Hi All.  Just a couple of things for the list today.
 
First, the little guys, Jasper and Willie (about 12 weeks old), are growing
like weeds!!  They are completely adorable, and we're enjoying them more
(and they us) with each passing day.  Today I let them roam our bedroom
and bathroom, which we are constantly upgrading in the ferret proof arena.
Today we had a new breakthrough in ferret agility and determination.  While
I was downstairs on the computer, reading today's fml, I heard a terrific
crash.  I bolted upstairs to find that they now can climb onto the bed,
even with the bedding tucked in.  The crash was a glass that had been
sitting on the nightstand and was between the kleenex box and the edge.
Apparantly Willie likes kleenex, and the glass was in the way.  The glass
was in a million pieces and Jasper was investigating the remnants of a
wedge of lime that I'd had in my water.  I was horrified!  I scooped them
up and inspected for cuts around their faces and feet, and shards of glass
in their fur or feet, and thankfully there were none.  I immediately fed
them (they hadn't had their breakfast yet and were hungry), and gave them
water.  About 15 minutes later I also gave them some ferretlax.  All of
this in hopes that if they did ingest any bits of glass that the food would
help to absord it, and the ferretlax would provide a little extra coating
and expedience in getting rid of it.  Is there anything else I should be
doing?
 
Secondly, the little guys LOVE going outside.  They'll even tolerate their
harnesses and leashes if it means that they can go outside and DIG!!!  I
haven't been able to teach them the difference between a weed and the
daisies yet -- and they seem to prefer to dig up flowers, not to mention
that they're dying to try out the little gold fish pond, but instead they
usually end up in the part of the yard that's mole infested.  I'm not sure
whether it's the scent of the moles or just the fact that a hole's already
there, but they go nuts digging in the mole holes.  Their routine goes
something like.... hop hop hop, pounce, Dig dig dig dig dig, clear the
mound of dirt around the hole, pant pant, dunk the head in the water bowl
that's close by, shake, dig dig dig dig dig dig... Every once in awhile a
chirping bird or the train going by will get their attention, and if I'm
sitting on the ground close by they will stop and climb into my lap to take
little nap breaks.  I'm really carefull not to take them out when it's
really hot, and they do their digging in the shade with lots of water close
by.  The best thing is that they also like playing in the water, so after
the dig they play in a little baby bathtub with a couple of inches of water
in it (they think they're pulling one over on me by sneaking into the tub
to play... hehehehe).
 
This brings me to a last question before I close: Since I have them outside
from time to time, should I get heartworm medicine for them?  What form
does heartworm medicine for ferrets come in?  (Jasper and Willie thought
the intestinal worming med in the "grease" form was a "treat"...)
 
Dooks to all!
 
 ;)
[Posted in FML issue 3133]