Hi, all.  I have a question for those of you with deaf ferrets.  How in
the world do you STOP THE SCREAMING?!?!?!?!
 
About a month and a half ago, two ferrets were turned over to the animal
hospital where I work.  Of course, I had to take them home!  (Yes, I do
indeed have a big red S for Sucker on my forehead!) Anyway, they are
about 10 months old, and very active.  One is a sable with white feet
(absolutely crazy!), and the other is a beautiful dark-eyed white.  After
a few days, we discovered that (surprise, surprise) he's deaf.  Deaf as
a post.  Completely clueless if he doesn't see you come in.
 
They are absolutely crazy, and have really brought new life to my other
ferts.  Especially my seven-and-a-half year old naked ferret with
Lymphoma!  Dervish (the sable) learned very quickly just how rough he
could be with her, and she will actually wrestle with him for short
periods!
 
The problem is, they don't know when they should play, and when they
should sleep.  I've tried explaining to them that when it's light out,
we play, and when it's dark out, we sleep.  They just don't get it.  It
wouldn't be a problem, since the ferrets have their own room.  (Yes, we
actually moved into a bigger place just to have a room for the ferrets!)
They aren't actually usually that noisy when they play.  Well, they
weren't.  You see, Jasper (the DEW) is very vocal.  VERY vocal.  He
doesn't just dook.  He screeches and screams.  I'm just now realizing
how much.
 
The first night after we moved them permanantly into the ferret room
(they had been having supervised play in a different room with the
others), I woke up at 2 AM to a lot of screeching.  I went in there and
sat with them until they settled down.  Then, at 4 AM, I was jolted awake
to an absolutely blood-curdling scream.  It sounded like a small child
being beaten!  I went running into the ferret room to find Jasper and
Tanner wrestling.  They just looked up at me innocently.  It happens now
almost every night.
 
I know it sounds funny, and it kind of is, but there's a problem.  The
ferret room buts up against another apartment.  I don't know if anyone
sleeps in that room, or if they can even hear the noise through the
walls, but I don't want to disturb our neighbors.  But I also don't want
to start locking Jasper up at night again, either.  That just doesn't
seem fair to him, when he doesn't even know what he's doing.  Does anyone
have any suggestions about how I can stop, or at least lessen, the
screaming?
 
Bright Blessings,
 
Becky
with Twizzler, Tanner,  Tinker, Jasper, and Dervish
Missing Cinnamon, Coke, Pixie, Chitterbox, Kodi-Bear, and Yozum
[Posted in FML issue 5225]