Well I wanted to so *something* for the new kid who is suffering miserably with the 'scabbies' so I took him outside on a leash today. He is quite skittish of things so I didn't know how it would work out. He did enjoy himself. He did okay on a leash, probably his first time though. I had to be careful as I followed him, if I stepped on a twig or leaf that made a sudden noise, it startled him terribly. He's very afraid of noises. He trembles alot. One of my cats, Skidmark, came too close and he nailed the cats foot and sent him crying and running off...the cat, not the ferret. There were also cats abandoned in the apartment where this guy was left, so he had learned to defend himself from them I suppose. He sniffed the grass, rubbed his face on and dug at a piece of firewood lying on the ground. His tail frizzed out several times as if he was enjoying himself. He seemed to like my pickup tires and dug at those. It is pretty warm here already so we didn't stay out long, but he sure liked it. I'll try to make that a daily routine for him, at least until he is over this crud and can play with other ferrets. He seems so sad and depressed. I gave him a tube and a ball today inside his big cage, he checked them out but didn't play much. He doesn't know how to get inside a sleepsack or what a hammock is either. I gave him a pacifyer and he played a little with that, it just seems like nothing thrills him much. Oh, while we were out, he turned around once and came back to me, and stretched up on my leg, so I put my hand down to him and he climbed up and hung onto my hand as if he wanted to be picked up. I did. He liked that, he laid in my arms a bit then climbed onto my shoulders for a better view. He's a neat kid. I hope he is starting to learn that I am his friend. Now I just have to think of a name. Gads I hate naming animals. I have completely run out of ideas and a name has to be just right. Maybe I'll wait until I can see his real personality. (That's a good excuse to put if off anyway :>) Temporarily, he is named "Choco" for his very dark brown/chocolate color. I've been saving my favorite names "Charley" or "Brownie" for a very special ferret that will remain with me, maybe that will be him, I don't know yet. I like "Rascal" too, and that always fits a ferret (hi Joell :>), and I like "Henry"...hmm, guess I am rambling, sorry. I have taken snapshots today (thanks Maggie) so I can remember how terrible he looked upon arrival here. He has brown crusty stuff hanging off both ears and some on his stomach too. Some hair is gone from around his ears. His feet only have a little hair on them. Some hair is missing on his belly. Otherwise his coat is long and very nicely complete. Oh, he does have a couple of small bumps on his head. Everytime I look at him I start itching. He isn't scratching much, but they say scabbies are miserable. Tomorrow I may bathe him if I think he's up to it. The vet says not to do anything more for him medically other than a bath, the Ivermectin will cure him, it just may take a week. Right now he's so cute. He seemed warm (it's kinda hot here already) so I put some icepacks into a thin sleepsack and put in his cage. He's lying flat on his back with his head, neck, and shoulders on the bag of icepacks, and he's sound asleep. Kisses to the fuzzies, Trish [Posted in FML issue 1908]