First off,
>He was going to take her to the animal shelter, so I took her off his
>hands and broke up with him the same day."
 
Heh you truly ROCK! :)
 
Here's my answers to some of your questions:
 
>*Are raisins still acceptable treats?  How many can a tiny girl have?
 
Raisins are very sugary and hence not good for ferrets.  An occasional
raisin isn't so bad but there's lots of more healthier treats on the
market now.  Mine love the Nbone chicken-flavored chews or a little bit
of Ferretone or Ferretvite.
 
>*How bad is it for her to steal the dog's food?
 
Mine have done this for years and I have seen no ill effects except for
bit more pudge!  Mine will steal a couple of pieces each night.  What
I do is keep a bowl of THEIR food right next to his when they're out.
Sometimes they just want a snack and it's not so much that they prefer
the dog kibble it's just easier than going upstairs and getting their
food out of the cage.  So putting it right in reach tends to steer them
towards it more often.
 
>*Why does she get so angry at the squeaker toy and try to bite you if
> you squeak it?
 
My first ferret did the same thing.  I think perhaps that they might
think it's the sound of a kit crying?  Not really sure.  That or the
biting is "WOW THAT'S COOL YOU MUST GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!"
 
>*Do some ferrets simply die of happy old age, or do nearly all of them
> get adrenal or insulinoma (or worse!)at some point?
 
That's a good question.  So far I've lost one to adrenal and the other to
heart disease.  But I have heard of others who've had ferrets live to 10+
years!
 
>*Why does she hate all of the water dishes I have tried?  She digs at
> them and spills the water, even the bottle hanging upside down...
 
Have you tried the lock-on crocks?  They're a plastic bowl with an
attachment that "bolts" to the cage.  The base of the bowl has this
"lock" on it that fits into the bracket and is easily removed.  Since
it's off the cage floor the ferret can't knock it over, and since it's
a bowl it gives them nice mouthfuls of water instead of one drop at a
time from a bottle.
 
>*Why won't she eat anything anymore, unless it is hand-fed, except the
> stolen dog food?
 
Probably because you keep hand feeding her ;)
 
>*Do ferrets dream and talk in there sleep?
 
Oh most definitely!  I hear the occasionally "sleep squeak" from mine and
wonder what they're dreaming about.  If they squeak more than a couple of
times I'll gently nudge them awake cuz I'm worried they're having a scary
dream!! :)
 
 
Laura and The Seattle Seven at http://www.ferretocious.com
[Posted in FML issue 5043]