My group is free roam and the bullies are caged when I'm gone and when they act up while I'm home, the others are free to enjoy the entire house. I do barrier off the bedroom and bathroom for awhile each day for the little ones that get picked on so the bullies can be out. There is so much to experience with ferrets that are out around their families much of the time. They are more relaxed and their play is also more relaxed, as if they don't have that pent up energy caged ferrets do - which is why I recommend at least 6 hours out of cage time for families that are unable to allow their ferrets free roam through their home all the time. I often have little ones following me while I'm cleaning and I always seem to run into a little one when I'm making a quick turn because I forgot something in the other room. Lola likes to sleep with me, she likes to get up on the bed atop the sheets and scritch my feet and ankles through the sheets. I always know when she is coming to bed and she can be quite persistent about this activity. She doesn't bite hard at all but it is a bit unsettling to awaken to someone scritching the tops of your feet. SugarBaby wakes me up by hissing in my face. At first her hiss will be quiet as if to softly say "are you awake" but when I open my eyes she gives me an all out hhhhhisssssss as she is looking at me about 3 inches away. She wants to play so we hand wrestle for a bit and if I fall asleep in the process she gets very perturbed with me. But what does she expect at 2:30 a.m.? Mopping and sweeping are quite the experience. It seems I always have helpers and they are very good at spreading around the dust pile or trying to help mop by pulling the mop by it's strings. A good reminder to use ferret safe cleaners. I readily see the ferret interactions, like when Stix, who is under 2 yrs old and blind from cataracts, walks up to a gentle unsuspecting ferret and screaches in their ear. Not Stix's fault, Sully picks on him and others poke him just to hear him scream so he has become wary of others. Of course Sully picks BECAUSE Stix screaches but try explaining that to him. The others look a bit confused and walk or bounce off. How rude. Or when Sully has picked on someone and I put him in his cage how Onyx or Dante will run up and climb in the cage to be with him. Sully has some good moments, when he first gets out of his cage he dances around my feet and seems to like that I praise his 'fancy toes' as he very energeticaly prances and undulates his long lean ferrety body. How several others that have been bullied by Sully will get into his empty cage and rub and roll on all his hammocks and blankets, eat his food and drink his water. When Sully is in his cage how the little girls will come and stand up on his cage to see, then prissily back up and make a very decisive deposit. How some will get into the open exercise pen and come over to where I am and scratch on it as if they are locked in and need my help. For goodness sake do they think I'm really that gullable? How they'll be playing tag and I suddenly find my calf is tagged and have to chase them down and tag them back to get out of the game. How several will snuggle closely together their furry little bodies lovingly entwined. We have an outside enclosure that has dirt in a section so when it rains I have ferret feet prints on the linoleum. Cute it may seem but in heavy rains I think they roll in the mud and track it all over the house on purpose! I guess that's so they can play... I mean help with the mopping and sweeping. Not everyone's situation allows safely for full time free roam ferrets, but supervised ferrets that are allowed out of the cage for many hours at a time bring learning and watching fun to their humans. The more time out of cage the more you will see your ferret's personality grow and get to experience the true relaxed ferret hiding inside. tle www.ferretfamilyservices.org www.iGive.com/FFS [Posted in FML 5850]