Triangle Ferret Lovers Newsletter
Issue 8, June/July 1996
The pads of the feet in the older ferret may be hard and dry and develop little horny growths. A small amount of vitamin E creme or oil or vaseline rubbed daily on the pads helps to keep them soft and removes the excess tissue. The hair coat may become drier and more brittle with age. Some diseases can contribute to this, but aging can also cause it. Don't bathe your pet frequently, as this may strip the natural skin oils and worsen the condition. Bathe your pet as infrequently as possible, but no more than once a month, and use a gentle kitten or ferret shampoo. If you notice hair loss, red scales or ulcers on the skin, please have your pet examined by your veterinarian.
Older ferrets may have less control over their bladder and bowels as they age, so make sure that the litter box or papers are easily accessible. Maybe put out a few extras if they roam around so they will not have far to go to relieve themselves.
Senior citizens may become weak in the hind legs for a variety of reasons, so make sure they can get in and out of their cages and litter boxes. Use ramps, if necessary to help them. Any sudden or unusual weakness or loss of balance should be brought to the attention of your veterinarian. Make sure food and water are always available. Going without food for too long could cause the onset of severe weakness or a seizure if your pet is dealing with a blood sugar disorder or kidney disease.
Mark you calendar for the next TriFL meeting: Saturday, August 3rd at Shari Gunter's home in Raleigh. You can bring your up-to-date vaccinated, non-aggressive ferret/s with a water bottle, food, and litter box for group playtime from 10:30am-11:00am. Place your fuzzballs back into their carrier, and our meeting will begin at 11:00am-12:00pm.
CALL FOR DIRECTIONS: (w) 872-1174, (h) 231-3222, (fax) 872-9214, or e-mail ShariDiane @aol.com. We are still in need of a permanent meeting place. If you know of a place we could use once a month for a couple of hours, please contact a TriFL member.
THE MAZE: Use a large cardboard box. Fold scrap cardboard into triangular shapes, tape, and fill the box with as many as possible. Put one treat in each triangular tube. Cut several holes in the side, and allow the ferts access. Hours-O-fun!
CRINKLE: Fold an old bed sheet in half and lay slightly crinkled newspaper or cellophane in the middle. Makes cool sounds. Mine love to wardance on the pile.
SMOKEY THE BEAR: Fill a file-storage box about 1/3 with sand mixed with potting soil about 4 to 1. Pour in 1/4 bottle of liquid smoke, and mix well. They might be dirty afterwards, but they actually smile! I have watched Bear roll in the dirt for hours, snorting and snorkeling. I place it in the kitchen for ease of cleanup later. Keeps them out of the litter box.
FINGERS: Cut mucho finger-sized holes in a cardboard sheet. Dip your fingers in Ferretone or liquid smoke. Stick you finger through the hole, and as they try to sniff, move it to another hole. Stay fast or risk nips. All 13 of mine love this game.
CHASE THE OLD MAN: I chase them on my hands and knees, then let them chase me back. You will tire before they do. Watch out for carpet-mines.
CARPET SHARK FISHING: Use a fishing-style pole with 20 lb test line. Tie 3-4 red/white bobbers [No Hooks!] and cast across the room. Reel the babies in at about the speed a mouse would run if it was stupid enough to be in the room at the time. If you don't have the pole, use the string only; the pole makes it much easier, but is not necessary. ["Cat poles" are sold at pet stores.]
Furniture - it MUST be ferretproof. Sleeper-sofas and recliners are known death traps! We got rid of our mattress and use a futon. We have 1) attached linoleum to the bottoms of our couches, 2) situated the furniture in such a way that a ferret cannot jump from place to place and hurt himself, 3) carpet runners over the back of the chaise, 4) padding around the corners of the desk, 5) no knick-knacks or candles on the dining room table.
Appliances - the refrigerator and the stove are enclosed, baby locks on the cabinets, all chemicals out of the house. We cannot have open windows and doors with screens unless they are supervised. If we are sitting next to the window - we open it, if we walk away to answer the phone, we close it.
Every time somebody goes through the front door, we do a head count.
There is a sign by our toilet "The pool is closed for the season - please shut the lid" - and of course we frequently double check when guests are in our home.
I don't wear shoes inside, shoes stay on the front porch so that they are not chewed on.
It would take me a 300 page book to tell you all we do to ensure the safety of our pets, contraptions we have made, precautions we take, furniture we have thrown out, in trying to ferretproof. Soon enough, this type of existence becomes normal though, and it seems like second nature to know where each ferret is at every moment. We made the rods higher in the closet so they couldn't climb the clothes and get up on the shelf.
We secured the attic entrance just in case one manages the climb anyway. We took all of the cords from behind the wardrobe chest and ran them down from the top of the furniture with a heavy duty cord so they had no access to chewing them - but we sprayed them with bitter apple and have them covered, as well as, plugged into a GFI just in case they figure it out.
When a repairperson comes over we will prepare by putting everyone in their cage or the bedroom (there is a piece of wood screwed to the bottom of the door because otherwise they squeeze through the gap and get out). Then when he leaves, we will do a head count to make sure no on got out. Nothing is taken for granted.
Bringing groceries in, getting a snack out of the frig, making the bed, loading the dishwasher or dryer - everything centers around free roam ferrets. But, I love every minute of it, wouldn't change it for the world, and know that it can be done.
Please think very long and hard about letting your fuzzie have free roam until you have covered all of the necessary precautions beforehand to ensure their safety.
Ferret address labels. Four designs available. Ferret Owner & Operator Test (FOOT). How To Spot A Ferret Owner info sheet. Ferret Twelve Step Program leaflet.
To find out more about these six items, join us at our next TriFL meeting August 3rd.
Please contact Karen Marsh-Lovvorn of Rogues Gallery at 596-9393, or Linda Goodwin of Guardian Angels at 362-8460, if you can adopt a shelter ferret!
TRIangle Ferret Lovers PO Box 61091 Raleigh, NC 27661-1091
This web page is maintained by Pam Sessoms. I can be reached at: pjdutche@email.unc.edu.
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