Hi all,
 
My name is Karen, I live in NH and I have three little fuzzies (among other
assorted pets including a flock of various birds and some fish).  The first
is Wicket (aka Mr. Fewwet) who I bought as a kit in a pet store.  He's a
Path Valley ferret, a sable with a very well-defined and cute mask, and is
very sweet.  He learned early about not biting too hard and now never bites
me at all.  He likes brief cuddles and gives kisses anytime.
 
The second ferret I got was a female.  Her name is Tallie and she came from
Ferret Wise Shelter in Marlborough (Hi Alicia!).  She is also a sable and is
about 6 months older than Wicket.  She came to the shelter as a terrified
little thing, scared to death of all other ferrets, so much so that the
shelter mom had to let her out of her cage for exercise by herself.  But
when Wicket and I went to visit, she actually followed him around and even
jumped on him a little.  The key I think was that he acted like she wasn't
even there, and kept on investigating all the interesting smells in this
cool new place he'd never been to before.  So she wondered about this other
ferret who didn't even SEE her (the NERVE!) and had to check him out.  I
remember the shelter mom's jaw hitting the floor at the sight of Tallie
actually running AFTER Wicket, instead of screaming in fear and bolting in
the opposite direction.  It was meant to be I guess.  Tallie is also very
sweet, doesn't bite me (she did grab my mom's wrist where she had put on
some perfume and did bite a child of one of my friends when he was screaming
but didn't break the skin in either case), but is a tough player with the
"boys" and despite the fact that she's smaller than they are, she is by no
means helpless.  I found her reaction to my mom's perfume interesting.
Anyone else had an otherwise non-biting ferret react to perfume that way??
I believe her reaction to the screaming child may have been a result of
circumstances in her first home - I believe that there was a baby in the
house and the crying bothered her, but I could be mistaken on that.  In any
case, I watch her more carefully with other people now.
 
When I began thinking of a third ferret I went back to the shelter.  They
had gotten a big boy in just a month or so earlier, in fine shape, and he
seemed to just have been a stray, but no one claimed him.  He had a wound on
his hip which seemed to be a dog bite, and they had put him on antibiotics
as soon as he came in.  What they found though was that it was NOT a dog
bite, it was actually a wound from a pellet gun.  Someone had taken a shot
at this guy, probably thinking he was a wild critter or something.  I think
the pellet was still in the wound, but it was speedily removed and he healed
up in record time.  His name is Brownie and he's older than my other two at
approximately 3-4 years of age (best guess).  He's also a sable, and is
bigger than either Wicket or Tallie.  Also very sweet.
 
Other comments about things I've been reading while lurking...
 
Regarding keeping litterboxes from being pushed all over and potentially
dumped in the cage.  I've found that small C-Clamps work very well at
anchoring the boxes.  If you have the sort of standard 1x2 inch galvanized
wire mesh cage, you can easily clamp the boxes from the outside.  I use
about a three-inch size clamp.  Currently I locate the boxes in a corner and
then use just one at the corner to hold it, but you can use two or more on
the sides for additional security.  They are easy to put on and remove and
really do the job.
 
For dishes I use "D" shaped bird dishes made from heavy duty beak-proof
plastic.  These bolt right to the side of the cage and don't budge, but are
easily removed for cleaning.  Although they won't prevent ferrets from
digging food out if that's what they like to do, they will prevent
accidental tip-overs by rambunctious ferrets.
 
Regarding "farm" ferrets:  I have two, one from PV (Wicket) and one from MF
(Brownie).  Both boys are healthy, friendly, and sweet.  What more can I
say?  I've read similar comments from several other people.  The farms must
be doing *something* right.
 
As I'm currently at home writing this (sick day) the kids are getting a lot
more time today out of the cage than they would on a normal weekday.
Currently they've all disappeared to various nap spots.  Guess they wore
themselves out (thank goodness!  :).  Wicket was the last to give in to the
sleepies.  Long after the other two had decided to take a nap, he was still
running around looking for things to do and probably wondering where
everyone else went!
 
Take care,
Karen
Wicket (Hey, look, if I grab Brownie's neck and PULL, I can drag him all
around the house!)
Brownie (WHOA! Where do you think you're taking me?)
Tallie (You boys are too goofy, I've got more important things to do!  Now,
where did those shoes go??)
 
Karen
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==========================================
"Witty sayings are as easily lost as the
pearls slipping off a broken string;
but a work of kindness is seldom spoken
in vain; it is a seed which, even when
dropped by chance, springs up a flower."
==========================================
[Posted in FML issue 1808]