>From:    Steve Warrick <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: strange request - reproduction
 
>(I didn't even realize through books that a male was called a Bob and a
>female a Jill until someone pointed it out to me...
 
It's *hob* actually.  But I like Bob and Jill, they sound like a sitcom
couple.
 
>From:    Dolphin <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Snow & ferts
>I hear that the cold weather is very bad for them.
 
Ferrets tolerate cold weather very well, if acclimatized properly or only
taken out for short periods.  Mine love to go out in the snow, or we bring
some inside in a big tupperware container and let them dig in the kitchen.
Tons of fun.  Our old man Joopie used to love to go for winter walks - he
would run up the hill near our house and then throw himself onto the ice and
slide back down.  You wanna see something weird?  Small human running as
fast as she can down a deserted street trying to keep up with a really small
furry critter sliding down the street in his belly.  I got a lot of strange
looks.
 
If it's really cold, or we think they won't tolerate the cold as well, we
make them Sock Sweaters.  They look sort of silly with all that winter fur
sticking out the back of the sock, but it keeps them warm.  We are always
careful to dry them off really well when we come back inside, and we don't
put them back in their cages until they are absolutely dry.
 
Autumn is my favourite time of year for ferrets - we take them to the park
and play in the piles of leaves.  This year I have got to get photos of them
twisting and dancing in the air as we throw piles of leaves atop them.  It's
a good work out for them too, and they usually sack out before we make it
home.
 
A local pet store offered us six "cosmetically damaged" cages they have
sitting in their warehouse, free of charge.  They're a great store - on the
odd ocassion they do carry ferrets, they have only one or two at a time and
they have huge cages with no shavings, just blankies and tunnels to play in
and a litterbox in one corner.  And a few members of their staff have
ferrets and they handle them and teach them manners right away.  The pet
store owner wants to come over and see all the ferrets in the shelter, which
I think will amuse hime to no end.  Who knows - maybe seeing 33 ferrets in
the shelter will convince him to stop carrying ferrets altogether?  If only
we could get the larger, much lesser in quality retailers to do the same...
 
Sheena and the Wherret Ferrets
Wherret Ferrets Halfway House and Ferretry
Ferret Association of Greater Vancouver
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[Posted in FML issue 1706]