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*** O F F I C I A L   C O N J U N C T I V I T I S   D O C U M E N T ***
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Hello.  New to the list.  Nice to introduce myself to all of these wonderful
ferret owners!
 
I recently adopted my second Sable, a female comanion for my lonely male.
The female and male are both "fixed" and descented, and both are current on
their immunizations.
 
Sammy (the male) was a terror at the start, but not half as bad as Esther
(the new female).  I adopted them from a shelter organization in Milwaukee
called "Ferret Fanciers of Greater Milwaukee." Esther had been neglected by
her previous owner and was given to the shelter through a long line of
humane societies and such.  I have a 3-level cage to protect them when I am
not home and when I am sleeping.  This is a necessity more than a willing
act.  I would prefer them to have run of the house, but Sammy is just a bit
too prone to getting into trouble and... well, I'm sure you all know.
 
The problem I am having is with Esther.  She constantly scratches on the
placemats I have on the lower level of the cage (poopin' room I like to call
it).  She threw an absolute fit last night, dumping over the litter box and
chewing a hole through the plastic tube leading from the 2nd floor to the
3rd floor.  This was after I had had her out for several hours (4 or 5?)
keeping her active the whole time, trying to tire her out so she wouldn't
make so much noise and I could get some sleep.  I eventually retired to the
livingroom and slept on the couch, but I could hear her crashing and
scratching in the cage until I finally fell asleep.  I feel very guilty
keeping her in the cage, but we do have a cat that Sammy is happy to play
with but Esther is a bit small to handle the cat alone, along with
inexperience, and I would be more afraid of her getting wounded by the cat
if I let her out all night (she is small enough to fit underneath almost
every door in my place).
 
Well, I just feel awful (and tired).  Has anyone had the problem of the
ferret that just wouldn't go to sleep?  Any home remedies, like music or
anything?  (note: there is enough bedding in that darn cage to make ME want
to sleep in it!  =) She is also well fed and knows where the water is) She
just doesn't want to be in the cage at night.  Any suggestions would be
greatly appreciated, as I am at a loss as to what to do.
 
Thank-you very kindly,
 
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*** Mark A. Pendl **Conjunctivitis  Incorporated** [log in to unmask] ***
***                    http://www.uwm.edu/~spam                     ***
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[Posted in FML issue 1595]