Laura wrote:
>My mother has a dog, one Question......can the dog hurt the ferrets or do
>ferrets get along??
 
You can never be too careful around a dog--some dogs are great, and some
dogs will kill a ferret in an instant (someone, and I'm sorry I don't
remember her name, had their ferret killed by a jack russell terrier
recently).  Altho' some breeds (like jack russells) are more likely to
kill a small animal, you cannot tell by breed alone.  My first ferret was
almost killed by a neighbor's shepherd mix, yet I had a shepherd mix of
my own who was very good with my ferrets.
 
I introduced my first dog to ferrets as a puppy, but I've also had 2 dogs
who were introduced as adults and who were/are fine around them.  It
really depends on the dog, but you must be extremely careful around any
dog you do not know.  If something happens to your ferret, it doesn't
matter whose "fault" it is--you can't bring back a ferret after they've
been killed.
 
>I give them their entire room to run around during the day - couldn't I
>just let them go to sleep whenever they wanted ???
 
I had my first ferret for a few years before I knew that some people kept
them in cages; personally, I don't keep my ferrets caged.  Right now I
have a couple of ferret rooms.  The ferrets eat, sleep, play when they
want, where they want, with whoever they want to, etc.  The only down
side I can think of is that if you needed to get them out in an emergency
it would be easier if they were caged.
 
A while ago there was a brief thread on whether ferrets build nests.
While I agree that ferrets aren't nest-builders per se, I have several who
are always dragging newspaper into their sleep areas.  Often they tear up
the paper and pull it into a hammock, drawer, box, or wherever else they
may be sleeping.  I agree that it's not like a mouse who goes through a
lot of trouble to build a nest and then sleeps in it regularly.  But I
find this bit of homemaking very endearing; it also crosses the
male/female line--Vivaldi from New Jersey is very much into making these
nests for himself and his female roommates.
 
--Ronnie
[Posted in FML issue 3600]