Re: Newbie owner wonders~?: >Our little guy has one strangely unique quality about him: In the week or so >that he's been here he has NOT UTTERED A SOUND! Not a single chirp... I'm >guessing since he was stashed in such a barren environment for so long he Ferrets do everything on their own time schedule and only when it pleases them. Your ferret may just not be a talker. And then again, one day he just might start talking and you won't be able to shut him up. In short, he'll dook, chirp, or hiss when he feels like it and not a moment before! ;) We've had Atlas and 'Jinx for about 2.5 years and Jinxy didn't start dooking until just a few months ago. I thought she was never going to dook until when day, when she was in a particularly frenzied mood, she started dooking. It was a surprise to me. She's dooked since but only when she is in a really wild mood. Give your fuzz-bean time to get accustomed to his surroundings and the routines around home. I'm sure he'll talk sooner or later, but only when he's good and ready! :) Winter Coats: How is everyone's ferrets doing on their winter coats this year? Ours are finally getting some extra fuzz and fat. I'm expecting Pippi and Atlas to have the best coats out of the four again this year. I always love Pippi in her winter fat and fuzz. She's such a petite girl who, throughout the rest of the year, strives very hard to stay very lean and fit. (She's a lean, mean wrestling machine!!) It's great to see her with a little extra meat on her bones! -kim, squirt (Cuddle me. Pet me. Do as I ask and I will be your slave.), pippi (I ain't a'feard of no vaccuum cleaner!), atlas (kibble and bits and bits!), and 'Jinx (Shaka with his toes nipped hard. - Jinx's entry to the Darmok dictionary) Kimberly Burkard | _ Everything I needed to know in life, Eastman Kodak Company| _____C .._. I learned from my ferret: Rochester, New York | ____/ \___/ Frolic and dance for joy often, have [log in to unmask] |<____/\_---\_\ no fear or worries, and enjoy life. [Posted in FML issue 2143]