Ferrets and Biting

 

Like most animals ferrets have teeth. They are similar to that of a cat and can do a lot of damage if the ferret isn’t trained correctly to prevent bites.

Owning a ferret means you are the one responsible for how a ferret will react in certain situations.

Most sites tell you different ways of dealing with a bitey ferret. The one thing that I agree with is Never flick the end of a ferret’s nose to get them to stop biting. They will only see this as playing and will continue to bite.

Rules to prevent bites:

1. Never rough house with your ferret. I am guilty of this but my boys know that it is okay to gently nibble on my fingers only. But I also know how each boy will react. When I had Lance I never rough housed with him because he couldn’t hear me tell him no and when he bit it was hard.

2. Wash your hands after eating. This is common sense for a number of reasons. It keeps nasty germs from the ferret and it washes away the scent of food. Remember ferrets are curious creatures and want to know what everything is. Ferrets also have a great sense of smell and if it smells like food they want a taste.

3. Never startle or scare your ferret. This isn’t always possible. I try hard to make sure Marcuz feels me coming by stomping on the floor but sometimes he is just to intent on what he is doing and I surprise him.

4. Use a bitter tasting agent if your ferret is prone to biting for whatever reason. I had to make a red pepper spray for James as he loved the taste of bitter apple. I also keep hand sanitizer for those that want to pet the boys while we are out in public.

To get a ferret to release its hold you can scruff the ferret and wait for the yawn to happen. This works with most ferrets. Lance never let go when he got a hold of something he wanted. It would always take two people. Me scruffing since I was usually the one with his teeth sunk in and one to gently pry his jaws apart.

Yes I have scars from Lance’s bites but I learned a lot from each episode and the causes. Him being deaf had a great impact on how hard he bit. If you get a young ferret you can train them not to bite by doing like their momma would have done.

You scruff them by the back of the neck and drag them across the floor a short distance while saying NO in a loud firm voice. If I did it you would hear me hissing like a ferret. I’ve been around them to long to change that habit…not that I would want to.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

It’s the End of the Year

     Wow what a wild ride this last year has been for Enlightened Ferret and me. I joined twitter in late 2009 but 2010 really showed me how much it could help promote my blog. Thanks to twitter I found new friends that were as dedicated to their animals as I am to ferrets.

     March/April saw Manny join my little band of ferrets.

     April also saw me go to the first ever pet conference Called Blog Paws East. What a great adventure that turned out to be. I was able to help a rescue because of winning a door prize. If you haven’t read what amazing work these two ladies do you should hop over to I Love Rescue Animals  and check them out.

     April also brought sadness as I had to make the heart wrenching decision for Lance.

     May saw James turn ten years old. A true senior when it comes to ferrets.’

     June: I supported a ferret rescue: Heart of Ohio Ferret Rescue and Association by doing a walk with James and Manny on the Allegheny trail even if I did get lost the ferrets had fun. We also raised money for them through a twitter party called the Outlaw Pawparty what fun that turned out to be.

     July saw James diagnosed with Insulinoma and he was put on Prednisone and because of his age surgery was ruled out. I had to learn how to do paw sticks on such a tiny paw to monitor his condition.

     August brought us to Atlanta, Ga for Bark World. We got to ride down in style thanks to GMC and BZTAT. James and Manny got a lot of attention and I got to talk a lot about ferret ownership with a lot of people.

     The boys and I weren’t able to make it to Blog Paws West in September but we did get to meet a new ferret friend because of trying to get there. We made plans with Snot Face Critter  to have a ferret invasion at Blog Paws 2011.

     The middle of November brought me Marcuz a splattered marked ferret who is deaf and is Manny’s new playmate.

     The end of November was hard as my beloved James passed away in my arms from his insulinoma. I had hoped he would have made it though the year and past Manny’s first birthday but it wasn’t to be. I miss him but I know that he did live a full life by living to be ten years old and filled with love.

     December we were Santa to Gibbs and sent a goodie loaded box to him along with a couple of presents for his hooman.  It was great to see all the Ferret Giving Tree ferrets opening their gifts.

     What will 2011 bring to us is mostly unknown but we will be attending Bark World again and Blog Paws 2011. There is also a goal in place to reach a 100 followers in 2011. What would you like to see or learn about from us in 2011? What are your plans for 2011?

Have a Chittering good day and we will see you in 2011!

Jo

Marcuz

 

     Hi evfurybody Iz took over diz bloggy today. Fur doz dat don’t know me Iz ManChester better known az Manny. Hooman sayz Iz a sable wif a love of miciez. I have a big brofur named James he went on a big trip wifout mez. He told mez dat I had to stay here wif hooman and our new brofur Marcuz.

     Marcuz came to livez wif uz before Thankgiving hooman sayz hiz color iz Splatter cuz it look like paint got dropped and hez waz in da way. Hooman said dat Marcuz iz stone cold deaf. Hooman wrong hiz not stone or cold. Iz wazn’t sure what deaf waz. Hooman told mez dat Marcuz can’t hear anything.

     Hooman been using her hands a lot more she told mez datz she iz doing sign language. I members her doing dat before wif my other brofur, Lance, before he take big trip to place called da Rainbow Bridge datz where James went too.

     Hooman try to get lotz of picciz of Marcuz and mez but wez like playing hide n sneak. *chitters*. Only time Marcuz not moving much iz when hez sleeping .

      Hooman tried to put Christmaz clothez on uz but wez moved too much fur da piccis. Iz also try to hide da hat cuz it looked like a big mousie.

     Marcuz and I like each other which iz good cuz wez share da same cage when wez not playing who da bozz in da big room. Hooman got a blinky light it waz to get Marcuz’ attention but he ignore it. Mez try to take it all da timez to hide. Iz hopz youz like da picciz Hooman took.

 

Hooman sayz have a Chittering good day,

Manny 

P.S. Be sure to enter into our give away. Iz really lovez dat duck! *chitters*

Questions and other information

 

     I’ve been absent from my blog for some time. The reasons are varied but the biggest being I have no idea where to go. I started this blog to enlighten people about the ownership of ferrets. I am glad for followers I have earned. I have no idea if anything I have written has made an impact or not.

     I’ve met some really great people because of my presence on my blog and on twitter. I was able to attend two different conferences that were designed around the pet community. I was the only ferret person at both. Blogpaws brought me in contact with two very special ladies outside of the great founders of Blog Paws. They made me realize that it just takes one person to make a difference in this sometimes cruel world. I can only hope I make an impression like they did on me.

     August found me riding down to Atlanta, GA in a GMC Terrain with a great animal artist and my two boys. What an adventure that turned into. I barely made it through my public speaking class in college and this trip showed me that I could speak in public just as long as it involved talking about my ferrets. I am still impressed with the Terrain and the representatives that made a point of finding out about ferrets so they could get the right treats for the unique riders.

     BarkWorld proved to be informative beyond the sessions. James and Manny showed a lot of people that ferrets and dogs could get along as long as the introductions were done in a controlled and safe manner. The people of Atlanta were inquisitive about my ferrets and asked a lot of questions including several sources I would have never thought would ask. Atlanta proved to be good for James who had been diagnosed in July with insulinoma. He slept most of the conference but when he was awake he did show that he still had some spunk for a senior.

     BarkWorld brought me into contact with a wonderful woman named Peggy Johnson more to come on our association.

     October brought a check up for James and with some relief he has gained weight and seems to be holding his own with the insulinoma. His spleen is still enlarging and I can only hope it slows down.

     November brings NanoWriMo and a vet appointment. For those that don’t know about NanoWriMo it is a challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I’ve done this for the last 5 years and only had one time I didn’t make the goal. This year instead of writing fiction I am going to try my hand at non-fiction and will be dealing with pets.

     Manny will be having a wellness checkup and I’ll be discussing the possibility of getting him certified as a therapy pet. I’d like to have James certified but with him having insulinoma it may disqualify him.

     So what do you the reader want to know about ferrets? What do you think you know about them? There are no dumb questions only ones that won’t be answered are the ones not asked.

Have a Chittering Day,

Jo

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

Captions, remarks, and comments welcomed

Jo

Update on James

     James has been on Prednisone® for about two months. He is showing an increase in appetite and is playing more and more each day. Manny is finding out just how bossy James can be about what he feels is his areas.

     These include his cage, one of his hiding spots and just how much he will tolerate being bounced on by Manny. It is good to hear James being vocal again.

     Getting James to take his Prednisone® is fairly easy. I just tell him he can have a treat after he is done and while he still pushes the syringe away when he needs a break he does take it all. I still haven’t worn any of the medicine but I am sure I will some at a later date.

                  

 

     The one thing we both don’t like is when I need to do a paw stick on James. His paw pads are tough and the lancet doesn’t always penetrate the first time so I have to stick him a second time to draw just enough blood. I am glad I made the investment into a glucometer for James it saves me time and money by not having to go to the vet’s office every few weeks.

     The other thing I’ve noticed is that James’ strength is returning and he is able to do some of his old tricks like sit up for a treat. He still tires easily and will sometimes use an object to hold himself up to get his treat but each day he is getting stronger.

     I will be making an appointment for the end of the month just to have James looked at and see where we stand with this disease. James will never get rid of the insulinoma but he could live longer with proper management and care. I can only hope that others can learn from our journey of living with insulinoma and what it entails.

Keep on Chittering

Jo

Bark World Expo

     What an amazing event Bark World was. The sessions were wonderful and so were the participants. While it was geared more towards dog owners, businesses, and bloggers, the event was informational for all other types of owners, businesses, and bloggers.

     I can’t say enough about GMC’s representatives and how caring they were. Like many people who have never dealt with ferrets they didn’t know what kind of treats to get James and Manny but they took the time to find out and then went to the local pet store to get a bag of bandit treats. James loves his bandit treats.

     James and Manny were a big hit not just with the people attending Bark World but also with the people of Atlanta. Who asked a lot of questions about James and Manny and ferrets in general. I also clear up many misconceptions about ferrets as well.

     One of the best parts of Bark World was making new friends and the informal session we all had at the coffee shop. Being able to have some things explained in a different way than perhaps had been told to us in one of the sessions and being able to know about a program that might not have been talked about.

     Bark World also reminded me that not every place is ferret safe but thank fully did not end in a tragedy.

     This was the first big trip that I took James and Manny on. It showed me that there is no such thing as packing light when it comes to ferrets but it also let me have my fur friends with me. Both seemed to enjoy the attention but at the end of the expo James showed me just how tired he was by climbing into my suitcase.

 

 

 

 

 

     Next adventure happens…

Possibilities:

Blog Paws West Sept 9-11 Denver, CO

Happy Paws Pet Expo Nov 13-14 Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Pet Writing Convention Feb 12 2011

     The last two would be without James and Manny in attendance.

Have a Chittering day,

Jo

Ferret Education 101

     Manny reminded me today why a pet owner needs to be alert at all times when outside of their own domain. It has been a while since I have had to ferret-proof because I hadn’t traveled much with my ferrets until I went to the Bark World Expo.

I got my ferrets a carrier that would be safe and secure for the ride down to Georgia in the GMC Terrain but forgot about having to ferret- proof the hotel rooms we would be staying in this could have been a fatal mistake but thankfully it wasn’t and reminded me that new places have to be checked and rechecked daily.

Can you spot the problem spots in these pictures?

    

     If you have been following my posts you know that a ferret is a very curious creature and can get into mischief wherever they are.

1. While it doesn’t appear to be any problem spots in this picture. The desk at the end of the hall has a lot of stuff a ferret would love to get and hide some where.

2. There is no door knob on the door and it is locked there is enough room at the bottom for a ferret to slip under. I have no idea what is in that room.

3. The kitchen area. Lots of problems here. The space under and around the refrigerator. The same problem with the stove.

4. The dishwasher is the reason for this post. Most have a vented plate that goes over the 4 inch high space that houses the wires and motor for the dishwasher. Manny decided that he had to check out all those nifty spaces under there. I was lucky that he didn’t get his collar caught and that he didn’t go into any of the smaller spaces. I got him to come out with tapping his food bowl on the floor near the opening.

5. There is room under the television to get to the wires and some ferrets like to chew on wires and others like to climb.

6. Lovely view but it is six stories up and ferrets have bad depth perception.

7. May not look like there is any problems here. But if you lift the edge of the blankets there is no baseboards and the bottom of the mattresses are exposed. Great place for a ferret to try to use as a hidey-hole.

8. The mirror isn’t attached to the wall and could easily be moved.

9. An easily opened closet door leads to exploration of any thing that is in there. This could lead to ingestion of something that could be fatal.

10. The bathroom can have many dangers for ferrets. The most obvious is the toilet.

11. The trash can. Anything upright must be tipped over it is a ferret rule. Pick the can up and place on the back of the toilet. You’ll hear it fall and can immediately see what your ferret(s) are into.

12. The shower may seem like the least likely place a ferret can get into but the one in my hotel room swings both ways and the soap and shampoo bottles are placed on the floor. Also don’t want my boys drinking from the drain.

13. The bathtub. Once in they can’t get out and if you have just gotten out of the bath and not let the water out…

     Bark World Expo has been educational for me in a number of ways but I was influenced the most by my ferrets in a way that won’t easily be forgotten.

     How many of you have been educated by your pet?

Keep on Chittering,

Jo