My group is free roam and the bullies are caged when I'm gone and when
they act up while I'm home, the others are free to enjoy the entire
house. I do barrier off the bedroom and bathroom for awhile each day
for the little ones that get picked on so the bullies can be out.

There is so much to experience with ferrets that are out around their
families much of the time. They are more relaxed and their play is also
more relaxed, as if they don't have that pent up energy caged ferrets
do - which is why I recommend at least 6 hours out of cage time for
families that are unable to allow their ferrets free roam through their
home all the time.

I often have little ones following me while I'm cleaning and I always
seem to run into a little one when I'm making a quick turn because I
forgot something in the other room.

Lola likes to sleep with me, she likes to get up on the bed atop the
sheets and scritch my feet and ankles through the sheets. I always know
when she is coming to bed and she can be quite persistent about this
activity. She doesn't bite hard at all but it is a bit unsettling to
awaken to someone scritching the tops of your feet.

SugarBaby wakes me up by hissing in my face. At first her hiss will
be quiet as if to softly say "are you awake" but when I open my eyes
she gives me an all out hhhhhisssssss as she is looking at me about 3
inches away. She wants to play so we hand wrestle for a bit and if I
fall asleep in the process she gets very perturbed with me. But what
does she expect at 2:30 a.m.?

Mopping and sweeping are quite the experience. It seems I always have
helpers and they are very good at spreading around the dust pile or
trying to help mop by pulling the mop by it's strings. A good reminder
to use ferret safe cleaners.

I readily see the ferret interactions, like when Stix, who is under 2
yrs old and blind from cataracts, walks up to a gentle unsuspecting
ferret and screaches in their ear. Not Stix's fault, Sully picks on him
and others poke him just to hear him scream so he has become wary of
others. Of course Sully picks BECAUSE Stix screaches but try explaining
that to him. The others look a bit confused and walk or bounce off. How
rude.

Or when Sully has picked on someone and I put him in his cage how Onyx
or Dante will run up and climb in the cage to be with him.

Sully has some good moments, when he first gets out of his cage he
dances around my feet and seems to like that I praise his 'fancy toes'
as he very energeticaly prances and undulates his long lean ferrety
body.

How several others that have been bullied by Sully will get into his
empty cage and rub and roll on all his hammocks and blankets, eat his
food and drink his water.

When Sully is in his cage how the little girls will come and stand up
on his cage to see, then prissily back up and make a very decisive
deposit.

How some will get into the open exercise pen and come over to where I
am and scratch on it as if they are locked in and need my help. For
goodness sake do they think I'm really that gullable?

How they'll be playing tag and I suddenly find my calf is tagged and
have to chase them down and tag them back to get out of the game.

How several will snuggle closely together their furry little bodies
lovingly entwined.

We have an outside enclosure that has dirt in a section so when it
rains I have ferret feet prints on the linoleum. Cute it may seem but
in heavy rains I think they roll in the mud and track it all over the
house on purpose! I guess that's so they can play... I mean help with
the mopping and sweeping.

Not everyone's situation allows safely for full time free roam ferrets,
but supervised ferrets that are allowed out of the cage for many hours
at a time bring learning and watching fun to their humans. The more
time out of cage the more you will see your ferret's personality grow
and get to experience the true relaxed ferret hiding inside.

tle
www.ferretfamilyservices.org
www.iGive.com/FFS

[Posted in FML 5850]