heidi, i know your pain. our albino boy gabriel is a very impatient
little man. our ferrets are out as soon as we are conscious enough to
mind them in the morning until we leave, about 2 hours, and in the
evenings as soon as we get home and settled until we go to bed, from
about 6pm to about midnight or so. needless to say, he's somewhat
spoiled.
and yet, if i don't open the cage door at the appointed 6am time, there
is the bar nashing and scratching, even at just 5 mins late! and if i
close the cage door after they've been out and about for hours and put
*themselves to bed*, he will wake up and indignantly scratch and bite at
the cage door.
when he was very young, he did it at all hours. i'd wake up at 3am
because of the racket. that's love!
we tried everything to get him to stop, especially because it took little
time for him to figure out that if he chawed and pushed the door the
right way, it would open. now we keep a mini-bungee on the door so he
can't open it anymore. smart little bugger!
you can try putting some bitter apple on the bars, that may help. also,
check to make sure there is enough food and water, and that the box is
scooped. gabe is a picky albino, and is only happy if the bottom of the
dish has at least an inch of food in it (it's a 2 inch deep dish).
some things that have helped are teaching him that good things get him
out, not bad ones. if he uses the box, he gets to come out. or if he
eats all of his duck soup, he can come out. he rattles less now, and
uses the box more. :)
how much continuous out time does chloe get? is it 2 hours straight? or
is it broken up morning and evening? sometimes more continous time, as
opposed to broken up time, out of the cage helps. also, more hands on
play or busy playtime where she's happy with a nifty toy (like a dig box)
when she's out will help. if she's napping on her out time, wake her up
and make sure she gets busy.
hope these bits help.
andrea and the somerville ferrets of frolic w/fert dad corey
[Posted in FML issue 3888]
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