Ferrets

Rest in Peace Sweetie

199?-2005

Tom Bombadil aka "Toby"

Toby is a medium sized sable. He is a loveable kiddo, he loves to watch everything you do whether he's inside the cage or outside. Toby's favorite game is to throttle a special toy, a small bell with feathers on a string.

As you may see in the picture Toby's tail is bald, this is one sign of a serious illness which ferrets sometimes get. Adrenal Disease is caused by tumors on one or both of a ferrets adrenal glands. No one knows for sure why they occur. The most often seen symptom of Adrenal Disease is severe hair loss. If your ferret developes a bald spot on the back of their neck or at the base of the tail bring him/ her to a ferret savvy vet immediately. In many cases Aderal Disease can be successfully treated with surgery. However, left untreated it will get worse, it WILL NOT go away without treatment.

Lady Galadriel aka 'Lady'

Lady is a wee little chocolate sable who is chock full of piss and vinegar. She's up and nosing around long after her brothers poop out and go to sleep (in my couch). Lady loves to badger her bigger brothers into wrestling with her, each of them is about TWICE her size! Of course she's never the one who gives up the battle, she always emerges the queen. ( If she starts loosing she hisses and makes the boys back off, cheater!)

Barrow White aka 'Barr' (say Bear)

Barr is a true albino, all white fur and red eyes. I didn't know Barrow well when I named him, I had just adopted him. I got it right though, Barrow steals and hoards toys in his special spot, just like the Barrow Wights in Tolkein's Fellowship of the Ring. Barrow is about the most laid back ferret I know, he just waits patiently when you cut his nails or otherwise tortue (groom/ clean) him. And he is sooo smart, I can just watch him as he figures things out, typically how to get at something I don't want him in. He also is the only one of my ferrets who will respond to 'NO' or 'get down' without needing to move him myself, he will even do it from across the room. Whenever I scold Barr he looks just oh so sorry, he slumps right down into a ferret speedbump and looks guilty, which of course gets me every time.

Just what is a 'weasel wardance' you ask? A weasel wardance is when one or more ferrets arch their backs and wildly jump for joy bouncing off obstacles and making chuckling or 'dooking' noises.

Ferrets, Mustela Putorius Furo, aka the Domestic Ferret are not wild animals. The wild American Blackfooted Ferret resembles its domestic cousins, our pet ferrets, but our pets are actually more directly related to the European Polecat. Rabbit hunters in Europe selectively bred the polecats to aid them in flushing out their long eared game as well as for companionship, resulting in the domesticated ferret. A hunting ferret's job is to run down into a rabbit burrow and chase the rabbit out to the waiting hunter.

Some people speculate that ferrets have been domesticated since the time of the Roman Empire or even so far back as ancient Egypt. Ferrets have been domesticated a very long time, in fact they have been domesticated for so long and spoiled so thoroughly as house pets that they are not able to hunt for food or survive on their own in the wild. If you ever hear of someone 'freeing' their ferret because they can't care for it, can't keep it, for whatever reason don't let them. A house ferret released into the wild will probably only live 3-5 days. It will likely die of dehydration before it has time to starve. Also, our trusting and curious pets would likely run right up to a hungrey predator thinking it was a playmate. Squish, die.

Please, if you hear of someone with an unwanted ferret, help them find a local humane society or shelter to take the ferret to instead of releasing it to a death sentence.

Despite urban legends ferrets are not vicious or mean. Like puppies and kittens, ferrets go through a stage where they learn that they have teeth. Like a puppy ( or human baby for that matter Kelly) they will mouth everything, to taste it and learn what it is. This time is when as a responsible pet owner we teach them that biting humans is a lot more painful than biting their tough skinned siblings, biting human mom is not acceptable, while sister ferret loves to rough house, which is OK. Just like cats and dogs, ferrets can be taught not to bite, it is only ignored/untrained, abused or maltreated ferrets who have a hard time learning to control their mouths.

Ferrets are great fun to have as pets. They are always curious and get themselves in some pretty hilarious situations on a constant basis. They each have a very distinct personality and definitely a mind of their own. Some people refer to themselves as the pet and the ferret the owner.

A pet ferret needs a cage to stay in when alone or unsupervised, but plenty of out time every day (4 hours or more) in ferret-proofed rooms. Ferrets ought to have food (must be a high quality FERRET food, not kitten, not mink) available all the time as well as fresh water.

Ferrets are as easily litter trained as any cat. A cat litter pan with one side cut down to 1" works fine, but cat litter is unhealthy for the ferret and it looks like a sand box to play in for many ferrets, rather than a potty. Newspaper or paper towels are preferable to litter, line the pan with the paper and when its time to clean the pan just roll it up and toss it. Ferrets are very clean in their sleeping/eating/playing areas. So if you find that while you are litter training your ferret goes somewhere you don't want them to, clean the mess, and then place a food bowl or bed in the off limits area.

Bedding should never be any kind of wood shavings, prolonged exposure to wood dust can lead to lung problems. (This is true for humans too, why do you think woodworkers wear dust masks and resperators now-a-days? If its bad for you to breath it's no good for your pet either!) Instead of wood shaving use a store bought or home made cloth 'ferret bed', or a blanket or even old clothes. Ferrets especially love to sleep in hammocks. They wouldn't even mind if you hang an old shirt from the ceiling of the cage and call it a hammock, if it hangs it will be the preferred place to sleep and if it smells like you it will be a treasure.

"All that is gold does not glitter
Not all those who wander are lost
The old that is strong does not whither
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
-J.R.R.Tolkien
The Fellowship of the Ring

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