The ferrets and I are le tired.
I had one of those nights of sleep that just sucks all the life out of you and makes you want a nap after you've only been awake an hour.
I entered the ferret room to find most of them sprawled in various sleeping positions. It's warming up these days and they can't sleep under layers of blankets the way they like to. Instead they lie out in the open in their cages looking like they wish they had some cold linoleum to sleep on.
I guess we've all had a tiring week. I've been enjoying my last few days of having a 25 hour work week before going full time and I broke a nail at my self-defense class. That must mean I'm either doing something really right or really wrong. And the ferrets have had the heat to contend with...which is a pretty big deal when you're a ferret.
zzzzzz...
Showing posts with label ferrets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ferrets. Show all posts
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Friday, November 20, 2009
Mommy's Treats
When my ferrets hear a bag crinkle, they think it's their treat bag. It's the one sound that can bring all of them running. The problem is, many human snacks also come in bags that make nice crinkling sounds.
Louis and Bella are particularly devoted to people food. Bella will relentlessly attack the futon if she finds out there's food on it and Louis just likes to steal anything that might be edible. Louis has these two cute little fangs that hang way down out of his mouth. Because one is slightly longer than the other, he looks like a snaggletoothed little vampire. As I've mentioned before, he's my favorite ferret. He's also a little bit special.
All of these things came together tonight as I found myself scruffing him and trying to remove his teeth from the corner of my bag of cheese puffs. Once he locks onto something, you usually have to pry his jaws open to get it back. There is now a half inch tear in the bottom of my bag.
Those are mommy's treats, Louis. Mommy's treats.
Louis and Bella are particularly devoted to people food. Bella will relentlessly attack the futon if she finds out there's food on it and Louis just likes to steal anything that might be edible. Louis has these two cute little fangs that hang way down out of his mouth. Because one is slightly longer than the other, he looks like a snaggletoothed little vampire. As I've mentioned before, he's my favorite ferret. He's also a little bit special.
All of these things came together tonight as I found myself scruffing him and trying to remove his teeth from the corner of my bag of cheese puffs. Once he locks onto something, you usually have to pry his jaws open to get it back. There is now a half inch tear in the bottom of my bag.
Those are mommy's treats, Louis. Mommy's treats.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Red Ferret
I am a multi-tasker. I take great pride in this. Apparently, it's very common for women to not only indulge in multi-tasking, but thrive upon it. I often monitor my ferrets' out of cage time while watching a video online, playing a game on Pogo.com and taking an online survey. I get bored doing just one thing at the time.
My ferrets have trained me well for future motherhood. Multi-tasking is a must with ferrets and kids since you have to watch everything going on around you while heading off potential disasters. I probably won't be able to let my kids just run around while I indulge in internet time, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Another good mothering skill I've picked up is calm in the face of crisis.
This weekend we had a couple of college friends staying with us. I'd promised to apply eye makeup to one of them before she went out for the evening and so I left my boyfriend, Will*, with the ferrets while I played makeup artist. I was sitting in my roommate's room swiping eye shadow onto my friend Susan when I heard Will call me.
"Honey?" he said.
"Yes, sweety?" I replied, finishing up the eye shadow.
"Fox turned over the punch." Fox is our number one son. I mean ferret. He has a tendency to climb onto the furniture and, in this case, turned over a glass of red kool-aid. "Can you come get him?" Will continued.
"In a minute." I moved on to lining Susan's widening eyes as we listened to the details of the incident.
"There's punch all over the futon and he's red. Can you come here?"
"Scruff him with one hand and clean up with the other." This is what I would have done if I had been in there. 'Scruffing' ferrets, or holding them by the loose skin on the back of their neck, is a safe way to calm them down and immobilize them temporarily.
"I can't, he's going crazy and the rest of them are trying to drink punch off the futon cushion," Will's voice informed me from across the hallway.
I sighed. "He's obviously not a mother," I told the three girls sitting with me.
They laughed and I realized that what I had said was very true. I realized that even though none of us are mothers yet, or plan to be any time soon, we all pride ourselves on our womanly common sense and ability to take control of a situation. The two friends we had visiting are both teachers and one of them said, "Yeah, a mother or a teacher would have that cleaned up in no time." We laughed again, sure in our capability and proud of the natural wiring that makes us tough in messy situations and calm in the face of crisis.
I finished Susan's makeup and went across the hall to mop up the punch and give Fox a bath in the kitchen sink.
*All human names have been changed.
My ferrets have trained me well for future motherhood. Multi-tasking is a must with ferrets and kids since you have to watch everything going on around you while heading off potential disasters. I probably won't be able to let my kids just run around while I indulge in internet time, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Another good mothering skill I've picked up is calm in the face of crisis.
This weekend we had a couple of college friends staying with us. I'd promised to apply eye makeup to one of them before she went out for the evening and so I left my boyfriend, Will*, with the ferrets while I played makeup artist. I was sitting in my roommate's room swiping eye shadow onto my friend Susan when I heard Will call me.
"Honey?" he said.
"Yes, sweety?" I replied, finishing up the eye shadow.
"Fox turned over the punch." Fox is our number one son. I mean ferret. He has a tendency to climb onto the furniture and, in this case, turned over a glass of red kool-aid. "Can you come get him?" Will continued.
"In a minute." I moved on to lining Susan's widening eyes as we listened to the details of the incident.
"There's punch all over the futon and he's red. Can you come here?"
"Scruff him with one hand and clean up with the other." This is what I would have done if I had been in there. 'Scruffing' ferrets, or holding them by the loose skin on the back of their neck, is a safe way to calm them down and immobilize them temporarily.
"I can't, he's going crazy and the rest of them are trying to drink punch off the futon cushion," Will's voice informed me from across the hallway.
I sighed. "He's obviously not a mother," I told the three girls sitting with me.
They laughed and I realized that what I had said was very true. I realized that even though none of us are mothers yet, or plan to be any time soon, we all pride ourselves on our womanly common sense and ability to take control of a situation. The two friends we had visiting are both teachers and one of them said, "Yeah, a mother or a teacher would have that cleaned up in no time." We laughed again, sure in our capability and proud of the natural wiring that makes us tough in messy situations and calm in the face of crisis.
I finished Susan's makeup and went across the hall to mop up the punch and give Fox a bath in the kitchen sink.
*All human names have been changed.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Camel Crickets and Ferret Sales Continued
Camel crickets are not the only danger I face (even though we have found 2 or 3 more since I last updated). There is another danger out there far more...dangerous.
The dreaded ferret sale.
I was buying ferret food the other day and, naturally, I stopped by the ferrets on my way to the food aisle. There was a pile of sleeping fur in there. Ferrets sleep in the most uncomfortable looking positions. They're long enough to lie with their stomach up, twisting around midway so that their head is chin down. If you have more than one they curl up together and make it difficult to figure out what tail belongs to what animal, not to mention all those legs.
In this cage, there were eight. That's a lot for such a small space and as I leaned back I saw the price tag. Ferrets in this area range from about $110-$130. The price tag on this cage said: Ferrets $59.99. My first thought was that I must not tell my boyfriend. He would immediately demand that we buy several at such a good price. Not that I wasn't tempted myself. In fact, I counted and did some quick math to see how much it would cost to buy them all. Even as I did it, I knew I was slipping into insanity.
I grabbed the industrial sized bag of food and headed for the counter. "So, I see your ferrets are on sale," I said casually to the guy at the counter. "Yeah, and they all have great personalities--" he began. I waved my hand and cut him off. "I have 6. Don't need more," here I patted the huge bag of ferret chow. "Why are they on sale?" Turns out they had received ferrets from two other stores that were closing or undergoing work and they were, very simply, overstocked on ferrets.
I have resisted admirably. Even though I know there are adorable ferrets just down the road to be had at half price; a white one with red eyes and a dark little female with an itchy chin and a chubby boy with brown and grey fur; even though I know all this, I haven't emptied my bank account to buy them and the required accessories.
Because not only do I not have any more space to add cages in the ferret room, I have several other pets. I have 3 fish tanks, a chinchilla and a hermit crab. Any time a free animal or a cheap ferret comes my way, I have a hard time resisting. But I have. And I continue to.
Does this mean I'm getting better?
The dreaded ferret sale.
I was buying ferret food the other day and, naturally, I stopped by the ferrets on my way to the food aisle. There was a pile of sleeping fur in there. Ferrets sleep in the most uncomfortable looking positions. They're long enough to lie with their stomach up, twisting around midway so that their head is chin down. If you have more than one they curl up together and make it difficult to figure out what tail belongs to what animal, not to mention all those legs.
In this cage, there were eight. That's a lot for such a small space and as I leaned back I saw the price tag. Ferrets in this area range from about $110-$130. The price tag on this cage said: Ferrets $59.99. My first thought was that I must not tell my boyfriend. He would immediately demand that we buy several at such a good price. Not that I wasn't tempted myself. In fact, I counted and did some quick math to see how much it would cost to buy them all. Even as I did it, I knew I was slipping into insanity.
I grabbed the industrial sized bag of food and headed for the counter. "So, I see your ferrets are on sale," I said casually to the guy at the counter. "Yeah, and they all have great personalities--" he began. I waved my hand and cut him off. "I have 6. Don't need more," here I patted the huge bag of ferret chow. "Why are they on sale?" Turns out they had received ferrets from two other stores that were closing or undergoing work and they were, very simply, overstocked on ferrets.
I have resisted admirably. Even though I know there are adorable ferrets just down the road to be had at half price; a white one with red eyes and a dark little female with an itchy chin and a chubby boy with brown and grey fur; even though I know all this, I haven't emptied my bank account to buy them and the required accessories.
Because not only do I not have any more space to add cages in the ferret room, I have several other pets. I have 3 fish tanks, a chinchilla and a hermit crab. Any time a free animal or a cheap ferret comes my way, I have a hard time resisting. But I have. And I continue to.
Does this mean I'm getting better?
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Ferrets are like toddlers
I share my home with 6 ferrets.
I'll let that sink in for a while.
Processed that yet? Ok, as I was saying, I have 6 ferrets in one of the bedrooms of my house. 3 boys and 3 girls. I got the first ferret around 5 years ago and have been adding them steadily ever since. Their names are: Fox, Claudia, Louis, Scully, Bella and Skeeter. They need their own room because they live in 3 separate cages and that takes up some serious space. There's a boy and a girl in each cage. The question people always ask here is whether or not I breed them. NO. They are all fixed, thank the good Lord. They also need their own room because of the smell. Ferrets produce oils that make them quite odoriferous. It takes constant vigilance to keep their bedding and cages clean and as smell-free as possible.
Next to their smell, the most well-known ferret trait is curiosity. They explore, they romp, they steal. Sometimes all at once. Ferrets are perhaps the best animals to train you for parenthood. Just like a young child, they have to be watched CONSTANTLY. You can't leave them unattended for more than 30 seconds unless you crave disaster. They're liable to eat something they shouldn't or climb a piece of furniture and fall off. They knock over glasses and carry off any item that strikes their fancy and is small enough to drag. You mustn't put any behavior past them, both for their own good and that of your belongings. In the course of my ferret owning my boyfriend and I have saved them from leaping from the suicidal height of a recliner back, disappearing into a sub woofer, tearing out a nail after getting it caught in a towel, drinking an entire glass of Mountain Dew, and escaping the house entirely.
But the ferret trait with which I'm most concerned today (and one they also share with toddlers) is their reluctance to be potty-trained. I moved into my house in May of this year and the ferrets have occupied their bedroom here since then. Ferrets are like many small animals in that they instinctively find a corner when it's time to relieve themselves. Knowing this, I put something in each corner of the room but the one I wanted them to use. I used cages and dog beds to funnel them towards the corner opposite the door where I put one of those sheets of plastic you keep under the wheels of your desk chair. They got the idea pretty quickly and started doing most of their business either there or in their cages. I let them out of their cages for about 3 hours a day to get their wiggles out. I play with them or use my laptop until it's time to put them up again. Once the cages are clean and the ferrets are bedded down in them I wipe off the plastic latrine area with paper towels and it's all set for the next day. When it gets gross, all I have to do is Windex it.
But ferrets and children, no matter how much you love and encourage them, do not always want to go potty in the right place. For three nights running, Claudia decided that the stretch of carpet between her cage and Bella and Skeeter's was as good a place as any. After the first time I explained that it was not a potty place and after cleaning the carpet, put a big plush fish in the spot to convince her. She went next to the fish after that. But ferrets, much like Fate (and like toddlers; do we see a theme here?) are fickle and she stopped after the third night.
Then, tonight as I was sitting on the futon with my trusty laptop, I watched Louis opt for the corner right by the door. Louis is my favorite. I make no secret of this fact. But Louis is also a bit "special" and it's hard to be upset with him. It's not like there was much I could do anyway. You have about as much chance of stopping the impending carpet soiling from happening as you do of getting to your cat and moving her onto the linoleum in time to save the Persian rug she's dry-heaving over.
My favorite is when I start cleaning and returning ferrets to their cages and notice that someone left me a present behind the futon. The very futon on which I've been sitting for a couple of hours. It's as if they're saying, "if you'd been watching us more closely, this never would have happened..."
I'll let that sink in for a while.
Processed that yet? Ok, as I was saying, I have 6 ferrets in one of the bedrooms of my house. 3 boys and 3 girls. I got the first ferret around 5 years ago and have been adding them steadily ever since. Their names are: Fox, Claudia, Louis, Scully, Bella and Skeeter. They need their own room because they live in 3 separate cages and that takes up some serious space. There's a boy and a girl in each cage. The question people always ask here is whether or not I breed them. NO. They are all fixed, thank the good Lord. They also need their own room because of the smell. Ferrets produce oils that make them quite odoriferous. It takes constant vigilance to keep their bedding and cages clean and as smell-free as possible.
Next to their smell, the most well-known ferret trait is curiosity. They explore, they romp, they steal. Sometimes all at once. Ferrets are perhaps the best animals to train you for parenthood. Just like a young child, they have to be watched CONSTANTLY. You can't leave them unattended for more than 30 seconds unless you crave disaster. They're liable to eat something they shouldn't or climb a piece of furniture and fall off. They knock over glasses and carry off any item that strikes their fancy and is small enough to drag. You mustn't put any behavior past them, both for their own good and that of your belongings. In the course of my ferret owning my boyfriend and I have saved them from leaping from the suicidal height of a recliner back, disappearing into a sub woofer, tearing out a nail after getting it caught in a towel, drinking an entire glass of Mountain Dew, and escaping the house entirely.
But the ferret trait with which I'm most concerned today (and one they also share with toddlers) is their reluctance to be potty-trained. I moved into my house in May of this year and the ferrets have occupied their bedroom here since then. Ferrets are like many small animals in that they instinctively find a corner when it's time to relieve themselves. Knowing this, I put something in each corner of the room but the one I wanted them to use. I used cages and dog beds to funnel them towards the corner opposite the door where I put one of those sheets of plastic you keep under the wheels of your desk chair. They got the idea pretty quickly and started doing most of their business either there or in their cages. I let them out of their cages for about 3 hours a day to get their wiggles out. I play with them or use my laptop until it's time to put them up again. Once the cages are clean and the ferrets are bedded down in them I wipe off the plastic latrine area with paper towels and it's all set for the next day. When it gets gross, all I have to do is Windex it.
But ferrets and children, no matter how much you love and encourage them, do not always want to go potty in the right place. For three nights running, Claudia decided that the stretch of carpet between her cage and Bella and Skeeter's was as good a place as any. After the first time I explained that it was not a potty place and after cleaning the carpet, put a big plush fish in the spot to convince her. She went next to the fish after that. But ferrets, much like Fate (and like toddlers; do we see a theme here?) are fickle and she stopped after the third night.
Then, tonight as I was sitting on the futon with my trusty laptop, I watched Louis opt for the corner right by the door. Louis is my favorite. I make no secret of this fact. But Louis is also a bit "special" and it's hard to be upset with him. It's not like there was much I could do anyway. You have about as much chance of stopping the impending carpet soiling from happening as you do of getting to your cat and moving her onto the linoleum in time to save the Persian rug she's dry-heaving over.
My favorite is when I start cleaning and returning ferrets to their cages and notice that someone left me a present behind the futon. The very futon on which I've been sitting for a couple of hours. It's as if they're saying, "if you'd been watching us more closely, this never would have happened..."
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