Fleas:
Sprite, gets a flea from time to time, as we let her outside, and our cat
comes in and out ... also our dog is sometimes on the back screened in
porch that she plays in freely.  I have found that one drop of cat sized
Advantage works for a whole month or more.  Ever since I used it, she's
had no problems, even with other animals coming in and out.
 
Fish:
I raise fish, have 4 fish tanks, (sometimes more set up) and also sometimes
have "beanie baby boxes" with young fish, or breeding bettas (Siamese
fighting fish).  My ferret has NEVER tried to catch them, but she has
tried tipping the boxes over that were sitting on the floor.  She's also
snorkeled in them, and the only thing that happened, was the fish (if they
were large males) nipped at her nose and whiskers while she was in their
box.  She didn't seem to mind.  Neither did the fish.
 
Escapes:
Sprite has run of the entire house, and on cooler days (this IS Florida!)
she goes out on our screened in porch.  She's never escaped, or tried to go
outside without her leash.  When we lived in our trailer though, 3 years
ago, she DID escape.  If you are familiar with porch screen doors, the kind
that swing closed really slow ... that's what we had (left the main door
open to let more light in), and one day she just got out.  (I was out of
town in the hospital at the time.)  She was found 3 days later 2 blocks
away under my neighbor's porch with the dogs trying to eat her, and barking
like crazy.  Ever since she's been scared of my dogs, when she used to play
with them.  My neighbor was actually a close friend, though, and didn't
even KNOW we had lost Sprite.  She called a day later, after she had bathed
her and fed her.  She was going to keep her, but called us just to make
sure ours wasn't missing!  My mom cried so hard when she was lost, and
cried even more when she found out she was safe.
 
Potty:
My fuzzbutt has taken to NOT using her litterbox.  Mom says it's cause
she's mad when we don't let her out when we have company.  She's a
spoiled little thing!  Anyway, I am MAKING a new litterbox for her out
of plexiglass.  Similar (actually almost the same design) to the "custom
commodes".  It will go all the way across the back of her cage, and have
angled sides.  She has a Midwest condo, so I had to go to Ace Hardware and
have all these pieces cut to fit.  I still have to cut the angled piece
myself, but it ended up costing me $25 for everything.  Plexiglass, cement,
and them cutting it.  I didn't expect it to be that much, but we had to
do SOMETHING since she kept using the OTHER side of the litterpan.  Crazy
fert.
 
Size:
Sprite is 4 years old now, and is just a wee bit over one pound.  She's
always been a bit scrawny, but all her vet checks say she's healthy.  She's
just a runt.  Which is a bit strange because her mother was over 2 pounds,
and her father almost 4.  I did want a BIG ferret, but I got a rat sized
one instead!  Hahaha, oh well, she's still loved!
 
Cage:
I have a cage that is 3 stories, about 3 foot tall.  It is all galvanized
wire, but the bottom of the wire on one side has a bit of rusting on it ...
I think it can be sanded off, but I haven't tried it yet.  I had left it
outside one day, and wouldn't ya know it would rain that day???  Anyway,
I have this cage as an "extra" in case anybody needed me to "foster" any
ferrets.  My Sprite will not allow any other ferrets near her because she
tries to kill them.  So if anybody is interested in this cage, let me know.
It is still nice, despite the bit of rusting on it.  Or if anybody needs
me to ferret-sit or foster, I can keep it for that reason. :-)  I am in
Jacksonville, FL.  Oh, the bottom shelf is not that tall, so it will NOT
fit a custom commode in it.  I had always just used a regular litter pan,
or a corner pan in the middle shelf.
 
Take care everybody!
Stephanie and "Queen" Sprite
[Posted in FML issue 3477]