Ferrets are extremely intelligent creatures that come off the showroom complete with a high-end sensory system emphasizing the senses of smell, hearing, and touch. Of all the ferret's senses, perhaps the most important is the olfactory; at least a third of the volume of the ferret's skull is dedicated to the sense of smell. The wide range of sound frequencies heard and the large auditory bullae evidence the importance of hearing. Hypersensitive facial whiskers, a delicate nose, and tactilely "touchy" tufts of guard hairs on the face, covering the ears, and on the paws show the high value of touch to the ferret. While the visual system is not as emphasized as the olfactory sense, and not much is known about the ferret's sense of taste (presumably enhanced because in mammals it tends to be correlated to the sense of smell), both are still quite important. Not only is the ferret highly intelligent and enjoys a fine-tuned sensory system, but they are also possessive of a high degree of curiosity. Comparative studies of polecats and ferrets SUGGEST our pets have been bred for a heightened sense of curiosity, probably to augment their desire to explore unknown burrows when ratting or rabbiting. It is the combination of intelligence, curiosity, and sensory awareness that makes the ferret especially susceptible to the twin problems of boredom and frustration, exacerbated by confinement in limited space cages. It is extremely important to understand that it is not the size of the cage that causes problems, but the conditions of captivity; a house can be as much of a cage as a tiny rabbit hutch. Since a cage is a cage regardless of size, the only real solution for the problems of confinement is an aggressive enrichment program. All an enrichment program essentially does is to add interest and stimulation to the daily routine of a ferret. However, some people fear enrichment programs are complex, difficult to apply, or time consuming, but in truth, the best enrichments are simple, often free or low cost, and only take moments of the owner's time. Adding interest to the ferret's life goes a long way to reducing long-term stress, boredom, stereotypic behaviors, and social problems, so are time and cost-effective in the long run. Enrichment programs simulate activities and behaviors done by wild members of the species, or physically or mentally stimulate the animal using more artificial activities. A synthesis of the two (simulate-stimulate), where natural behaviors are encouraged by artificial activities, is a very popular strategy. For example, dozens of sections of dryer tubing are connected with PVC pipe junctions to simulate a burrow system, stimulating burrow exploration behavior in ferrets. The egg enrichment described earlier is another example of artificial activities stimulating natural behaviors by simulating egg predation. Other types of enrichment have significant value; walks in the woods, wrestling with owners, and even the introduction of new scents are ALL various types of enrichments that have value to ferrets. There is a span of general pet care, ranging from "neglect" to "outstanding." Likewise, a range of enrichment parallels the pet care span, ranging from "none" to "frequent." These two ranges are not mutually exclusive, but combine to form a pet guardianship continuum. The difference between "general pet care" and "pet guardianship" is simple; "general pet care" is providing for a pets needs, but "pet guardianship" goes beyond that level, providing ethical and moral care for every aspect of an animal's life--you guard them from any type of harm. In essense, while "general pet care" decisions are made to benefit the animal, those decisions may ultimately be made to profit the owner. For example, giving a mink antibiotics to combat a disease may only be done to command a higher price for the pelt once the mink is killed and skinned. Likewise, a laboratory animal is kept healthy so the researcher can obtain better data. In "pet guardianship", decisions are made to ONLY benefit the pet, such as when a ferret is hand fed during their declining years, or when expensive medical treatments are done despite the low probability of cure. Astute readers will recognize the difference between the two types of pet care lies in who profits from the decisions: the owner or the animal--it is simply a matter of perspective. Enrichment programs, although increasingly seen as essential to the long-term health of confined animals, are typically relegated to the pet guardianship continuum rather than characteristically seen in general pet care. Because of the high intelligence and inquisitive nature of ferrets, captivity without some sort of program designed to simulate their mind, challenge their body, and strengthen their muscles and bones borders on the edge of the definition of cruelty (the wanton infliction of pain, distress, anguish, or psychological suffering, especially when long-term and without the opportunity of escape or relief, including the infliction of long-term unrelieved boredom). Moreover, numerous studies have shown mammals, including ferrets, have physical, physiological, and psychological benefits from such a program that may include longer, healthier lives, less disease, and reduced long-term stress. An aggressive enrichment program is a win-win scenario; you--or rather your ferret--cannot lose. Questions and comments are encouraged and will be answered in follow-up posts. Bob C [Posted in FML issue 4228]