I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Enrique; I have a neutered
female(oxymoron?) sable. Her name is Coco. Coco is really cute and everyone
that sees her comments on her shiny coat. I was just added to the list so
I had some trouble following the thread of conversations. Anyways...  :)
        First, to the person that asked for scanned in pictures of ferrets,
I have a bunch of pictures. I'm a freak when it comes to that. Usually it
goes like this **Coco strikes pose** -> **SNAP** (picture taken). I'll
scan one into the system (we are only allowed 5Meg in account) to send to
you. Mail me your address so I can send it.
        I would really like to hear from people that cart their ferrets around
because I do a lot. I live about 3hrs from school so I drive home most every
weekend. I tried letting Coco run around in the car, but she soon found her
way to the dashboard(not particularly safe when the window is open), also
she made a corner of the floor in the back her litter. I keep her in a small
travel cage, and I have a bigger cage at school so she doesn't get stir
crazy. She seems to have the ability to charm most toll booth operators :)
        Another thing that I'm curious about is what you use as treats.
There are two things in particular that Coco goes crazy over: pasta and whip
cream. Is there anything bad about these? What else do ferrets like? My
girlfriend's sister liked Coco so much that she got one. Hers loves licorice.
        Coco also gets itchy sometimes. I asked the vet( this one has two of
her own) what this itching meant and she said that it was due to dry weather
or dry conditions in general that make her skin dry. It seems to be normal
that your(Jodi) ferret (Murphy) act that way. Mine did too. Ferrets are
very near sighted and if you approach them very fast they might get startled.
I read a book that said that fingers look like small rodents(I forgot which
they said) and since ferrets eat rodents(well that is their natural enemy
anyways) yours might try and eat your finger. Generally what I do is speak
to Coco as I approach her so that she knows that it is me approaching her and
not this huge undescript shadow. Also when I put my hand near her, I put
my fingers near her sideways; the book says they will invariably try to
bite if you poke your finger straight at them for the reason above. One
thing I'm not sure of is why she bites my feet(or anybody's) only when
I'm wearing socks(no matter how bad they smell. hee hee). I used a technique
to get her to stop biting, but I'm not sure that it might be considered cruel
by some. It is not in my oppinion. If he bites your thumb, _gently_  but
firmly hold his nose(let him breathe) for a second or two with your other
fingers then let go. If he bites any of the other fingers, with your thumb,
hold his lower jaw (again gently). This is assuming your thumb pointing down.
If any of you out there have a reason why this is bad let me know so I don't
go spreading this anymore. However, it seemed to get Coco to stop biting and
did not hurt her. Now she stops, and intead of biting she just hisses her anger
at me when she would have bitten before. She is a year old now so she knows
pretty much what is going on and doesn't bite(except for socks).
Later all.
Enrique
...and Coco
 
[Posted in FML issue 0580]