Robert C. Chady <[log in to unmask]> asked: > Just wondering, do all baby ferrets eat and sleep so much? And are > they always this thirsty? I mean, this little stinker is really > going to town for someone his size! I don't know about thirst, but when Rusty was a baby he ate a lump of food the size of his head every day -- and another the same size every night! (We came home from the breeder with a glob of the soft mixture he had been eating.) He was on kitten food by the time we moved him in with Pixxel, a week later, and for his first six months he seemed to spend half his waking hours eating. Kevin Woodyard <[log in to unmask]> asked: > Question #1: How do you discern playful from angry. When I get a towel out > and kind of wiggle it in front of him he turns sideways and hops around > while making a hissing sound with his mouth open. Congratulations, you have witnessed the Weasel Wardance (aka Ferret Foxtrot, aka Dance of Joy). That's playful. "The ferret formerly known as Casper" :) may still nip you, but it's in play, not spite, and you can teach him not to. I've been trying to think of how to tell playful from angry, but I can't put my finger on anything. Playful's usually a lot more common, though. > Question #3: Does a ferret acknowledge a name, I mean is it ok to > change it's name without causing a personality conflict? It should be okay. If he answers to Casper right now, you can get him used to the new name by stringing the two together for a while, much like the recommended way to switch a ferret's food. > Question#4: I have a small 1 x 2 x 1 foot cage I use as my time out > cage. [...] will his willingness to go in there unaided affect my > discipline measures in using this cage? When I put him in there for > doing something wrong he hates it, but still lays down and goes to > sleep. It should still be a fine timeout cage. Ferrets are good at falling asleep when there's nothing better to do, but it doesn't mean they wouldn't rather be out. I bet he wakes right up when you open the cage to let him out again. - Pam Greene <[log in to unmask]> Ferret Central - <http://www.ceas.rochester.edu:8080/ee/users/rhode/index.html> Ferret FAQ - GET ANSWERS PACKAGE FERRET in mail to <[log in to unmask]> [Posted in FML issue 1119]