Debbie wrote:
>I've wondered too if ferrets would use a slide.
 
There have been at least two hilarious videos of ferrets using toys
including slides.  In the most recent one mentioned here some ingenious
soul who is fortunate enough to have a staircase has attached a
see-through tube that is large enough for the ferrets all along the side
of the staircase and the ferrets slide all the way down!  That tape made
me so envious of anyone with an inside staircase!
 
I've made 2 teeter totters of foam that was cut into parallelograms (Did
I use the right word?  I am still working a bit sick.) Then I covered
those with fabric.  They love those things.  They run over them and
wrestle on them, trying to tip each other and themselves, and they also
like to get under the smaller one and do presses with it.
 
Also a fun ride here is our scale.  It's a relic of my serious weight
lifting days so is basically the same as most physician office scales,
so it's got great springs and the ferrets like to jump on it and then
ride the pronounced jiggle that occurs -- over and over and over again.
They never seem to tire of it and that's been true for something
approaching a decade.
 
I noticed today that the FML 5000 drive to thank Bill Gruber for bringing
us the FML every day (even working when he is sick or sleep deprived) is
up to $2,275 of the $5,000 goal, and there so far have been something
around 90 people donating.  This means that in the remaining 23 or so
days before we reach FML Digest Number 5,000 we really can reach 5,000
dollars.  You see, 5000 -2275 leaves $2,725 still to be collected, and
we have about 2,509 list members so subtracting 90 gives 2,419 who could
still give a bit.  If each of those sent in only $2.00 that would cover
paypal fees and at the same time exceed the goal.  Now, some won't send
in even that due to true hardship or due to taking a good thing for
granted, but still, I am sure that most of those 2,419 people are good
people so if each of them sent in 2 or 3 dollars we'd be set in no time
at all.  Personally, I am so in awe of Bill.  He gives more than almost
anyone I know to help ferret people, especially when you consider all of
the years he has done this each and every day!  So, what does he do when
we decide to thank him?  He selects ferret charities to be helped!  That
is one truly good man helping us all every day!  See:
http://www.geocities.com/imdella/fml5000.html
 
I also noticed today that there are only 36 public comments to
APHIS/ USDA listed despite the fact that this is the only way to stop
abuses all over the U.S. (example: ferrets being shipped and sold too
young for their own optimal health).  Hopefully, Alex's very generous
offer to be a secret editor will help change that soon.  (Alexandra, you
are a darling!)  To succeed we need to show that there is wide support.
If that doesn't happen then over 2 years of very hard work could be lost,
including all the work you here on the FML did last year getting in your
hundreds of support letters for the first stage of this effort.  WE CAN
DO THIS.  Heck, the ferret community has done bigger things that took
longer -- like the 10 year project getting a USDA approved rabies vax,
then the testing the CDC needed to do, and then the change in the
"Compendium of Animal Rabies Control and Prevention" (which followed
naturally from the CDC results), so since we could do such a massive
series as that we can obviously do this as long as enough people care
about those ferrets enough to write one little letter!  If we even get
as many letters as were sent to the View and to Adam Sandler's publicist
when he made a really bad joke at the expense of ferrets we would have
this made in the shade.  It is just so obvious that we can definitely
virtually end these great sources of frustration and sadness such as
sick, way too young ferrets for sale and ferrets dying in transport once
enough people send a note in.
See: http://www.ferretcongress.org (the IFC) and
http://www.ferret.org/ (the AFA) for more information.
 
Telemna although a kit recently began to slow down and gain too much fat.
It turns out that her sight is worsening, so Steve and I have safely
scented the toys (with an assortment of scents) and have used scents to
map the house as per old scent mapping posts in the archives here at the
FML (See header for archives address.) and the FHL.  We have found that
textures and noise also help a lot so besides bells on toys we will get
her playing and then have piles of plastic bags or laid out bubble wrap
to surprise her when we get her running after a scented bell toy
suspended from a "fishing pole".  We especially loves the bubble wrap
and her play goes wild when she suddenly has "pop, pop, pop" going on
under her feet!
 
-- Sukie (not a vet)
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org
International Ferret Congress
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 4975]