I've been super careful regarding what toys I've let my ferrets have
over the years, probably over-protective. One of the toys I've avoided
are the crochet type. I have always been afraid that their claws or
teeth would get caught in the material, and they wouldn't be able to
get loose. Is this a valid concern or am I just discriminating too
much? Are they safe for both in the cage and out of the cage?

A toy I was very fond of was the Marshall Polar Fleece Toys, much like
stuffed animals made for ferrets. There were eight shapes, including a
teddy bear and fish, each with a bell inside. I can't find them
anywhere now. If anyone knows where I can buy them, especially online,
please let me know.

However, I should put a warning about two of the Marshall Polar Fleece
shapes: the frog and the mouse. Both are not just fleece-covered toys;
they have felt parts that are easily removed by a ferret -- the frog
legs and the mouse a tail. I daily inspected the toys for damage, but
they hid the frog too well for me to find it. If I had found it, Smokey
might not have died. Smokey was a tiny chocolate from a shelter, a
spitfire that was afraid of trusting people, since she had come from an
abusive home. We had her for a year before... She tore the felt legs
off the frog and ate at least one of them. You can surmise that caused
an intestinal blockage, the cause of her death. I had two cages
connected with tubes, and all the ferrets seemed to be in one of them.
Still, I always check every hidy hole to varify everyone is accounted
for and fine. Smokey was curled up in her favorite sleep sack, cold.
So, be warned. Avoid this heart-break.

Thanks to SaraFerret for tending to Smokey and all the others that
followed over the years; your kind service helped me make it through
all those difficult times. Picturing the Rainbow Bridge with a little
ferret waiting to greet the dearly departed is a way to bring peace,
when you are overwhelmed with remembering fights with Insulanoma,
Adrenal, and a fungal lung infection a kit got by living under a pigeon
roost, which wasn't diagnosed in time. I will most likely never buy a
kit from a pet store again; all the ferrets listed here were from
shelters, even the kit that didn't reach her second birthday. Though
Shelter ferrets tend to be older, meaning you'll lose them sooner, we
all have the consolation of the Rainbow Bridge.

[Posted in FML 6298]