[Posted in 2 parts, combined into 1.  BIG]
 
>Do any of you have stories about people who didn't want ferrets, then got
>one (maybe a roomate or spouse bought one), and they discovered that they
>really do like ferrets?
 
Boy, are you going to get alot of replies to this one!! :->
 
Around Christmas of '97 I decided to buy my 8-yr old daughter a ferret for
Christmas.  Little did I know that you don't own ferrets; they own YOU!
LOL One of my friends (now my SO=significant other) said to another friend,
"Does she know what she's getting into?" He was of the all-too-common
misconception that ferrets are destructive, dirty, biting and sometimes
vile creatures.  Well.... ah, never mind.  Let's give 'em the benefit of
the doubt here.  ;-> They *are* angels, MOST of the time...
 
Well, since that first ferret, together he and I have brought seven, count
'em SEVEN more ferrets into our family!  Here they are, along with the
nicknames that he's helped to give them..  Oh, and we refer to them as "Les
Ferrets" - say it with your best French accent... ("lay fair-AYS")......
 
Dexter (albino female) - The Dex, The Elusive Snow Ferret, Dexie, Sweet
Dex, Suggie (as in Sugar) - always the first one to find a way out, a way
in or to give you wet willies with a cold nose in your ears.  Dex is the
most human-oriented of all of our babies & very intelligent.  Always right
there to check out the newest addition or comfort someone who's not feeling
up to par.  I once caught her on my keyboard, having opened ICQ, which
convinces me that she may be living a double life as an FLO Agent.
 
Cocoa (sable female) - The Co, Little Co, Little One - Always the first
to hiss, usually because you've taken something away from her that she
shouldn't have had anyway!  I love Co, she's light as a feather, like a
little hummingbird flitting around, but she ain't the brightest crayon in
the box ifyaknowwhatimean.  BUT I LOVE HER!
 
MoJo (siamese female) - The Mo, MoMo, The Masked Avenger - When we found
Mo all alone at the pet store, she was full grown.  Probably at least 1-2
years old.  Right there, on the floor of the pet store and much to the
dismay of the store owner (go figure), we taught Mo to play.  She's the
towel thief, the ChewEasel addict and always the first to head back to the
cage from playtime since she tires easily.
 
Dodger (black sable male; may he Rest In Peace) - Dodge-Boy, BeeBoy, Da
Dodge, Wild Man - Oh, how we miss the BeeBoy.  He was absolutely a free
spirit, and now in the literal sense of the word.  Words can't describe his
love for life and full-throttle desire to have fun.  He lived an all-out
life, taken from us right at one year of age by a nastyhuge lymphoma.
Sorry... can't say any more about him right now... gettin' misty-eyed.....
 
RockStar (panda male) - WAH-Tar, BEEEEG-Boy, Goo-Boy, FatBoy - Since he
came to us at about 10 wks of age in November, RockStar has become One Big
Boy!  He is roly-poly and of the pear-shaped variety.  Sometimes he gets so
tired of toting around all of his weight that he plops his back half down
and props the front half of his body up on his front legs.  He gets
frustrated because he can't quite make it up onto my office chair to play
with the others, despite some good, persistent attempts, but he's learned
that if he'll hang around long enough, I'll usually lift him up there to
give him a shot at the action.  :-D
 
MacDaddy (shetland sable male) - RitalinFerret, NewGuy, Crazy Man - This
ferret is out of control!  He's wild!  He's crazy!  He's hedonistic!  He
twists and turns and jumps and contorts his body in all sorts of
out-of-his-mind loop-de-loops when he's excited.  He usually ends up on
lockdown for terrorizing the others (playing too hard), but I will often
let him out on his own to explore, under close watch of course!  He's
already figured out how to scale the barriers that lead into the "off
limits" areas of the house.  Tonight, I found him in a bag of potatoes,
thinking he'd hit the motherlode!  I vote MacDaddy the Most Likely To
Figure Out How To Open The Cage Door First.
 
Fluffy (silver female) - as in "Ewe's Not Fat, Ewe's (Fluffy!)", The
Fluffiness (said regally, as in "Her Highness"), FluffyGirl - Although not
an official 'rescue', we paid what I call 'ransom money' to get her out of
a home where she was being kept in the bathroom away from a Dachsund who
really wanted to have her for lunch.  She hadn't been around other ferrets
since she was a baby, but she LOVES it now.  I'm convinced that she
wouldn't bite a soul if her life depended on it.  She's the little lady of
the bunch and always wants to play when you least expect it.
 
and Cosmo (chocolate male, our first rescue!!) - The Coz, Sweet Boy, Old
Man - Named for two reasons: 1) Because it was his Cosmic Destiny to be
found, rescued, and brought to our loving family, and 2) 'Cause he's got
that Cosmo Kramer long-necked geeky look going on.  Bless his heart, Coz
was found wandering a local town.  He was flea-infested, has a tumor, some
hair loss - is probably adrenal (we're building him up a bit before doing
bloodwork).  He gives lots of kissies when I hold him and he plays with the
others just as long as he can before konking out.  When he does get tired,
he'll usually walk over to where I'm sitting at the computer and lay down.
If I don't pick him up soon enough, he'll fall asleep stretched out right
there on the floor.  He doesn't have very good litter habits and doesn't
care much for the hammock, prefering to hide in one of my old sweatshirts
during his time in his own, separate cage.  He's an angel who may not have
very long, but as far as I'm concerned he'll live the life of luxury for
the rest of his days.
 
ANYWAY... to make a long story even longer... my SO is the one who really
wants to buy them one of those MASSIVE CONDO CAGES - the $500 variety that
houses about a gazillion ferrets!  Not that I'm going to object, mind
you....but it just goes to show that He's Been Converted!!!  heeheeheee
 
Sorry so long... 'Can't wait to read other's stories!  Thanks for asking,
Natalie...and for giving me the opportunity to introduce us.  We're....
 
Melissa and the Sunshine State Fuzzy Bunch
see (some of) us at:  http://users.sunline.net/mesutton
please check out Ferrets Across America at
http://www.ferretrescue.com/faa.htm
[Posted in FML issue 2620]