I just had to share this cute ferret trick story with you all..
 
I am currently ferret-sitting my friend Chris' 3 male ferrets: Elvis, a
dark sable; Sandy, a cinnamon with a light(er) mask; and Foxy, a cinnamon
whose darker highlights make him look like, you guessed it, a fox.  They
are 3 of the most adorable ferrets I ever met.  Elvis follows me around,
and when I stop, he looks up at me to pick him up (which of course I do).
He also comes when called by name.  Foxy won my heart by curling up in my
lap and going to sleep.  But this story is about Sandy, the goofy one of
the group.
 
Chris (a mechanical engineer) built a 3 story cage for the ferrets that
dominates his home office.  It is 5x5x5 feet, three levels, the top 2 of
which the ferrets use, the bottom is used for storage.  It has dryer hoses
run out of it to one of those play balls, then out to a bunch of boxes that
make a ferret maze, or out to the floor (they get free reign of the office,
hall, and bathroom).  Can you say spoiled?  But they are worth it..
 
On the top floor is a big bowl of water, their main water supply, which
Chris wired to the cage firmly so they don't tip it.  It was a little warm
one day so I dropped some ice cubes into the water.  Sandy walked up to the
bowl, he followed the ice cubes around the water with his nose, then he
suddenly plunged his entire head into the water, mouth wide open!  His head
circled around the water a couple of times then out he pulled his head, an
ice cube in his mouth.  Which he carried to his stash spot (he's gonna be
disappointed when he comes back later to look for it, I thought).  It's
even funnier from below - the bowl is semi-transparent, so you can see him
with his mouth open looking for the ice cube.  And of course his wet head
makes him look goofy too.  I am going to take pictures the next time I go
over there.
 
Paula's lovebird Magellan passed away over the weekend, she was depressed,
so I brought her to see this, and got her to smile despite her grief.  I
love what these little fuzzies can do for us, Sandy's clowning is just what
we needed.  Thanks Sandy.  Ya goofball!
 
- Mike
Mike, Paula, Buddy, Dickens, Daisy, Sweet Pea, and Winter
 
 >^V^<-,--------------,''''''''''''''    >^V^<-,------------,''''''''''''''
 
       >^V^<-,------------,''''''''''''''
  >^V^<-,----------------,''''''''''''''
 
 >^V^<-,----------------,''''''''''''''
 
[log in to unmask]
http://www.ziplink.net/~mninivag/ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 3060]