|
I'm hoping to take a video of it tonight, but it seems like Skol and Managarm love to play soccer with a christmas ornament one of our cats had pulled off our tree. Best ferret toy ever. They've been really good with the litter box. We usually have them out in our two tiled rooms so if there is an accident it's pretty easy to clean up. Skol actually went back into their cage go to poop the other day and I was like 
|
| # ? Jan 6, 2010 13:39 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2013 06:44 |
|
|
she-venom posted:Fang's fangs Unfortunately, ferrets are not very good pets for a lot of children because of exactly this. At adoption days, we see a lot of kids that are nervous about touching the playful ferrets and don't understand when it's time to get up off the floor because 12 of them are latched onto their pants leg. To these parents, we always strongly encourage them to look at other options, because a cat or dog might be better suited to their situation. That being said, yes, it's a setback to your training if he knows he can get away with being a huge rear end in a top hat to your daughter. Sometimes they are just jerks. They enjoy getting a reaction out of you, and will bite and then run away dooking their rear end in a top hat heads off.  Have you tried showing her how to properly scruff when the ferret isn't being bad? You can scruff them anytime you want, it's not "punishment" to them. They will usually just yawn. If Fang is calm and sleepy, have your daughter try holding him in a scruff and show her how to do it right. It might just take a little practice for her to get comfortable with it, because it is a little unnatural for us to want to hold a creature by its neck. Also, squeaky toys are sometimes a huge aggressor for a surprising number of ferrets. If he was trying to sleep and she squeaked a toy, and then he ran for her, I bet this is the issue. Try squeaking it outside the cage while he's inside it and see what he does. It might just be a no-squeaky-toy household for him. There are a lot of theories as to why this is, but at the shelter we don't keep any squeaky toys except one to test for this phenomenon. Something else that I don't do but have heard works: use a carrier for time out instead of a scruff. Nothing in the carrier, including bedding, and leave it out on the floor where the other ferrets can come and poke fun at him. I've never done this, but I know a few foster people who do it and swear by it. They hate seeing other ferrets run around freely while they are locked up for biting, so in theory it doesn't take them long to figure out that if they don't want to sit in an empty carrier they should keep their teeth in check. I hope this helps! Good luck with Fang. Sorry for the 
|
| # ? Jan 6, 2010 14:07 |
|
|
she-venom posted:I don't know what the gently caress was up with him biting my kid on the stomach. It really pissed me off, but, I wasn't able to really correct him right afterwards. It was a squeak toy? Ferret shelter lady told me that ferrets HATE squeak toys and that the squeaking actually physically pains their ears. She also said that often ferrets just try to get the noise to stop any way possible, either by attacking the toy (which we interpret as "playing") or attacking the person squeaking it. I guess it depends if the ferret gets the connection? That said the two of my ferrets that can hear don't seem to notice the squeak toys all that much and instead just kind of shoot me a "what is that thing?" look. You might just try not using any more squeak toys?
|
| # ? Jan 6, 2010 14:07 |
|
|
Thanks for the replies. Our ferrets have had squeak toys for as long as we've had the ferrets, and it's never seemed to be a problem, before. In all actuality, I've used the squeak toys to find my ferrets, especially my older girl Spankie, who comes running out from wherever she was at the sound, and Fang is usually in tow. It's really only my daughter who actually plays with them with the squeak toys. Maybe this will no longer be allowed. I'm sure it also wouldn't hurt to show her how to scruff them herself. She's seen me do it plenty of times, and thinks it's super funny that it makes them yawn, as most people do. I trust her completely as far as interacting with them. She just gets kind of freaked out about how hyper Arthas is, and when she's sitting on the floor, she's a great target, as I said. He likes to try to chew on her hair, and I'm sure he loves getting such a big reaction. Luckily, the winter break from school is over, and I have plenty of time during the day to let them out while it's just me and them, and when she askes if they can be let out to play, I can tell her that they've already been out for a long time and are sleeping it off. He-he. I have to say, having a kid and a bunch of ferrets out at the same time is pretty stressful. Not only do you have ferrets running around making mischief, you have a kid squealing & making mischief along with them. I actually prefer spending time with them without the kid in the room. Ha.
|
| # ? Jan 6, 2010 16:21 |
|
|
Myrddin Emrys posted:It was a squeak toy? Ferret shelter lady told me that ferrets HATE squeak toys and that the squeaking actually physically pains their ears. She also said that often ferrets just try to get the noise to stop any way possible, either by attacking the toy (which we interpret as "playing") or attacking the person squeaking it. I guess it depends if the ferret gets the connection? Hah, tell that to my guy, he dooks while chasing his squeaky toys. And his ribbiting toys. And his quacking toy. And then he dooks while he's carrying them off to hide them. He also has a couple of tiny touch-activated ribbiting and quacking toys that he can set off himself, which he does regularly and with apparent joy. I think it's best not to assume that a ferret likes a squeaky toy just because he or she goes after it, but the "all ferrets secretly hate squeak toys" thing just isn't fitting with my experiences. I think you have to look at the ferret's behavior more closely to figure out whether s/he's enjoying the chase or just pissed off. Edit: she-venom posted:Our ferrets have had squeak toys for as long as we've had the ferrets, and it's never seemed to be a problem, before. In all actuality, I've used the squeak toys to find my ferrets, especially my older girl Spankie, who comes running out from wherever she was at the sound, and Fang is usually in tow. It's really only my daughter who actually plays with them with the squeak toys. Maybe this will no longer be allowed. Yeah, whether yours actually like or hate the squeak toys, it's possible that the toys just get them too riled up. Our only bites from Laurel have been accidental ones while he was chasing one of his more beloved noisemaking toys (not squeaky), but even though he never bit THAT hard and always let go right away, I would definitely not let a kid use those toys with him. maplecheese fucked around with this message at Jan 6, 2010 around 16:30 |
| # ? Jan 6, 2010 16:26 |
|
|
maplecheese posted:I think it's best not to assume that a ferret likes a squeaky toy just because he or she goes after it, but the "all ferrets secretly hate squeak toys" thing just isn't fitting with my experiences. I think you have to look at the ferret's behavior more closely to figure out whether s/he's enjoying the chase or just pissed off.
|
| # ? Jan 6, 2010 16:30 |
|
|
No matter how naughty Fang can be, he always makes up for it. I just let them out of their cage, and I grabbed him up while he was sliding down the door. He let me snug on him for a minute, and even gave me kisses. ( Licking my arm. ) I almost thought he was going to take a bite while giving me the kisses, but, he didn't. He even sniffed about my feet after I let him slide down my legs onto the floor, and he restrained himself like the good boy I know he can be.  Feet/toe biting has always been his naughtiest habit, and unlike Arthas who is obviously just playing while doing it, Fang will actually take a big bite. Not enough to break skin, but, it sure doesn't feel good. He also will bite more often if you're wearing socks, or if I'm wearing my fleece pajama pants. I only mention this because he's definitely not some vicious attack ferret. I don't know what was up with him that night, maybe just bad timing on their and his part. Or maybe he was in a bad mood. gently caress if I know.
|
| # ? Jan 6, 2010 16:53 |
|
|
One of my ferrets, Awesome, is a minimal toe-biter and a jumper. Another of my ferrets, Chuck, is a little devil who needs to be trained. When my girlfriend got home the first full day we had them, they were out in the room. Chuck and Awesome converged on her immediately. "OOOH HEY NEW FEET" Leap attacks + toe nibbles started. She screamed and started running around and they loved it. Her, running around the apartment screaming, the ferrets chasing her. I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe. She now wears shoes whenever they are out.
|
| # ? Jan 6, 2010 17:17 |
|
|
Arthas is definitely a jumper, too. It's crazy. He'll try to jump onto your leg and end up hanging from your pants. I'm doing an experiment. I've taken the corner litterbox from my bathroom, and placed it into the opposite corner of the cage corner litterbox. I put back the rug that covers the whole floor of the cage, which I had removed 'cause of Arthas pooping on the floor. Now, there's only a small space between the two litterboxes, their Garfield bed in the corner, and their food and water bowl and water bottle next to the bed. I've been wondering if Arthas is only crapping on the floor because he's being picky about how much poop there is in the litterbox. I can tell his poop from theirs, and I see it both in the litterbox, and on the floor. So, hopefully, two litterboxes might help him from pooing on the floor. If it doesn't, I'll know he's just a shithead and pooping on the floor for the hell of it. P.S. A note to my ferrets. gently caress the gently caress off when I am trying to clean/organize your cage. When I am reaching in with one arm, barely able to grasp something while reaching around with the other, with my loving face pressed against the loving corner of the cage, sweating from being cramped in the drat corner behind my computer chair is NOT the time to try to gently caress with everything/play with my hand/climb into the cage. SERIOUSLY? And when I take everything out to vacuum, and you STILL want to be in there despite there not even being anything in there AND you're getting bonked on the head with the vacuum tube repeatedly 'cause you're in the drat way and I'm tired of picking you up and throwing you out over and over, I don't feel bad for you. You're being annoying. You deserve a few head bonks from the vacuum in that case. Jerks. P.S.S. A note to Arthas. You're going to get stepped on eventually. Is it not enough that you keep getting kicked with every step because you think it's a fun game to run around my feet while I'm trying to walk anywhere? I already knelt on you once, and it scared the crap out of me 'cause I thought you might have gotten hurt. Stop being a stupid baby ferret. ( Keep being a stupid baby ferret. ) And to Fang... Quit trying to go into my subwoofer. That t-shirt is stuffed in their for a reason. To keep you out. Stop trying to show it to Arthas, too. /Rant she-venom fucked around with this message at Jan 6, 2010 around 18:13 |
| # ? Jan 6, 2010 17:53 |
|
|
Myrddin Emrys posted:It was a squeak toy? Ferret shelter lady told me that ferrets HATE squeak toys and that the squeaking actually physically pains their ears. She also said that often ferrets just try to get the noise to stop any way possible, either by attacking the toy (which we interpret as "playing") or attacking the person squeaking it. I guess it depends if the ferret gets the connection? My theory is that certain squeaky noises trigger a sort of retarded 'hunting instinct' in some pet ferrets. I don't think the noise harms them, rather, it sounds like a really loud mouse or nest of baby mice/bunnies... something a ferret would want to hunt down and devour. We actually used to play a game called "ferret schutzhund" where we'd hind somewhere, squeak the toy, and watch Dizzy charge through the house, scale up the furniture (or your leg), and attach herself to the toy, or sometimes your shirt sleeve Of the three ferrets we've owned, only Dizzy would go into berserker mode when she heard the squeak of certain toys. Now that she's older, she still comes bounding up to you if you've got one (great way to train them to come back to you btw...), but she doesn't work herself up into a frantic state where she might latch onto my arm or ankle or someone who wasn't even holding the toy. Her 'mistakes' seemed to stem from her getting confused as to where exactly the toy was. Chalk it up to the effects of domestication, or perhaps the fact that ferrets have relatively poor eyesight and have evolved to kill things trapped underground in borrows. If she had to stop and look around for a bit to figure out where the noise was coming from, she was more likely to bite the wrong thing. e: clarity Little_Dead_Pets fucked around with this message at Jan 14, 2010 around 02:04 |
| # ? Jan 6, 2010 19:41 |
|
|
Guess who has an ear infection (probably)! It is EMERY! She's been holding her head tilted to the side this afternoon and her balance has been off. Poor girl. Ugh. At least I had tomorrow free anyway.
|
| # ? Jan 8, 2010 02:26 |
|
|
Yup, seems to be an ear infection. The vet noticed a little inflammation when he checked her ear, and she seemed to feel a lot of pain when he did. So she's on baytril, metacam, and sucralfate. (The sucralfate is to prevent stomach ulcers because he's got her on a pretty high metacam dose.) I'm about to go out for some newspaper and binder clips so I can set her up with CompactFanny's litter method, because I have some serious doubts about her ability to make it into the litterbox right now. Actually, CompactFanny, can you repost that in this thread? I didn't realize it was in the old one.
|
| # ? Jan 8, 2010 21:02 |
|
|
Sorry to hear about your baby, maplecheese. Ear infections suck, whether it's your own, your kid, or your pet. Ugh. Two litterboxes seem to have been keeping Arthas from crapping on the floor of the cage, and I'm super happy. Still finding ferret poop NEXT to all of my bedroom litterboxes, however. Grr. It's right there. All it takes is a slight shift of your asses for it to be IN the box.
|
| # ? Jan 8, 2010 21:42 |
|
|
Emery is a persistent little thing and is managing to make it to her water dish and drink despite having basically zero balance. Go Emery! It makes me feel better that she's all determined and stuff. However, I'm wondering if this infection was caused by ear mites... she and Laurel stayed with the rescue for a couple days over Christmas, and no matter what you do, when you have that many ferrets around, SOMEONE's gonna have mites. The vet didn't mention seeing any when he looked in her bad ear, but she was squirming pretty bad because of the pain, so he may not have had a chance to get a good look. Hmmm... might call and ask about that. Or might just call our vet in Ottawa to get his opinion. And have him double check the dosages she's getting.
|
| # ? Jan 8, 2010 22:49 |
|
|
Welp got an awesome new (free!) DSLR camera... so I've been taking lots of pet pictures. I can post the ferrets only, ferrets + cats, or just link to my flickr once I get them uploaded. Thoughts?
|
| # ? Jan 9, 2010 00:07 |
|
|
Post all the pics that have a ferret in them! We sometimes get people asking if ferrets can get along with cats, so it'd be good to have photographic evidence. (I'd get some, but Katie is always so edgy when Laurel is close by that I don't want to run for the camera and scare her during the few times when she doesn't decide to run away or smack him with a paw.)
|
| # ? Jan 9, 2010 00:26 |
|
|
maplecheese posted:Post all the pics that have a ferret in them! We sometimes get people asking if ferrets can get along with cats, so it'd be good to have photographic evidence. (I'd get some, but Katie is always so edgy when Laurel is close by that I don't want to run for the camera and scare her during the few times when she doesn't decide to run away or smack him with a paw.) Alrighty. Some of the cat pics don't have a ferret in them, but they are cute cats But I'll stick to ferrety pics with or without cats.  Anyone who likes animal photography, hot drat, the best point and click holds nothing to a DSLR for on-motion quality shots. You guys can compare my last shots to the new shots if you want. 
|
| # ? Jan 9, 2010 01:06 |
|
|
Ok here's a photo of how I do it. Remember, this is 24 hours worth of poops, ok.   Some of our cages have to have more back end coverage, and my cage door has a little covering too. Depends on where they like to poop.
|
| # ? Jan 9, 2010 03:20 |
|
|
Cuteness incoming. This is my first experiment with something besides a point-and-click camera. These were all done with manual focusing and stuff, except the one with the cage bars. The auto-focus kept focusing on the bars so the ferrets were out of focus.  First shot is just to show off what I think was my best shot to start with. Picture of my cat Essie. Gorgeous. Check out the high res. (Flickr pics here are all linkable, as per Flickr's TOS).  Chuck walking around the cage. This is a motion shot, which made me SUPER happy. Tomorrow during playtime the camera is coming OUT so expect some more fun action shots. He was spinning around here, the way ferrets do sometimes when they suddenly forget what they were doing and decide to do something else. This is the autofocus shot.  My main man Awesome doing what he does second best: sleep (his first best is jumping. Seriously. He jumped up on my couch.)  One last shot of him sleeping. He looks adorable in his little tiny bed. Wash, Awesome, and Chuck all take turns sharing the bed. Looks like it is super popular. I had a few other shots of the ferrets but they didn't turn out as well (cage bar issue) so expect more tomorrow night, assuming people are interested?
|
| # ? Jan 9, 2010 05:13 |
|
|
Aaaand a few more pics from this morning.  Awesome stuck behind bars. I love how this show turned out. (the red-eye post processing poo poo didn't turn out good so looking too close at his eyes you'll see red rings. He's fine He just has crazy red eyes) Chuck war dancing. Er, don't look at this one any bigger. His eyes were super red on this shot and, well, the red eye reduction looks okay small but up close it's kind of freaky.  Chuck (I think) popping his head out of the dig box. I wish it was more in frame but he was there for maybe half a second (ferret attention spans...).
|
| # ? Jan 9, 2010 15:58 |
|
|
Uuuugh. It is not a fun time to be Emery. It's also not a very fun time to be maplecheese. She's having trouble coordinating her back legs with her front legs, and of course with standing up, so she's not making it to the litter area. And she's having antibiotic diarrhea, so the poop is really gross and gets all over her, too. Her leg coordination seems to be getting BETTER compared to last night, though. I'm hoping to be able to leave the house for a couple of hours tonight, but I can't if she's going to end up spending most of that time covered in poop... so I'm trying to see if I can bring down the volume of her poops (by taking away her kibble and giving her nutrical instead) and control her diarrhea (gave her a little kaopectate about an hour ago, she gets sucralfate at 3:30), since that should make things at least manageable. Poor little girl. 
|
| # ? Jan 9, 2010 19:19 |
|
|
Myrddin, those are great pics! Half of mine come out completely blurry because with ferrets, it's either an action shot or a sleeping shot. Maple, sounds like you and Emery are having a rough time. I hope she feels better soon!
|
| # ? Jan 9, 2010 19:55 |
|
|
Serella posted:Myrddin, those are great pics! Half of mine come out completely blurry because with ferrets, it's either an action shot or a sleeping shot. The closeup in the cage, for example, would have come out blurry and not been very well lit. The one of Chuck in the cage would have been blurry because he was in motion. This camera is making it so I can take awesome action shots. Unfortunately I've not yet been in the right spot for good action shots, but I'm learning!
|
| # ? Jan 9, 2010 21:34 |
|
|
More pics. Just tell me when to stop and I'll stop. I am just having fun with my camera and with Picnic's online editing  While I was getting their bedding washed I left their bed in the cage (I have to leave the building to do the washing... don't want them unsupervised) and I came back to see Wash in one of his already cleaned sleeping tubes and these two, Chuck and Awesome, sprawled awkwardly on the bed. It's really meant for one  I dunno they seem pretty happy though.  Wash seems sort of chill about the whole thing. He's been around the block and knows what this whole cage cleaning thing is all about  He's just waiting patiently.  Here's my dig box setup. Some instructions on what I did on the photo page itself. I am always looking for new DIY solutions for ferret toys though. Latest concoction was taping a bunch of the fridge-sized 12-packs of Coke/Pepsi together, cutting some holes in it (where the handles are anyway) and throwing it in the room. Someday I would like that to be the ramp to my cardboard ferret castle. Also protip: If anyone buys Rock Band or Beatles: Rock Band, take out the dangerous plastic, but leave all the cardboard as it. BAM. Amazing ferret playland.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 00:14 |
|
|
So! An Emery update. The good: Her head seems a bit less tilty than it was on Friday, she's eating well and independently, and she's started sleeping curled up again sometimes instead of just sprawled out. The bad: She's peeing and pooping in her blankets, and she's not using her back legs properly. She's kind of scrabbling with them, not putting them under her. She'll kick like crazy with them when I pick her up and let her back end hang, so they're fully mobile and under her control, but she's either totally lacking in coordination or unwilling to use them properly. Also, she has some really foul diarrhea that gets everywhere. Best possible interpretation: Her lower leg problems are due in part to a nasty warty/tumory thing on one of her hind feet that I'm sure is painful. Our Ottawa vet recommended a soothing cream for it when he saw her in December, but it's definitely grown since then. Once it's removed, those should help. Her blanket-pooping, balance problems, and head tilt are due to a really BAD ear infection, and balance problems and serious disorientation from that, combined with her not wanting to put weight on that foot. Worst possible interpretation: She does not have an ear infection at all. Instead, this is all due to some neurological problem that is getting worse. Her legs have been "slippy" for a couple of months, but her fasting blood sugar was normal. Our Ottawa vet thought the slippiness could well be due to her foot problem, but a neurological problem would definitely fit with that. Worsening neurological problem = probably no more Emery soon. Moderately bad interpretation: She is having a bad reaction to the deslorelin implant she got on 12/23. Soon, once I start cooking dinner, I'll post what we plan to do about all this.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 00:56 |
|
|
How old is Emery? Mal had "slippy legs" like that too, since we adopted him. Vet wasn't concerned in the slightest. Is it something that can happen when ferrets get old?
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 00:59 |
|
|
Myrddin Emrys posted:How old is Emery? Mal had "slippy legs" like that too, since we adopted him. Vet wasn't concerned in the slightest. Is it something that can happen when ferrets get old? She's probably about 4ish, we think. She was abandoned, so there's no way to tell. Slippy legs is generally a sign of hind end weakness, which can be a sign of insulinoma. That's why we had the blood sugar test done. So, the current plan is to continue with the drug regimen prescribed by the Montreal vet (0.24cc of 1.5mg/ml Metacam twice a day, 0.11cc of 100mg/ml Baytril twice a day, 0.1cc of 200mg/ml Sucralfate twice a day) for at least the next few days and see how she does, but to switch around the timing of the medicines. The vet had us giving the Sucralfate an hour after the other two medicines so it wouldn't interfere with the Baytril, but as the ferret rescue person I talked to tonight pointed out, that's kind of stupid, because that means that it doesn't protect the digestive system from the Metacam if you give it AFTER the Metacam, which is sort of the whole point of giving the Sucralfate in the first place. So I'll be giving the Baytril at 12AM and 12PM, the Sucralfate at 1AM and 1PM, and the Metacam at 2AM and 2PM. And also continuing to put a cream on her foot thing. If she doesn't make really significant improvement, I'm going to be renting a car and bringing her to the rescue's Ottawa vet this weekend, either Friday or Saturday. (I was planning to go to Ottawa this weekend anyway, it's just that I was going to go on the bus.) If she deteriorates at all, I'll be taking her back to the vet here in Montreal and getting him to consult with the Ottawa vet by phone. I'll be in contact with the rescue people, who know their stuff way better than I do, and I'm going to ask the Ottawa vet what he thinks of our plan, and if he thinks we should do anything differently. There's a chance I might just drive her out sometime earlier this week if he thinks that'd be significantly better than waiting until the end of the week. Meanwhile, I'll be doing a lot of poop laundry and sleeping in 2 hour stretches. It's like having a baby! A silent baby you keep in a cage that won't live to age 10.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 01:42 |
|
|
Something to think about: Did the vet check Emery's eyes? We were SURE that Louie had a neurological problem, because he went all Stevie Wonder on us with his head. He also has really bad back leg control and slips around all the time. I took him to our vet and we turned the lights on and off and watched him walk around, and she checked his pupil response. He is blind as a bat, and perfectly healthy! The legs thing was due to his age (6!!) and the fact he already had insulinoma, but definitely don't rule out eye degeneration as a problem. They get around really well even without their eyesight, enough so that we weren't sure if he was blind or not until the vet checked his pupils. I'm relieved because I love Louie. It doesn't really sound like the same thing as Louie because Emery's happened so suddenly, but... here's to hoping. Good luck. 
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 04:09 |
|
|
Emery has a cataract in one eye, but she can definitely see out of the other. And her behavior is nothing at all like Hardy's when he went blind. He was running around while letting his whiskers trail against the wall or whatever, wagging his head back and forth to hear/smell better, bumping into things with his nose, and pooping in inappropriate corners unless he was VERY familiar with where the litterbox was. Not tilting his head, falling over whenever he tried to walk, dragging his lower body, and just letting the poo fly right in the bedding.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 06:51 |
|
|
maplecheese posted:She's probably about 4ish, we think. She was abandoned, so there's no way to tell. Slippy legs is generally a sign of hind end weakness, which can be a sign of insulinoma. That's why we had the blood sugar test done. Here's some information on the (many) causes of hind limb weakness: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Co...x?P=A&A=481&S=5 Note the neurological diseases: brain disease section. 
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 08:12 |
|
|
 That really is scary. Nickel's age is officially "around four" too, and this kind of stuff is such a downer. She acts like a little kit but who knows what might happen this year.I'm pulling for something non-serious for Emery, still.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 10:52 |
|
|
What do people use for litter? I'm using Care Fresh right now, but I'm trying to see if there's other options out there that might work better. I made a dig box over the weekend and they went nuts for it. I got one of these http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?acti...5019&lpage=none and cut the narrow end off to use as a tube to get in. Its pretty sturdy and works well.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 14:42 |
|
|
Scroll up to see a photo of my poop paper solution. It is very nice because the ferrets use it ***automatically*** and without training, because they naturally don't want to poop where they sleep (which is everywhere there is soft fleece and not paper) and they don't have to step up into anything, which they tend not to like very much. Also saves money! I want to make a dig box but I don't know what to put in it, as I'm scared they'll eat whatever it is and get impacted.  What do you people with digboxes use for digging?
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 15:34 |
|
|
Alterian posted:What do people use for litter? I'm using Care Fresh right now, but I'm trying to see if there's other options out there that might work better. Typically wood stove pellets, like Feline Pine but way way cheaper. And I have Compact Fanny's newspaper solution set up for Emery. If it gives you guys any idea of how badly she's doing, she's always been near-perfect about litterboxes in the cage... but since Friday evening, she's landed ONE poop and only a few pees on the newspaper. CompactFanny posted:I want to make a dig box but I don't know what to put in it, as I'm scared they'll eat whatever it is and get impacted. Uncooked, non-instant rice. They've never been interested in eating it, and even if they were, rice is a food that's not THAT bad for them, and it doesn't swell THAT much. I'd stop it if anyone started trying to eat it, though. I've also used sandbox sand, but that typically caused more sneezing. Emery update: More incontinence, still not using back legs properly. The skin on the tops of her back feet is starting to get red, I don't know if it's from friction or because I simply can't clean her up EVERY time she gets pee on her. Have left message for the Ottawa vet seeking his opinion.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 15:42 |
|
|
CompactFanny posted:I want to make a dig box but I don't know what to put in it, as I'm scared they'll eat whatever it is and get impacted. I actually have two dig boxes, one is the monstrosity posted above, which the ferrets use the most. The other was the first, most easiest one to make. Basically it's just a box with non-toxic starch packing peanuts. The ones that if the ferrets decided to eat (none of mine did) it wouldn't kill them. You need to plan out the dig box though, if you just use an open box, you'll get rice EVERYWHERE. Even in my setup above there's rice everywhere (though not nearly as much) because there's small holes in the tube going in...
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 16:37 |
|
|
Finally picked up some FerreTone from PetSmart when I went to pick up another bag of food. They LOVE it. My ferrets have always been picky with their treats/snacks. I am beginning clicker training with them, and that is what they are getting as the treat. It sucks that it is a liquid. Whenever anyone mentioned FerreTone, I always imagined a paste, or something. I've been letting them lick it off my fingers ( Haven't been bitten, yet. ), and just today started putting it on a spoon to save myself the mess. So far, training consists of them just getting a treat when I click the clicker, and this will continue until they realize that click = treat. It's kind of hard with three ferrets to click and treat. I think that I am going to have to start taking them each individually into the bathroom, that way two of them aren't hearing the click, and only one of them is getting the treat. Cute pictures Myrddin, I wish I had a good camera to take ferret pictures with. Sorry to hear about your baby, maple, I hope that you find something out, soon, and that she starts feeling better.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 19:17 |
|
|
Myrddin Emrys posted:More pics. Just tell me when to stop and I'll stop. I am just having fun with my camera and with Picnic's online editing Nono don't stop. More pictures!  How else am I to live vicariously through you all?
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 21:09 |
|
|
she-venom posted:It sucks that it is a liquid. Whenever anyone mentioned FerreTone, I always imagined a paste, or something. she-venom posted:Cute pictures Myrddin, I wish I had a good camera to take ferret pictures with. SilverSliver posted:Nono don't stop. More pictures! In short expect some more pics tonight.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 21:38 |
|
|
No word back from the Ottawa vet yet. I think it might be his  day off or something. No, I am not seriously even the slightest bit upset or anything, this guy works really hard and deserves lots of days off. Just not when I need him, please. I figured out what Emery's leg movements when she's picked up remind me of - the infant stepping reflex, only in midair. She'll sometimes move them a bit more actively and wiggle more, but usually it's just step, step, step, step in this really weird way. It's nothing at all like what Laurel, our healthy ferret, does if you pick him up in the same way. He'll either hang there or, if he's feeling kinda jerkish, really raise the foot (or both feet) until he can actually scratch you. If you push up on the bottom of one of Emery's feet, she just lets you push her foot and leg up. If you push up on the bottom of one of Laurel's feet, he lets you push it up a little bit, then pushes back. Oh, and Myrddin Emrys, please don't let me being a downer discourage you from posting cute pictures, they're really excellent.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 21:58 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2013 06:44 |
|
|
maplecheese posted:Oh, and Myrddin Emrys, please don't let me being a downer discourage you from posting cute pictures, they're really excellent.
|
| # ? Jan 11, 2010 22:02 |
|
