Six of seven of our guys came to us second-or third- hand. As a result, all had names when we got them. We changed only one, and that was the first ferret we got, a little ruby-eyed cinnamon mitt sprite whose name started with an "M". We simply had to change that. In our house, animal names starting with that letter spell disaster. Every critter I've ever had in my life with an "m" name disappeared. Marty, Murphy, and Myrtle all ran away from home (cockatiel, dog, and cat) under very mysterious circumstances. Having never had a ferret, I didn't want to tempt fate, so we changed her name to Vienna, appropriate we thought for a beautiful little cinnamon. It suits her regal demeanor, too. Aspen (albino gib) and Rupert (chocolate gib) came next, named by their previous owner who had to move to Alaska. Aspen is in his beautiful, full winter coat right now, just like the town for which he's named. Ru is our kissy Roo Roo...the "chamber of commerce" ferret because he's a great poster child for ferrets...well behaved, adorable, loving, social, and clean as a whistle.. never misses the litter box. Then came Chango and Skillet, a pair of older sable gibs. They were forfeited to me by a young woman who loved them too much to neglect them any longer. Chango is named for the monkey god of the Vodun religion. Since he's now geriatric and very calm, I can't imagine him ever being very monkeylike. Skillet is just sweet lil Skillet who struggled back from a very, very nasty case of ECE a few months ago. Next came Jakar, a sable gib, too. He was a shelter adoption. He came with his sister Tagia, who, try as we might, could not be broken of a VERY nasty (drawing blood on a regular basis) biting habit. She returned to the shelter where, by all accounts, she is now extremely content. She has been deemed a permanent resident due to her behavior problems, but she is in very good hands. Jakar remains with us, however, and is doing beautifully with our crew. Finally came Psycho. Psycho did actually come from a pet store (the infamous Petco), where he had turned into a huge, five month-old chocolate gib having been passed over by customers time and again. No one wanted the big guy when there were so many cute, little kits for sale. The manager of the store had named the rambunctious ferret, claiming he was a "bully." I'd be a bit aggressive too if I had been locked in an 18x24" cage for several months, separated from all other ferrets, and left where customers could poke at me through cage bars. At home with our guys, he's a gentle giant at 4.5 lbs, the youngest of the bunch at just under a year. We love our "hand me down" ferrets. They all come with a little history behind them, including a delightful variety of names. Unless the names start with an "m," I would never dare change them! :) Mary Jo (Note: I've never run away from home. I can't. The animals demand that I stay and play with them!) [Posted in FML issue 2947]