Sukie pointed out:
>The key thing for getting mad activity from them is CHANGE
 
I'm glad Sukie brought this up (I should've mentioned it in my previous
post - we should always offer solutions when we present a problem).
 
Ferrets are very territorial and have VERY good memories (despite that
flimsy excuse they give about forgetting the location of the litter box).
A ferret deposited in a new area will immediately (usually) sniff out the
entire perimeter of the area then proceed to explore and sniff the interior
(the first time outside the house, they will sniff along the walls all the
way around).  Returning to that area a YEAR later, the ferret will follow
a VERY similar path, checking out the same things, stopping to dig or play
at a point he did the previous year.
 
This "knowing" how & where things are "supposed" to be is probably a
large part of the reason that ferrets are so intensely affected and easily
stressed by abrupt environmental change.  When a few things change, it's
an adventure.  When EVERYTHING (or almost everything) changes, it's
cataclysmic.  (An example of "everything": being dumped at a shelter
without even the comfort of its former cage.  Or whisked off on a weeklong
family vacation trip when he's never been more than 30 miles in a carrier
to the vet and back.)
 
"Adventure" changes that won't unduly disrupt your household:
 
Divide toys into 3 boxes.  Put two of the toy boxes away, and alternate
them every other week.
 
Provide "temporary" toys:
Toss the Walmart bags on the floor (pick up & discard last week's bags).
(You can stuff them all into one and loosely tie it, punching a "safety"
hole in the bottom and time your fuzzies on how long it takes them to get
all the stuffed bags out.)
 
Leave the cap off of the plastic coke bottle (in Texas, it's a "coke",
even if it's a Dr. Pepper!) and toss it on the floor (DON"T rinse it, you
want to leave the smell.  I don't recommend cans due to the sharp edge of
the opening & that's invariably where they try to grab it to carry.)
 
Seal an empty box and cut a "mousehole" in one end.  (These often become
permanent fixtures - they can be covered with contact paper to match your
dicor.) You might want to stuff it with a Walmart bag or a sleep blankie.
 
Or just leave a "new" cardboard box lying around for a few days.
 
Put a Walmart bag in their favorite hammock or sleep place.
 
Move their "stash"
 
Stuff their stash in a Walmart bag & leave it where it was.
 
Add things to their stash.
 
Place a small bowl of treats in an out of the way place.
 
Stuff a sheet or blanket under the couch.
 
Remove the cardboard center from a roll of toilet tissue & put it under
the couch.  (Have the bomb squad's phone number handy.) Remove the remains
of the roll when it begins to overflow from under the couch.  Or use a box
of tissues.  The box is fun, too, after the tissues are out.
 
(My grandmother, who taught me how to keep house, is rolling over in her
grave; that I'm actually ENCOURAGING others to follow my reprobate habits!)
 
Hang hammocks in pet carriers and leave them open on the floor in an out
of the way spot for a few days.  (Especially if you're planning a trip
with ferrets!)
 
The black plastic 4" sewer drainage (flexible kind) pipes are cheap (a
couple of bucks for 20', & can be cut with a steak knife - T's & elbows
are around $5) can be infinitely rearranged behind, under, and around
furniture.  (And they're really amazingly inconspicuous - most visitors
don't notice them until they hear a ferret galloping through them.)
 
Slightly more disruptive changes:
 
Shampoo the carpet.
 
Pour a large bag of potting soil into the (dry) bathtub.  Add ferrets.
Close sliding door (if available).  (For cleanup, sweep into a dustpan &
return to the original bag.  Flush drain well, as some dirt will end up
there.)
 
Re-arrange furniture.
 
Drape a sheet or blanket over a table.
 
Leave a laundry basket (empty or full) in the floor.  Make sure the holes
in the basket are too small or too large for ferrets to get stuck.
 
Temporarily add a room to their "territory".  Be sure it's ferret-proofed.
 
If you have different playgroups:
Closely supervised shared playtime, even if it's only long enough to break
up a squabble that's becoming serious (a couple of squeals and scruff
dragging is not serious), is a stimulation that keeps a fuzzy alert and
curious.  Squabbles should preferably be broken up before they become
serious to avoid stressing either ferret.  (The dominant ferret might
actually be more stressed!)  A serious squabble is one in which neck biting
is rapid, causing scratches, accompanied by body slamming & shaking and the
less dominant ferret is not allowed to escape.  (Allow curious testing but
avoid the "fight or flight" situation.) Allowing free roam is the easiest
way to integrate ferrets into a single playgroup.  (It can take up to 6
months for all squabbles to cease & all fuzzies to not mind sharing sleep
spots, so expect a little wear & tear on your nerves.  If they've not
integrated by then, they, generally, never will.)
 
There've been a lot of great ideas on the FML.  Search the archives with
words like "games", "toys", or "play".
 
How the owner interacts with the ferret does make a small contribution to
their overall "wired" level, but only to the extent of how the ferret plays
with people.  If the ferret is "wired for 220", he's a climber, wardancer,
a litter box over-turner, and certifiable ricochet material (these are the
guys that are surrendered because they're "unmanageable".).  Even these
fuzzies settle down after a month or so in a stable free roam situation,
but - they light up like an arc welder at the least change.  The "12 volt"
ferrets (old folks and lap ferrets) make do with a thorough sniffing of the
new disturbance in "their" world.  The thorough sniffing of a "12-volter"
is every bit as important to the ferret's physical and emotional health as
the arc welding of a "220er".
 
It really makes no difference how large, small, or accessorized a cage is.
Whether the cage is a 14x30 single level or an entire house.  After the
"new" wears off, the kids quit playing with it.  The older the ferret,
the sooner he tires of the same old stuff.  (And some ferrets are just
genetically "mellow".) We allocate cage size in relation to an individual
ferret's basic activity level, rather than just age.  Our youngster's
(220ers) cage is a six level 24x30 (full levels, not balconies) job.  (A
couple of those "youngsters" are over 4 years old!) This allows room for
moving things around and changing accessories and the romping those changes
require, even though it normally houses only 6 ferrets (primarily at night
& hours when we're not home).  The old folk's (12 volters) cages are single
level 14x30's.  Changing the hammock for a sleep box is as adventurous as
they care to get in a cage.  They still do their real "playing" outside of
the cage.  Accessorizing a cage or changing cage accessories is NOT a
substitu te for out-time, but it IS vitally important for ferrets that are
primarily caged.
 
Our adoptable shelter ferrets are primarily caged, since they may have to
be caged when they are adopted out.  Again, the cage size allocated is in
accordance to activity level.  The shelter ferrets, uniformly across
age/activity levels, play more intensely during their out-times than the
primarily free roam unadoptable and personal ferrets.  The activity level
of a ferret added to the free roaming group mellows over a period of weeks
into shorter, more frequent, less intense activity.
 
Debi Christy & the 19 "who put THIS here?", well-toned, & free-roaming
fuzzies with additions by the "who moved my stash, this time?" shelter
kids.
[Posted in FML issue 3458]