Hello!  Note to Chelsea and Note to Mark  (Poopie Prob's)
 
Hi!  I just got online and jumped at the chance to join the FML.  This is my
first posting and since my name is spelled funny, I'll just let you all know
it's pronounced Mishella.
 
I'm a three year veteran and my household has expanded from one to five.  If
I lived in a bigger place I'd probably have even more.  Bugsy, my 'first
born' is a very big gorgeous dark sable who got me hooked on and in love
with these amazing fuzzballs.  whitey (long story how she got that name )
(alias giggles) and mighty mouse (alias wiggles) are two sisters I 'rescued'
as kits from a house where the kids bought them without moms consent.
Whitey is a ruby-eyed albino who is gentle but on drugs (naturally) and
Might Mouse is a greyish sable with a white bib and white paws who is the
mother hen--cleaning everyone, storing everything and trying desperately
everything she can to get my two new males to play (neither has ever seen
ferrets before).  I got Spikey, a gorgeous and HUGE 2 year old dark eyed
male with thick soft white hair like a persian cat, from Shena at the
Wherret Ferrets Halfway House.  Walter, another dark-eyed male I rescued
through a vet I work with.  Yup!!!!  If all goes well, in the near future
I'll be in vet school.  And you can guess what lucky creatures will be my
personal pet projects.
 
 
RE:  TOILET TRAINING PROBLEMS
CHELSEA: I wouldn't worry about estelle sleeping in the litter box.  I had a
ferret (unfortunately only 9 months-heart attack) who did this for a while.
I simply moved him each time I saw this and after a while it just stopped.
A good idea to get estelle to stop using your carpet as her lavatory would
be to play with her before she gets out of the cage- or at least make sure
she's been up and excited for a while.  The idea being to get her to make
potty before she leaves the cage.  However given your second problem-BITING-
just making sure she's been up for a while is a start.  Find out her
favorite places to go in your house, and then set up extra kitty litters or
leave newspapers in those spots.  All ferrets have those favorite areas.
Unfortunately they get more frequent with age (laziness?).
 
Re the biting.  Don't worry too much.  Unless you smell of some other animal
or you've been abusing her (which I doubt) just give her some time.  It's
normal for kits to get nippy.  It could be that dreaded teething phase (does
it ever end??????-joke) or simply that she doesn't know her own strength.
She may think your hands are other ferrets.  My Bugsy still plays rough with
me the way my girls play with each other.  In fact he's rougher with me than
them (he only had my hands to play with as a kit).  Try lacing your hands
with linatone and/or feeding him treats when you take him out to play.
OOOOHHHH- That reminds me.  After I left Bugsy once (boarding - only time at
this place) he stopped going in his litter boxes outside his cage.  I got
him to go in them again by feeding him a raisin every time he made 'good
boy' and of course he got lots of praise.  He's even been known to fake it
just to see if he can still get a raisin.
 
Please let me know how it goes.  Every ferret and ferret owner find there
own symbiosis in there own time.  Let estelle teach you who she is and what
she likes and wants.  Good luck and let me know how it goes.
 
RE RASCAL ` I don't know your set-up (cage), but maybe Rascal doesn't want
to use the same box as his roomie.  Maybe try adding another and see if
he'll use it.  Or, try changing kitty litter brands, or giving him a choice.
If not, you could always line the cage with newspaper to make cleaning up
easier.  Good luck.
 
Later,   X's and O's from Michaela, Bugsy, giggles and Wiggles, Spikey
and Walter  eey,eey, dook dook,  eey eey,  dook dook ---ooops !
[Posted in FML issue 1638]