nose that really seem to smart.  Most ferrets learn immediate respect
for the Hhog that first time, and want nothing more to do with them,
ever.
 
The second big reason I keep them apart is for the protection of the
ferret.  Hhogs are almost entirely defensive, rather than offensive
when faced with a big animal like a ferret.  But they are capable of
delivering an awesome bite.  I used to have this one Hhog named Napoleon
("I care not for the lives of one million men!")who would bite upon
occasion.  He was my one real biter.  And it was *bad*.  He would clamp
down on my finger, and picking him up off his feet didn't do anything,
he's hold on.  Same for shaking him.  I had to pry his little jaws open
to get my finger back.  Letting go was not in his nature.  I imagine that
he could have done significant injury to a slender ferret leg, if he had
gotten one in his mouth.  Broken it, Possibly, very possibly.  But
certainly done terrible damage with a mouth full of sharp teeth.
 
I have had many occasions in which a crafty ferret sneaks into a Hhog
enclosure to steal the Hhogs food.(If I am feeling lazy, I can give the
Hhog ferret chow for dinner.) The Hhog goes and hides in a rage until the
ferret leaves.  The ferret ignores the Hhog, just goes for the food.
 
But I worry about that one encounter in 100.  Protect your ferret.  Keep
them apart.  As for your Hhog, your ferret can tease it and make it
miserable, but it just plain cannot bite the Hhog once it balls.  It can
ball in an instant, and stay that way for hours, even upsidedown.  There
will be nothing to bite except sharp spikes.
 
The two will never be friends. It just doesn't happen.
 
Alexandra in MA
[Posted in FML issue 4887]