Re: Baths, swimming, and water hate/love
 
It seems every ferret has their own unique viewpoint on the water/getting
wet issue. Squirt...he teases for a bath if we skip one of his weekly baths.
He jumps on the tub edge, while you are taking a shower, and peeks in at you.
Pippi...she was absolutely terrified of the shower at first. She was so scared
she would actually poop in the shower. When at a park, Squirt loves to root
around in the edges of streams...submarining his face in the water and silty
mud. One truly gloriously muddy ferret! Pippi treats the water like acid.
 
The newcomers Atlas and Hijinx seem to have a lot of fun with water. In fact,
we call Atlas "Aquaman." We have a rectangular plastic container (about
1.5' x 2.5', 3" high) filled with water (about 1-2.5" deep). We originially
put this in a particularly problematic corner. Squirt and Pippi stopped pooping
there and it became their favorite "water hole." Atlas jumps into this tub
*every* time he gets out of the cage. He'll do the War Dance in the water too -
a wet chuckling ferret! :) Jinx likes to snorkle and submarine her face in the
water. Both Atlas and Hijinx don't seem to mind the showers much either.
 
Vastly different responses. We found that showers worked better than baths.
They're quicker and you're holding them rather than just setting them in a tub
of water so it's more comforting to them. Perhaps the new kids like water
more because of the small tub of water that they can play with on their own
terms at their own times and have fun!
 
Re: Naming ferrets
 
I think an animal often "tells" you their name. We named Squirt so because
he was "just such a little squirt" when we got him. He had a playful,
bubbly personality and Squirt seemed like a playful name. Pippi....well...
she's an imp. We needed an impish sort of name and Pippi (as in Pippi
Longstocking) seemed to fit. It does seem that Pippi Eatyourstockings would
be more appropriate. Atlas...he is huge. He's 4 months old and has .25-.5
a pound on Squirt who is 2+ years. He's more "brawn than brain" so Atlas seems
sort of appropriate. (He's not overly bright like Squirt, but he is extremely
lovable and has a very amiable personality.) Hijinx...is mostly called Jinx or
Jinxy...she is Pippi #2. Impish and nippy...what a combo! My mom calls her
"White Fang" and my sisters call her "Elvira" because of the nippiness. We're
working on the socialization...but it's a slow process sometimes. We *KNOW*
that she will live up to her name of Hijinx!
 
Eventually...we also end up giving them middlenames. Squirt's fullname is
Squirt Magellan Burkard. Pippi's is Pippi Jane Burkard. (Sometimes she likes
Pippi-Lou better.) Atlas and Jinx have yet to get their middlenames. Our
guys aren't "pets" to us. They're companions so we treat them like the
fur-people that they are! :)
 
-kim, mike, squirt, pippi, atlas, and hijinx
 
Kimberly Burkard        |              _
Xerox, Rochester, NY    |       _____C .._. fu-til'i-ty   n. 1. an act having
[log in to unmask] |  ____/     \___/  no useful result  2. herding
[log in to unmask] <____/\_---\_\    ferrets.
[Posted in FML issue 1191]