Hello again,
My new kit has been keeping me awful busy so I haven't had time to right,
but I finally caught up on my e:mail so I'm back.  I still haven't found a
name for my new kit, but her nickname has quickly become little monkey (or
flying monkey depending on her mood).  She is quite a climber and a superior
leaper.  Yesterday (at 7 weeks old, still wobbling when she walks!) she
decided to leap from the air conditioner (about a foot high) into the second
level of her four story cage (it has doors 8"x8" on every level) through the
open door about a foot and a half away.  Well I nearly had a heart attack,
but somehow she made it.  Unfortunately today she tried the same trick, but
the cage door was closed!  (It's made of wire mesh and I guess she didn't
see it).  Oh well, she's a tough little critter and it didn't seem to deter
her from her apparent determination to become the first ferret acrobat in
Barnum and Bailey's.
 
One thing that's kind of strange though - she seems to LOVE to bite metal.
I know she's teething, but when I hold her and offer her my soft hand to
chew, she goes straight to my metal watch!  And when she's in the cage she
chews all day long on the hard metal wires (mesh?  I don't know what it's
called but it seems too wide apart and hard to be mesh).
 
The battle for dominance between her and Jitterbug finally took place.
Monkey wanted to be in the wool lined tube and so did Jitterbug.  It was the
funniest thing.  Monkey would go in and Jitterbug would follow, Monkey would
go out and then run around to the other end and repeat the cycle.  This
happen for about fifteen minutes before the neck biting began.  Jitterbug
always seems to win, but the kit is inexhaustible so eventually Jitterbug
just lays there while the kit leaps and bits to her hearts content.
Jitterbug seems to be VERY depressed.  She hardly ever rough houses with me
and my SO anymore.  And she NEVER uses her teeth anymore when she does (she
used to love to attack our hands as we rolled her over and rub her belly).
Now she just lays there and lets us rub.  She sighs very heavy a lot and is
anxious to get away from our new kit whenever possible.  I am hoping it will
pass, but it am worried.  My SO is upset and thinks I love the new kit more
(I swear I love them both equally!) and trys to encourage Jitterbug to keep
biting back when they fight.
 
There is never any blood and they do sleep together sometimes (usually the
kit will wake up at 3 am, start to attack Jitterbug and then Jitterbug gets
up and goes to another level to sleep), but there is definite jealousy
problems.  I treat them both equally, but I do mash up Monkeys food with
water (which Jitterbug then always seems to want).  I do take the kit out
when Jitterbug seem at her wits end and put her in a different cage.  I
bought Monkey so Jitterbug could have a friend to play with, but she doesn't
seem interested in playing with her at all.  Please let me know if there's
something I could do to help them get along better.
 
     Rebecca,
     Jitterbug,
     and little Monkey.
[Posted in FML issue 1662]