Hi Guys! Well, I have a new addition that I need some serious help with. I have three boy fuzzies, all playful and energetic, even my 8 year old deaf & blind guy. He gives the other ones a run for their money. A couple weeks ago I went into the local pet store I bought my Dante (my first ferret) from. They are a wonderful store, providing clean cages and lots of food & fun for their animals. I never see ferrets in the conditions everyone relates about some of the big stores. This is a small, family owned store and they take care of their animals and employees. I went in and checked out the ferrets. I usually go in and buy food and Yesterday's News ferret litter from them. I try to support the smaller stores. Enough people go to the big stores. Anyway, when I went in and there was this absolutely beautiful ferret in the cage by himself. He was curled up sleeping and I fell in love on the spot. He's a sable but has the most beautiful and soft fur, and he is a honey color with a silver marking on the top of his head/neck area. He was clearly full grown and didn't belong there. Anyway, I asked Tracey about him and she informed me he was to be "the store mascot"; he would make trips with the store when they went out to educate people. I was bummed but I understood. I went in about two weeks later and Tracey came running up to me. "Where've you been?" she exclaims. "We couldn't afford the liscencing that it takes to bring him on trips and we've been holding on to him for you because we knew you were interested....if you can't take him we're gonna put him in a shelter." (and not a ferret shelter either, just a plain old animal one). She couldn't take him herself because her fiancee wouldn't let her. Of course, I said I would. I went back the next day with a carrier and took him home. No name, no background, don't even know when his last shots were. I felt so bad. He is IMMENSE. I mean, IMMENSE. Has anyone ever seen a groundhog run? He looks like that when he tries to run. My neighbor from downstairs and I were cracking up watching him run Saturday night. I don't think his first "mommy" ever let him out of the cage to play. He is very much a lap ferret. He is easily twice or three times my Dante (who I thought was big to begin with). He has rolls of fat around his neck (they are soft). He sometimes has trouble picking up his back with his hind legs. He has full use to his hind legs. I think it's just too much body weight to be able to pick up all the time. He flops down and flat ferrets. He kind of squacks around the other boys. I have a feeling he was an only ferret wherever he was before. I named him Templeton, after the fat but sweet rat in Charlotte's Web. I thought it was fitting. My good friends Cheryl and Anne helped me come up with that one. He went the whole weekend without a name (I came very close to naming him Fatty Boomalaty but I just couldn't name him a fat name....I think he'll thin out once he gets out and runs and plays some). My questions are these: what can I do to help him become more active? He doesn't seem to be very interested in learning how to be a ferret. I have tried towel games with him and such and he just isnt into it. The only time he moves really is when my other boys chase him around and it's so funny to watch him I break down laughing and the kids all look at me like I am insane. What can I feed him/them? If I change his diet I feel like I need to change all their diets, and if I put Paul on a diet he will wither to nothing. I really feel like I need to help him, and I know some of it will come just from him being out of the cage, but any suggestions? Thanks for letting me ramble guys! Again! Sue Dante: "Ma! Froot Loops! Now" Toby: "Pinned Ya!" Paul: "I'm OLD? I'm DEAF? I'm BLIND TOO? I don't believe you...and just to prove it I'm gonna go kick Dante and Toby's butt!" Templeton: "I'm just gonna lay here. No, really. I never wanted to know what being a ferret was all about anyway," [Posted in FML issue 3567]