Well, I also have been lurking for some times and just wanted to ask a
couple of questons:
 
I am a new ferret owner, first ferret, a male, 4 months old named Jay-Jay.
He has taught me the value of having patience when teaching and training and
definitely keeps me on my toes.  I have a cage for him that I got from a
friend who had ferrets for years.  It's about 4 feet high by 3 feet deep and
3 feet wide.
 
It has 5 different level platforms and a cubby hole for hiding.  All these
levels are carpeted and Jay-Jay thinks it's the greatest.
 
I am trying to do my best to control the smell of his cage and Jay-Jay as
well.  My spouse says, (in a loving way) that he "kinda smells".  Of course
he does silly, he's a ferret.  I give him a bath about once every 2 weeks
with PPP Ferret Shampoo that I got from PetValu and an occaisional spray
with PPP Ferret Fresh Deodorizing Spray Conditioner.  Jay-Jay doesn't seems
to have any adverse reactions to these products and they work well.
 
Problem is that there is nothing that I have found to clean the carpeted
portions of his cage.  I usually take them out, scrub them with the shampoo
product and rinse them and let them dry.  Works a bit but not that great.
Is there a pet supplier out there that I can get a catalogue from that would
have accessories that can just be wiped down or cleaned more easily.  We
have a small apt and any musty odour travels throughout.  Perhaps this is a
little petty of me.
 
Secondly, I have been trying to get Jay-Jay to recognize his name.  I try to
associate it with good things like a treat (Peanut Putter or Ferretone) or
when I am letting him out of his cage, I say his name, but he doesn't seeme
to associate the two.  Is there any other way that you can think of that
would help him to learn his name?
 
I realize that he is still young and that anythiing that happens around him
is cause to do the war-dance so perhaps this will happen in time.
 
I have learned the art of ferret proffing when Jay-Jay showed me how to
travel from Apt to Apt by crawling through the space under the water heating
pipe that runs the length of the building.  Now I have a little collar and
bell that is required apparel when out of the cage.  The first time he wore
it, he spent 15 minutes doing the "Oh God, help me, I'm dying I tell you,
DYING!!" routine before he forget about it to have a "toe-snack".
 
Lastly, (and sorry to be so lengthy), he is not all that impressed with
having a bath, though he is better now that he has learned how to pull the
plug and run to the other end of the tub.  I just wonder how deep the water
should be.  I usually have it too deep for him to stand in but have a
plastic platform to stand on.  He jumps off, grabs the plug, and swims back.
 
Anyway, hard to imagine not having Jay-Jay around now and love to see him
learning new things every day.  So far he hasn't shown interest in chewing
electrical cords and I hope that will never come.  I kill plants faster than
he ever could so that's not an issue.  I am going to go through my closet of
shoes soon to find one of his own.  Let's face it, Doc Marten shoes are just
to costly to treat like beef jerky.
 
Thanks for all the information that you all contribute.
 
Shawn
[Posted in FML issue 1653]