Hi all . . .
 
I must tell a story that only ferret people will appreciate.  Pepper learned
something.  I was sitting here at my desk reading the FML when I felt some
pressure on my shin.  I looked down and there was Pepper, trying to get my
attention.  So I leaned down to give him a scratch, and was just about to
pick him up when he ran behind the desk to the litter box.  When he finished
there, he came back to my leg, stood up, and gave me a clearly *expectant*
look.  He was looking for a raisin!  We've been going round and round on
this litter box thing--since the kit Mort joined the family they've been
going all AROUND the box but not in it.  I put down shelf-paper covered
cardboard for easier clean up, and wipe it down with 409 whenever they miss
the box.  But by and large, the main training has been watching them
carefully, moving them to the box when they back up to the wall, then giving
a raisin.  So here's Pepper saying, "A-ha!  To get a raisin I have to get
her attention first!  Otherwise I don't get a raisin even though I'm a very
good boy and use the box." I can't believe this sweet boy's former owners
just gave him away.  But I'm sure glad they gave him to me!  He's the
sweetest ferret I've ever known.  A marked (black hairs in tail) DEW,
altered and descented and weighs in at 4 lbs!  I just love the solid weight
of him.
 
I convinced my SO that we needed Mort to keep Pepper busy and out of
trouble.  Well, it certainly worked.  The only thing being that Mort gets
into 3x as much trouble as Pepper ever did.  LOL!
 
Monica:  Thanks for the info on ferret checks--I just got to the book with
the re-order form, so it couldn't have come at a better time!
 
Carpet cleaning: Before I put my home-made linoleum down, I was using
Resolve to clean the oops places.  Didn't seem to bother the ferts at
all--and it didn't deter them from going outside the box, either.
 
Does anyone have an MF male that weighs in over 3 pounds?  I like my fat
Pepper, and I'm hoping Mort gets just as fat.  When is a kit full grown?
(And when *do* they start sleeping through the night?  <g>)
 
Oh, I bought these cute little harnesses last week--I could never find
anything small enough for my female ferrets (both at Rainbow Bridge, now)
and these darling harnesses were *too* small for both Pepper and Mort.
Knock me over with a feather!  Sheesh, I can't win.
 
Broilers and pilot lights: I'll tell you what happens.  The ferrets put the
pilot light out, then do something in there so that it never lights properly
again.  Hence, mine are not allowed in the kitchen anymore.  Well, + pooping
joyfully behind the fridge, slipping down the hole around the pipes under
the sink, and wreaking havoc in the pantry . . . they finally earned a gate
across the kitchen doorway!
 
--Sherri
[Posted in FML issue 1816]