To answer the question e-mailed to me this week; no, I am not dead.  Just
had a suddenly complicated life.  First, a week of oral exams with various
members of my committee.  Think of the nastiest thing that ever happened to
you and double it.  Then my SO's dad went in the hospital with a gangrenous
gall bladder.  (he's 83--he started at 40 and she was the baby), so we all
went out to the golden state, then I came back.  In between this two of my
dear friends lost fuzzies.  Busy is too mild a word.
 
Some comments on recent posts:
 
Regarding color vision in ferrets.  Polecats can distinguish the high and
low ends of the visible light spectrum, and domestic ferrets only see in the
red region.  There seems to be three basic ideas to explain this difference.
1st, it was mutation early in the domestication history of ferrets, and was
passed to all others.  It may or may nor be related to albanism.  2nd, the
difference illustrates ferrets were not domesticated from the European
ferret, but from another species, presumably now extinct.  The limited
vision reflects that of the polecat ancestor.  3rd, the vision differences
are related to changes in the ferret brain during domestication.  As smart
as domestic ferrets are, there seems to be some evidence that polecats are
smarter.  One of the standard signs of domestication is a reduced brain size
and dimminished inteligence.  I personally lean towards the 3rd
explaination, but have not been convinced one way or another.  I can send
the references to anyone interested, but the data where generated in the
late 70s and early 80s.  BTW, most carnivores are very color blind, seeing
mostly in shades of gray.  I understand the cheetah is a possible exception.
 
Regarding ferrets punishing owners.  All I can say is I once saw a ferret
get pissed at its owner (who will remain nameless at this point in time, but
they read the FML and know who I am talking about ;-) ), who wouldn't let it
out of the room.  The ferret walked over, lifted its tail, and attempted to
poop on the owner's legs.  It was a deliberate act, and was not in a place
typical of accidental poopies.  My beasties like a clean box, and will poop
in the middle of the floor if they think the box is too dirty.  They also
have extra accidents when I don't give them enough play time.
 
Regarding wake-up shakes.  There are many reasons for the beasties to
shiver--excitement, fear, cold, illness.  The main reason for ferrets to
shiver when they first wake up is because they have been in a metabolic
slow-down during their sleep.  Ferrets (and many other small mammals) have
very high metabolism rates--fast heart beats and respiration, quick
movements, "nervous" habits or nature, etc.--which takes lots of energy to
maintain.  If they were awake as long as humans, they would probably have to
eat continuously.  They solve the problem by sleeping alot, and by slowing
down the metabolism while asleep.  When some big dummy like myself just
can't stand their cuteness, and picks them up while asleep, they shiver to
raise their metabolic rate and warm-up the cooled-down muscles.  Its simply
a physiological reaction, and normal.  I have seen it in many species with
high metabolic rates, and have seen a video of a similar phenomenon
occurring in black bear waking up from hibernative states.
 
Regarding boredom in ferrets.  I think this is a serious problem, and one
not often addressed.  I do not know of much literature on this subject; it's
basically ignored, but ferrets are very smart, intensely curious, and
supreme problem-solvers.  They can get bored.  I don't think the problem is
just limited to time spent in cages; mine are put to bed every night, for
about 10 hours.  They are well aware of their schedule, and sleep nearly the
entire time.  At 7am, they are up, stretching, going potty, drinking and
eating, because they know they will soon be scooting on the carpet.  For 14
hours, they run free, and I noticed that if they had little sensory input,
they went off to sleep.  I combat this problem as follows.
 
THE STINKY GAME.  Ferrets are smell hunters, and their sense of smell is as
superior to ours as our vision is to theirs.  I stuff cotton balls into an
old sock and tie the sock end shut with a cord.  I pour small amounts of
stinky stuff through the sock to dampen the cotton.  I then drag the sock
around the room.  The beasties love to follow the scent trail, especially if
it is an unfamiliar stink.  I make sure the trail is complicated and
difficult to follow.  At the end of the trail are the raisins or peanut
butter.  Clue- don't wait at the end of the trail, or they will know where
the treats are; they aren't dummies.
 
NEW STUFF.  We have seven boxes of ferret toys (no, most are homemade...I
am a grad student, remember?), one for each day of the week. Each day a
new box comes out, and it's like Christmas to the boogers. For a real
treat, we wash the cloth stuff once a month, and it drives them crazy.
 
TREAT OLYMPICS.  They have to solve a puzzle or do a trick to get a treat.
Peanut butter smeared on the inside of film containers is great, as is a
raisin inside an envelope or box, and jerky tied to a string.  Make up new
stuff each day, or they will have the solution figured out before you start
the event.  Rolling over, dancing, begging, etc, are easy tricks to teach.
 
HIDE-N-SEEK.  I hide something stinky in a ferret-accessable spot, then
let them find it.  I put a treat next to the stinky sock.
 
The important thing to remember is NEW: new smells, new toys, new things to
do, etc.  They love it!  Just remember, ferrets are individuals, and
responded differently.  Bear loves to play the stinky game, but hates to
dance.  Tori will dance, but hates to do other tricks.  Gus will not
perform, but he loves to smell anything.  I have started collecting stinky
things--perfume samples, a container of dirt from a places I visit, etc.  I
try to make each day an adventure filled with intellectual and physical
stimulation.
 
The good side to this is it tires the beasties out, and they snuggle alot
more.  They are all more affectionate.  They also recognize my voice--I come
into the room, and talk, and they come out to play.  They follow me around
the room like a gaggle of geese looking for a cricket.
 
Bob and the 13 Fuzzy Bananas
[Posted in FML issue 1450]