Dear Friends,
Recently remodeled the ferret room (should'a done this *ages* ago.... )
All of the condos are now up on wire benches; any mess tossed around falls
through and under the benches for easy sweeping/mopping and disinfecting.
It's easier on my back since I don't have to move the cages to clean
underneath anymore.  And, the ferrets have more floor space for playing.
I did have to set food and water dishes down on the floor since it's now
difficult for the old or ill ferrets to "Tarzan" back up to the cages for
a break (Taz excepted... she refuses to admit her age).  No big deal.
 
Thursday afternoon I noticed Perian (aka "the Ferret Puppy") snorkeling in
the water bowl.  She's never had a bath so has never learned to dislike
water in the face, I guess <g>.  I had thought about letting all of them
play in a big dish of water but hadn't ever done it; it seemed like a good
time to see whether they'd enjoy it.  The room has a linoleum floor (a
Christmas present from my wonderful husband a couple years ago) so there's
no carpet to soak.  I folded a large sheet into quarters and laid it on the
floor, more to contain splashes than anything else, then set a large pan of
water down in the middle of it.
 
Within just a couple of minutes I had ferrets in the water, under the water,
running through the water, dancing backwards into the water, being dragged
into the water, dragged OUT of the water, wet pawprints all over the room
and all over me and ribs that ached from laughing so hard.
 
All of the playgroups had fun with the water when it was their turn to come
out and play; even Madigan had fun although she refused to get into the
water.  Just the fact that it was there was exciting, and she bounced all
over the room when I "flicked" a few drops at her.
 
And during the course of the evening I discovered what I believe to be one
of the Undeniable Truths Of The Universe.
 
Now, before I go any further I need to explain something.  Being the
daughter-in-law of a scientist I have a family reputation to maintain.  I
set out to test this discovery to make sure it really was a Truth and not
just an ordinary truth.  To be a Truth, it would have to hold true no
matter what variables were changed.  So, here's what I observed....
 
1. It didn't matter whether the ferret was a sprite or a gib.  (I didn't
   have any whole ferrets to test this against so that's one variable I
   couldn't check.)
2. It didn't matter whether the ferret was descented or not.
3. It didn't matter what age the ferret was.  It was as true for 9-month-old
   Perian as it was for 7-year-old Taz, and for all ages in between.
4. The color of the ferret didn't matter.
5. The IQ of the ferret didn't matter.  It was as true for Madigan as for
   the other ferrets.
6. The coordination of the ferret didn't matter.  It was as true for Rhodri
   "the Moose" (nicknamed for his clumsiness) as it was for dainty Gaoth.
7. The size of the ferret didn't matter.
8. The general health of the ferret didn't matter.  It was as true for the
   insulinoma & adrenal ferrets as it was for the healthy ones.
9. It didn't matter whether the ferret was a willing participant in the
   study, or was dragged involuntarily into it either by myself or another
   ferret.
 
There were other variables I checked also, but you get the general idea.  I
finally concluded that this was definately more than a truth - it had to be
A Truth.
 
**When On A Linoleum Floor A Ferret With Wet Feet Has No Traction At All**
<ducking>
 
Carla Smith
WhyNot? Ferrets
www.whynotferrets.com
Member of The Rio Grande Domestic Ferret Club
 
Here's hoping everyone has a fun and safe Labor Day - the Day we celebrate
the Right To Work by taking a day off!
[Posted in FML issue 2422]