To all:
Just thought I'd pass along my own two cents worth... We three humans
(myself, wife Amy, son Alex (5)) have recently become the parents of a
five(-ish) week old fuzzy girl, "Drew" (Blood-soe, not Barrymore!). She's
been with us 3 weeks now. I've been lurking about the list and various Web
resources for a couple of months.
My thanks to all posters & especially Bill Williams, who was kind enough to
spend 1/2 hour chatting to total strangers about ferts. While ferrets are
undeniably adorable in the pet store displays, any amount of research starts
to get a LITTLE scary, with all the chat about fun diseases. It was nice to
get some live feedback, from Bill and a couple of coworkers (including -
gasp - former FFZ felon types! Here in Taxachusetts the critters have only
been legal for 8 months or so.)
Re the post about the Home Depot drainage tube; did the same this past
weekend - an 8 foot, 4 inch wide flexible black PVC-type material for under
$3! Easily the best toy value since dust bunnies. I cut a 1-foot section
off to put in the cage, and curled the long piece on top of itself, making a
loop with one entry attached with a nut & bolt above the other. When cut
the material sheds somewhat, so sand down the edge a bit. She loves it -
makes a great place to hide stuff!
Also found the local CVS has discounted "Rag Bags" - a 5-pack for 30c -
which happen to be perfect ferret blankets! They're nice quality and don't
appear to shred.
So far our little angel has been true to ferret form. She plays with one of
the two cats (15-lb adults) and lurks under the couch watching for passing
feet - or the Ernie and Bert heads on Alex's slippers. She also likes to
check out my dinner - while I'm eating it! When dissuaded from this, she
tends to lick noses and chew on earlobes (EVERYONE's. The cat is not fond
of this.)
Drew does use the litter box while in her cage - usually - grrr. She does
also leave presents under the living room light table... and by the
fireplace... and under the dining room table... plus grrr. We have had
success having her go before taking her out of her cage - usually no
accidents then. Of course, though, she WANTS TO PLAY NOW! (Dook dook
jingle dig dig). Sigh. So far, we have her stay in her cage most of the
day, but let her out 4-5 times for an hour or so, depending on who's home
and what's going on.
Does anyone know of a good cheap source in the Central MA area for the
recycled newspaper pellet bedding? We could use some for the ferret, too.
The ferret war dance - it's real. Be very afraid.
cjs
Chuck, Amy, and Alex Staples
with Cam, Janney (clueless felines)
and Drew (hopeless mustelid)
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73624,[log in to unmask]
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/CJSTAPLES/
(maybe someday not just another lame web page!)
[Posted in FML issue 1725]
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