Bill Pelfrey writes:
>Subject: A few Questions
First of all Bill, welcome to the wacky wonderful world of ferret ownership.
I hope you have a long and succesful career as the slave to a ferret.
First of all, you need to cover the wire on the bottom of the cage and
put a litter pan there instead. Bare wire can be a hazard to ferrets,
getting feet stuck and such. Plus covering it will make it easier for
them to walk on.
As for litter training-this I am not an expert in. I only have about a 50%
hit rate, and this is all my fault. Essentially, training ferrets is
supposed to be like training cats. You keep them confined in a small area
until they use the litter box 100% and then slowly increased the area they
are in. IOW- start out with a cage, and when they use the box in the cage
all the time, move them to a slightly bigger area and so forth. Now, I have
never done this with mine and thus my problem. But that is the theory. ;-)
I know the sound you are talking about, kind of a ha ha ha sound. Mine do
this when they are really happy and wound up to play. I do it back and they
get even crazier. Dooking kinda sounds like a chimp going oo oo oo.
Hissing sounds like air being sucked between teeth. You will know the happy
dance when you see it. And laugh.
I play very rough with my gang. I roll them on their backs, waggle their
hind feet around, tickle their tummies, pinch them like I was biting them,
and yes, I will bite them too. I throw them several feet across to land on
my bed. I cover them up and "attack" them. I run from them, I chase them,
I lay on the floor and let them climb all over me. I run my hand around
like a spider and grab them and let myself get bitten. I make lots of
noises. I also use cat teasers to play with them, by all kinds of baby
stuffed toys, socks, rattles and stuff to play tug o war with them. I
generally just agitate the hell out of them whenever I can.
I also make sure I pick each one up everyday and cuddle them, go nose to
nose with them and tell them I love them and how special they are to me.
Yes folks, all 19. And even when I am not actively playing with them, I
talk to them, ask them what they are doing, how they are doing and let them
climb all over me while I study, or take a bath or shower, or let them play
in the dirty cloths when I do laundry. And for all of this, I have the
cleanest ears in Mid Missouri, the cleanest feet and more scratches and play
marks on me than anyone else. I also have very clean eyelids and eyebrows.
And lots of bruises. But it is worth every mark I have for all the love I
get from this gang of idiots that run my life.
Good luck with your new ones!
Maggie Mae and the Mirthful Mid Missourians
[Posted in FML issue 1965]
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