To the person who likes ferrets & plants.  The best way to prevent your
fuzzies from digging up your plants is to get rocks - big ones heavy enough
that the little boogers can't move them.  I've seen the egg-size rocks that
you can buy in a nursery work just fine too.  Cover the dirt so they can't
get to it & you can still water right through them (the rocks, not the
ferrets ;) ).
 
I'd like to comment on the baby picture thing.  I know we are all aware that
children & pets must be supervised.  We all know the personality of our fur
kids & know what to expect from them.  But when you have unknowledgeable,
inexperienced individuals trolling the net to find out about ferrets & they
see a picture of a baby & a ferret alone together, might they not get the
idea that it's perfectly all right?  I can't tell you how many ding-dongs
have come up to me w/their little kids & tried to stick their kid's face or
hand right into my ferrets face, an animal that was completely foreign that
they knew absolutely nothing about.  Any intelligent individual experienced
w/ferrets knows that they can coexist safely w/children.  Keep in mind that
it's not us we're talking about, it's the moron looking for a live stuffed
animal for their kid that we have to protect our fuzzies & their image from.
I would be just as proud of the pictures, they're adorable.  But I fear that
they will be taken out of context by parents who know nothing about ferrets.
 
It was my impression that the *Face attacking and child-stalking ferret*
post was written out of genuine concern for both the ferret & the child,
although I didn't agree w/everything that was said.  A few of us seem to be
really upset about the implications of this post.  But let's be real hear
folks.  To suggest that stalking/biting ferrets don't exist, although few &
far between, is like saying that all ferrets are 100% litter box trainable -
HA.  We have one in-house for well over a year.  She was surrendered because
her owner couldn't deal w/how this little ferret *attacked* her face after
months of patiently working w/her.  To this day this ferret makes deliberate
attempts to viciously bite any & all uncovered skin.  And believe me, the
foster mom she's been living with is experienced in turning around biters.
So no, I don't believe ferrets inherently have a propensity to attack/bite, &
yes, incorrigible biters do exist.
 
Whatever your opinion is, we can all learn from each other.
 
LONG LIVE KODO
 
Juliana
Frodo, Rocks, Anola Gay, SNAFU, FUBAR, Tabu,
Chaos, Tuxedo, Bijou, Fiasco, & Dazzle
[Posted in FML issue 2130]