Hey there all you ferret people.  I haven't posted in awhile (not that I
 post very regularly anyway) but like most of you, I have been busy.  I
 thought I would drop a few of my own stuff on the list.
 
---On ferret barricades, litter boxes - we just took over as the managers of
our apartment complex and got a new, bigger apartment with brand new carpet.
Since I didn't want our two carpet sharks, Rikki and Gabby destroying the
nice carpet, I laid some aluminum flashing in front of the door to our
bedroom.  Also, to keep them upstairs and restricted to their play area, I
put up a sheet of plywood across the stairs with a bottom on it to protect
the stair carpet.  I attached it to the wall with gate hooks, and it works
great!  The major drawback is that it is a tremendous crotch stretcher to
step over when a person wants to go past it when it's up.  Oh well, the
price we pay for our freaks.  We also decided to throw down a litter box in
the bathroom to keep the place cleaner.  To our total surprise, they use it
almost all of the time.  When they don't, they climb in the bathtub and go
in there.  We hardly had to give them any training at all.
 
--- On sneak attacks and Gabby's telepathy.  Gabby is our sneak attacker.
she occasionally will mosey up to a human, doesn't matter who, and attack
their feet ferociously.  She doesn't really bite them hard but it is a
little nerve wracking and makes you lift up your feet.  Gabby is also
telepathic, in my opinion.  Whenever I go to pick her up or play with her,
she comes right over to me.  When I go to pick her up to put her away,
however, she runs for it.  How does she know what I am going to do with her?
I don't act any different but she must pick up on the subtle body language.
 
--- Car trips.  I think I have discovered one of the best ways to transport
a ferret a long ways in a car.  We have a Subaru Brat (kind of a tiny pickup
with a canopy) and the back is a totally sealed, self contained ferret
compartment.  The girls can run wild back there, sleep in our laundry and
not stay cooped in a hot little carrier.  Any pickup with a canopy will do,
but it has to be closed to the outside world, except for ventilation of
course.  Make sure the screens are secure and that the back gate is latched.
Our ferrets love car trips now!
 
I have bored you all enough for today so I'll sign off.
Matt and the wife Juliane
Gabby and Rikki
[Posted in FML issue 1319]