We'll folks, I'm back.  I've been on the road for a long time and haven't
posted in about as long.  It took hours to go through the back FML issues.
I won't get that far behind again!
 
ON FOOD: Interesting dialog on food choices and mixing.  Here's my 2 cents
and what I've found.  My first ferret, Gus, started on 8 in 1 because it was
all I could get in my area.  I soon switched to Iams kitten for the higher
fat content (Iams 22%, 8 in 1 15%) because I thought that as a kit he
definitely needed the higher fat.  Now, Cleo, my second ferret enters the
picture.  She's a rescue that was eating Pounce when I bought her and was as
thin as a string bean.  She immediately started eating Iams in my house and
went from 1 pound to 2 pounds in about a month!  She is a small (short) girl
and is pretty fat at 2 pounds.  I thought she'd loose weight with spring,
but didn't.  I had to start mixing the 8 in 1 with Iams to get the fat
content down for her to loose weight.  I guess she is just use to having to
wolf down a ton of food from her previous life.  She's started to lose some
weight, but has still got a way to go.  Given the dearth of foods in my area
without a lot of fish products or corn/rice as one of the top three
ingredients, this seems to be about the best blend I can get.
 
ON RAMPS: I recently replace the ramp between the floors of Gus & Cleo's
cage with a denim slide.  The ramp was showing wear and tear and I was
worried about the ferrets getting caught.  The slide is a 2' long section of
an old pair of jeans.  Using eyelets and hooks, the small end fits right up
to the opening to their second floor.  The larger end hangs from the bottom
of the 2nd floor to about 3" above the first floor.  They just love it!  The
can easily climb up it and just belly flop and slide down it.  No need to
worry about either of them catching a food or Gus catching his "you know
what" on the mesh of the old ramp.
 
ON POOP 'N RUN: For the last couple of weeks, I have been occasionally
finding small amounts of poop in the middle of the floor.  I have discovered
that in addition to her normal contributions to the corner litter boxes,
Cleo sometimes has a "2nd effort" in the middle of the floor.  Sometimes she
literally is doing it on the run, but most of the time its like, "Well here
I am, I better stop get let this last bit out, and then be on my way".
Other than that, she's been very good about going to her corner.  Anyone
else had these "second comings"?
 
Maggie - Sorry, Though a single Dad with 2 kids and 2 ferrets, I'm 6', 185
pounds, and no pony tail.  I guess that crosses me off the list.
 
Mo' Bob - Are you assuming the gender of the folks in question when you
start using phrases like "These idiots must have been playing "One-armed
Willy" with their "best friend""?  I've met some pretty bull headed and
ignorant folks from both genders (and sometime what seemed like a mutation
of the two) in various state agencies.  Hope you didn't mean to leave out
any single gender with that slam!
[Posted in FML issue 1925]