Hi all--
 
Garlic: hi Tina, Amelia used to be wild for garlic-- she'd take entire
cloves and try to eat them, although she'd shake her head after every bite.
I'd let her eat a little bit, though never an entire clove, and it never
seemed to hurt her any.  Her taste for it seems to have gone away; she'll
still sniff with interest at your hands after chopping garlic, but she won't
try to eat it now.  Strange animals.
 
Snow: hi Kim, I take my ferrets out in the snow when the temperature isn't
much below freezing.  Amelia has a blast in it, Cully hates it, so it's up
to the individual ferret really.  Amelia has thicker fur, and she's always
gone out in snow, whereas Cully's fur is thinner and I don't think he'd been
in snow before he came to live with me.  Amelia's pretty good about deciding
for herself when she's too cold and asking to be picked up.  I take her out
without any gloves for myself, and when my hands are too cold, I figure her
feet must be and take her back in.  Have fun!
 
Nose-flicking: David, I noticed you mentioned that (Cleopatra, I think?) was
not slowed down at all by nose-flicking.  I've found with both Amelia and
Cully that nose-flicking just winds them up even more; Amelia seems to think
it's a really fun game, and Cully gets uptight.  Amelia was a very nippy kit
and I found that time-out and lectures worked the best with her.  Even
scruffing would make her mad- forget this go limp stuff!  Holding her
completely still and talking to her helped too.  Maybe alternate methods
would work well with your kit-- good luck!
 
shrinking ferrets: I laughed at that!  I usually assume that ferrets are a
bit like mice-- whatever their skulls will fit through, they can squeeze the
rest of their bodies through.  My next boy ferret may be named Eugene
Victor ;-) Definitely something to keep in mind while ferret-proofing!  or
mouse-proofing, for that matter.  Our apartment periodically has mice, but
for some reason they never come into my room :)
 
boy I'm talkative today-- must have a paper due.  Best wishes to everybody,
condolances to all those who have had losses recently, and warm vibrant
thoughts for all those fuzzies in ill health--
 
Regina (buried under mountains of books-- and it's still only January!)
Amelia (get outta that chair and PLAY!)
and Cully (zzzzz)
 
*********************************************
Regina Harrison
PhD Student, Anthropology
Joint Co-ordinator, AGSEM-- McGill's TA union
McGill University
Montreal, Quebec
"If that's all there is, my friends, then let's keep dancing" --Peggie Lee
[Posted in FML issue 1816]