On the subject of the dangers of wastepaper baskets;
I also had an incident occur with my first ferret Hun-Hun
involving the dreaded trash can that I had in the bathroom.
I was always careful to never throw anything sharp into the
basket like razor blades or something small enough that Hun-Hun
could ingest. However I never thought that the basket itself
could be harmful. One day I heard Hun-Hun screaming in agony
and I ran to the bathroom and found Hun-Hun hanging upside
down in the basket. The basket was made out of wicker and
he had caught his foot in the top part of the basket, his
foot wedged in the wicker. I was able to pry his foot free
and there was no damage to his foot. I no longer used the
wicker basket and I kept all trash cans from Hun-Hun's reach.
There is just too many dangers found in the trash can and the
contents for a curious ferret to encounter. So I encourage
all ferret lovers to keep these items out of the reach of
your babies.
To Michelle and the Masketeers: Please send more of your
fascinating story of Robin Furo Hood. I am on the edge
of my seat wondering if Robin rescues Mhink Marion.
I love a romantic story especially if it involves my
favorite animals, ferrets! Also congrats on the new litter.
You must be one very busy ferret lover. I know that when
I raised my kitten from when he was a day old, I was up
every two hours feeding him. His mother died the day after
he was born from a C-section and the poor little tyke never
had a drop of his mamas' milk or knew the warmth of her body.
So even though the babies are receiving milk from mama ferret,
it still must be very stressful and at the same time exciting
for you to be a part of the new lives. Keep up the good work!
To Dave Garvin: Regarding selective nipping, my two two year
old male sables also seem to have this habit. When my
roommate attempts to hold them they would like nothing
better than to taste his wrist, yet they are completely docile
with me. I believe it is because I am the one who plays,
feeds, interacts with them and they know my scent and
associate it with food and security. I have found this
is true with my older ferrets also. When I first brought
the fossil four home from the shelter, they fussed and squirmed
in my arms when I held them. As they became familiar with my
scent and with my routine of holding them and then treating
them with special treats of Linatone and puffed wheat, they
associated my scent with comfort and positive feelings.
This was particularly evident in Sable, my blind female
ferret. I found if I just reached for Sable she would be
startled and struggle to free herself from my hold.
However, if I let Sable sniff my hand before I pick her
up, she would be calm as I held her and she would joyfully
lick my face.
To John and the ferret with an attitude: The above statement
about a ferret who seems to struggle when being held could
help answer some questions you had. Sometimes it takes awhile
for a ferret to bond to the owner. Sometimes it seems to take
forever. It can vary with each ferret. My first ferret Hun-Hun
wasn't comfortable with being held for about a year. Then he
started crawling up on my lap and sleeping. It was all on his
own time. All you can do is reward your ferret with little
treats when you hold her. Play with her as often as you
can. Hold the ferret until she no longer desires it. It takes
time and patience and eventually as the ferret matures she
will become more tolerant of being held. This is my experience
with ferrets that I have had the pleasure of loving. I have
had ferrets as young as five months old to six year olds
and it seems that as they mature and become accustomed to
the environment and the scents within that habitat, which
includes your scent, they become more compliant. However, it
does depend on the individual ferret. My two two year olds are
still a couple of wild men and are so full of energy that
they still cannot tolerate being held for longer then a couple
of minutes. Only when they get their Linatone treats do they
let me hold them as they placidly lick my hand. So John, give
Daphne a little more time and a lot of love like you are doing
and she will become more tolerant as time passes. I am sure she
accepts you now in her little ferret way, she just shows it
differently then humans do. Also on the subject of finding the
bag of food more appealing, I have had this happen to me. I
always have a plain brown paper bag near my ferrets food since
they love to grasp a piece of dry kitten food and run into the bag
to eat it. Several of my ferrets have this habit, they love
to play in bags. I place a handful of puffed wheat cereal in the
bag and they have so much fun munching on the cereal and then
poking their heads out for a drink of water. I do caution on the
use of plastic bags however. I also let my ferrets play in big
plastic bags while I supervise, then I remove the bags when
I leave since there is always a danger of the ferrets eating
the plastic or suffocating if they should become trapped inside.
Good luck with Daphne, she is a very lucky ferret to have found
a home with a concerned person as yourself.
To Daisy Lyn: Please keep us posted on Nonni. I am thinking
of you and hoping you find her very soon!
Judy Gallipeau, and the six
sweet ones, Weezul, Teebone,
Fred, Sable, Boo & Faucett.
[Posted in FML issue 0711]
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