>From:    Terianne Spears <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: How do I keep my sanity w/my 2 yr old boy?
>Bandit.  He will be 2 yrs old in June.  He is definately a handful.  Many
>times I had wanted to get him a furry friend, but would come home and see
>his room a mess, and would quickly change my mind.
 
Terianne, welcome to the FML, I (along with many other FML'rs) have gone
through everything you've described in your post.
 
>The things that are bothering me are 1) why does he scratch on the bottom
>of my doors, and on the sides of my wooden shelves?  It is the most
>annoying sound ever.  I pick him up and tell him no and put him in his
>cage for time out, but he doesn't take the hint that that is wrong.
 
First of all, where there is a door closed...guarantee that a ferret will
scratch at the carpet...they want to be on the other side and see what's
going on out there.  Sometimes, it's due to because they are confined in
one room and just want to explore more.  They need constant stimulation and
changes in their surroundings, otherwise they will get extremely bored and
results in digging, overturning of food/water bowls, pooping in strange
places, rattling their cages, etc.
 
My fuzzy, Tango (when he was 1 year old), went through the same thing.  He
would rattle the cage, tip over the (clip-on) water bowl and dig out his
litter.  He had other fuzzies to play with and plenty of time out, but I
realized that he needed some extra attention.  After I started scratching &
loving him more until he couldn't stand it anymore, and letting him play
longer than the others, he mellowed a lot.  He no longer does those things.
 
Change his surroundings around, put some empty boxes and bags in his room
and give him some blankets to snorkel through...let him investigate new
things.
 
>2) do ferrets have a hidden sense that tells them when you are about to
>drift off to sleep?  This is when Bandit climbs his way up on my bed,
>creeps his way under my covers, and attacks my unsuspecting feet.
 
Ferrets are notorius for this...don't think there is much you can do about
this one.  Spunky will climb up, lick and bite my feet and then run off and
go to sleep in her blanket.  I take it as a sign of affection that she is
telling me goodnight.  :-)
 
>Every now and then, when he is especially upset w/me (probably for
>scolding him) he goes into his cage and poops on his blanket next to his
>food dish.  What is up w/that?
 
That is probably his way of retaliating against you for putting him in his
cage for time out.  He may be feeling that his cage is a "bad" place to be.
I feel a cage should not be used as a time-out because, when you put them
in there for a time-out, they start to associate that with misbehaving.
What happens when you go to put him in the cage when you are going to work
or leaving....they will think that you are punishing them again and don't
understand the difference.  I use a separate pet taxi as a time-out (not
the one I use to take to the vet, don't want them to think that vets are
evil).  This carrier has nothing in it, no blankets, food or water, etc.
I put (usually my Chico, the bad-boy) in there and let the other fuzzies
play while he has to sit and watch them.  Usually after a few minutes in
the carrier, he is ready to come out and he is kind of "sheepish" when he
walks out...then he resumes play with the others.  I also have to keep
newspaper along the one side of their cage, because they use their litter
pan, but Chico always wants to go on the newspaper beside the pan.  So I
gave up and change the paper everyday...it doesn't bother me...I would
rather do that then have him going on the blankets.
 
>4) why do ferrets dig in there food?  I learned to put only a dab of dry
>food in his dish (less is wasted then) and whenever I do this, he goes
>over and digs in the bowl, spilling most of it on the floor, then goes on
>eating what is left in the dish.
 
Two things here.  What kind of food is he eating?  When I got my first
fuzzy, Tango, I was told to feed him Marshall's Ferret Food from the pet
store.  So I did...he would constantly dig and throw his food around and
hardly eat it.  Well, I did not like the smell of it at all and learned
about Totally Ferret.  I switched and Tango ate it immediatly with
enthusiasm and did not dig in his bowl anymore.  Some people think if a
fuzzy is hungry, they will eat anything....not true.  I think fuzzies
have desired tastes and smells just like us (of course, they imprint on
certain foods at a young age).
 
Also, he could be digging his food out because of what I mentioned above,
boredom.
 
>Then he gets in one of his moods and rolls over on his back, with his
>front paws curved, looking at me as if to say, "I'm sorry, mom, I love
>you."  Then my heart melts and I can't resist to gathering him up and
>trying to hug his squeeming body.
 
Aren't they sneaky?  They know they have misbehaved and literally driven us
insane...but this trick seems to work everytime!  Who could resist that!
I'm pretty sure every ferret learned it from the FLO handbook.  ;-)
 
Good luck with Bandit Boo!  Warm *fuzzy* hugs!
 
Tracy J.
Tango, Chico, Roo(RooBear), Pepe', Spunky & Leah
[Posted in FML issue 3352]