Hey there,
 
My SO posted our first message to the list last time, so I figured it was
my turn.  We've had Lucy and Gabriel for 3 weeks, and we love 'em to death.
But, in the spirit of trying to be good parents, we have questions about
rearing.  And, I have a comment/question on Triple F farms.
 
First, the potty training.  They were using the box just fine for the first
2 weeks (I'd say the hit/miss ratio was 3:1).  But now they've decided that
they like a different corner of the cage for pooping, and we find ourselves
cleaning out the cage every day.  It started out gradually, with most of the
business happening in the litterbox, and a few in the corner.  But now it's
almost like they've stopped using the box altogether, in favor of their new
corner.  We've tried putting the usual items in that corner, like bedding,
toys, food, but nothing has helped so far (they poop on anything in the
corner, no matter what it is).  I've contemplated moving the box to the new
corner, to see if that helps.  Any suggestions?  Right now we have newspaper
in the corner, to make life a bit simpler until we figure this out.
 
Lucy is now 12.5 weeks, and Gabe is 10 weeks.  We've started harness
training (they where their harnesses for a little while a couple times a
week), and we've put them on leashes twice, which they don't seem to mind.
Is it too early to start leash training?  What should we focus on?
Suggestions on methods?  Also, when is a good age for name training?  They
are still in such a rambunctious gotta-explore-gotta-dook-hey-there's-the-
ball mode, they don't seem to be interested.  I have tried the treat method
(they come, you give 'em a treat, praise them using their name a lot), but
I'm wondering if it's their age, or if I should try something else.  They
aren't deaf, I can tell you that much (they wake up with my alarm much
better than I do...)
 
OK, I know this is long, just one more thing.  The pet store where we got
our babies (a NYS licensed ferret dealer) said they were from Triple F
farms.  But, as the vet noted, it's odd that they don't have the hot-pink
tattoo.  I figured maybe it was just hard to find on Gabe (he's a cutie
albino), but Lucy didn't seem to have it either.  Oddness.
 
Happy Friday the 13th to you all!
 
Andrea & Corey (proud parents)
Lucy Furr "Yeah, that's my *full* name.  Cute, huh?  No, Gabe, it's
                     *my* ball!"
Gabriel    "*boing boing* C'mon, Lucy, share!  Hey, wait, there's
                     Daddy's sweatshirt...*dooka dooka*..."
[Posted in FML issue 2246]