> Re:  Ferrets sharing water bottles
>
>     Yep, mine do that all the time.  They also used to do the `let's
> annoy Mom with the water bottle' trick.  5-6 a.m., one decides she's bored
> and gets up and drinks at the water bottle.  And drinks, and drinks, and
> drinks, and. . . so Mom finally wakes up at the repetitive noise, checks the
> bottle to make sure it's working, and sure enough it is -- but guess who's
> now standing by the door to her cage and no where near the water bottle.  Is
> this a hint?  So finally I decided if they were going to be that persistent
> they could go without the bottle 2-3 more hours while I finished my night's
> sleep.  They don't try that trick very often anymore.  (Don't worry, I always
> put it back as soon as I wake up, and they never act like they can't wait to
> get at it like they're dying of thirst or anything.)  Presumably, they
> decided if nothing good was going to happen, they wouldn't bother.  Good move
> on their part.
>
I used to have the same problem with one of my hamsters, and I wound
up trying the same solution.  So she found that she could make
even more of a racket by plucking at the bars of her cage with her
teeth, like a guitar string.  I finally just got a 'white noise'
system (Sound Soother from Sharper Image) so I could sleep over the
racket.  The ferrets are only an occasional noise problem, though.
I've found that singing them a lullabye (no joke) will often
get them to quiet down and let me sleep.  But I sing it while lying in
bed so they don't get excited and think I'm coming to play with them.
 
E.S.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0714]