Tales from the Ricebox

Ferret Room Remodel

2009-07-07T19:46:00.001-07:00

Sometimes you just have to do what you just have to do. Last Friday, the first day of my 3 day weekend for the holiday I got it in my head that the ferret room needed a remodel. My husband was out of town, so I didn't have to worry about how the mess I was about to make of our house would impact him. At least as long as the mess was gone by the time he returned.

Now I had been thinking about re-doing the floor, yet really hadn't given it much thought. Somehow in very short amount of time, my brain said not only did the floor need to be done, the baseboards needed to be replaced and a fresh coat of paint would be good. Really if I had more time I would have also replaced the trim around the doors, but you can only do so much in 2 1/2 days. My husband knew nothing of my last minute decision to make this happen, although we had talked about the flooring in the past.

I couldn't remodel the room with the ferrets in it, so I sent them to camp out in the basement. There is a whole play area complete with cage set up down there. It is what I used when I fostered, Piper, JD, Xander and Bandit last year after the flood. It is also our storm shelter for the wild summer storms that sometimes roll through the midwest. The ferrets didn't mind this so much, as it is always nice and cool in the basement as well as it was a great big adventure for them.

Once the ferrets were safely relocated to the basement, the work began. Moving everything out of the room, pulling the baseboards and trim around the doors. Painting, new flooring, new baseboards and re-installing the same trim back around the doors. Once all that was done, it was Sunday evening I was very tired and then had to put everything back in the room. Oh yeah and clean the mess, I don't think my husband would have been happy to come home and find the old trim still laying in the living room!

I waited one extra day to bring the ferrets 'back home' just to make sure that the room was aired out well after painting for their safety. All in all, it was hard work, I enjoyed the project, it was much easier than I thought to do some of these things...AND when my husband finally saw it he said it looked fantastic that I did a wonderful job. Ego boost!

I posted my progress all throughout the weekend on Facebook, and got many requests for pictures, so I am posting them here for all to see what the room looked like before, during and after the work.

Update on the June 1st vet appointment.

2009-06-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

Sheesh, can we ever have a just a routine appointment? I'm willing to bet our new vet, is wondering what she got herself into when she took on my fuzzy family.

Ben, we treated him with benadryl and then let him hang out in the carrier while Dr. G took a look a Bobo's lump. She took a sample with a needle and then had a peek under the microscope. Both of us felt it was probably a cyst. When she came back, she said it is not a cyst the cells were large and fuzzy looking. She stated that she had no idea what kind of tumor it was, and recommended removing it. Sigh...

She then took a quick look at Cracker Jack's incision site to see how nicely he is healing! We discussed briefly how he did have some hair growing back on his belly, yet his tail is still naked.

It was then time for Ben's distemper shot. He is such a good boy about getting his shots, doesn't even flinch. Then our wait began. After about 10 minutes he was doing good, and rowdy in his carrier. Dr. G moved on to see another patient while we hung out in the exam room. After about 10 more minutes, it started.

At first it was just a little cough, then progressed to much nastier things. I will spare everyone the gory details of the reaction itself. I notified the staff immediately and Ben was given epinephrine and a steroid to help combat the reaction.

Then my boy went limp, much like a wet noodle if you could imagine a 3.5 pound noodle. He lay in my arms with no will to wiggle or do anything. His heart rate, breathing and color were good though. He did also receive sub-Q fluids to make sure he stayed hydrated.

2 hours after our appointment we finally felt Ben was doing well enough to leave and we have put Ben on the list of ferrets to not vaccinate in the future. Dr. G feels it is just too hard on his little body to go through that.

Poor Bobo and Cracker Jack waited in their carrier so patiently, they probably wonder what they did to end up in the carrier for such a long time.

Vet day for Bobo and Ben

2009-06-01T06:00:00.001-07:00

Today Bobo and BenBen visit Dr G's office.

Ben is going in for his routine distemper vaccination. We'll pretreat him with benadryl since he has a history of reacting to his vaccinations and hopefully this will help him through the experience with ease and we don't have a repeat of what his sister Bobo went through.

Bobo is going along to have a bump looked at. We are not worried by what we see, just want to have it checked out. She has developed a pea sized bump on her right side in the area just in front of her back leg. This bump is under the skin, and does not appear to be irritated or cause her any discomfort.

Wish the kids well....

The Many Sleeps of Mojo

2009-05-31T16:26:00.000-07:00

Any ferret owner knows that ferret sometimes sleep in the strangest positions. It as if no position or spot is uncomfortable to them. Mojo is no exception to this ferret phenomenon.

While none of this week's poses seem all that uncomfortable we did want to share just a few of the sleeping spots and positions we found him in during a 24 hour period this past week.

In the first picture Mojo is sleeping half in and half out of the sleep box. Inside the box are soft blankies to nestle in to, and the box provides a dark retreat for sleepy ferrets during daylight hours.

In this second picture Mojo is a part of the ferret pile on the shelf beneath their cage. On a soft blanket wedged between a box of toys and a ferret sized couch.

In the 3rd and final picture of the day Mojo once again participates in a ferret pile. He is flopped on his back and twisted around as he lays on top of Cracker Jack and Ozzy. Doesn't he look happy?

Five days post surgery, 5.27.2009

2009-05-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

Things are going well for Cracker Jack! He is still holding a steady weight, and is more active each day. While he is not back to is normal bouncy ferret antics, one can tell he feels better. He has been a little stinker when it comes to eating his kibble. Cracker Jack has made it very clear that he would prefer to still receive regular meals of soup. Every now and then you'll catch him crunching on a kibble secretively, as if he thinks you won't notice. He is one smart cookie and understands, if I don't think he is eating I'll give him the soup that he covets.

Each night when I am home from work, I let Cracker Jack have some time in the ferret room. This way he gets some interaction with the others, it also allows him to have a bit more room to explore and move around.

Last night after several minutes I realized I didn't see him roaming around, so I went in search of the little guy. This is what I found, he was all snuggled up with some of his brothers. He is using Ozzy as a body pillow, while Moki and BenBen are close by. It made me feel good to know that even though he is not 100% he was still eager to be a part of the ferret pile.

Cracker Jack, I promise in just a few more days you can move back in to the ferret room!

5.25.2009 Update on Cracker Jack

2009-05-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

Our little buddy continues to do well, today he drank water on his own for the first time since his surgery. Yippee! He also got to spend some supervised time exploring the ferret room, no rough housing or climbing in to the cage. Cracker Jack weighed in at 980 grams yesterday, so he has even put on some weight. Although this may be due to doing nothing but eating and sleeping for the last several days.

Resting comfortably

His healing incision.

Day Two post surgery...

2009-05-23T19:39:00.001-07:00

Cracker Jack continues to do well, we can tell he is sore but who wouldn't be after what he's been through?

He is eating well, and uses the litter box regularly without issue. Actually for his comfort and safety we are using a potty pad in the play pen with him. Occasionally he thinks it is fun to rumple up the pad, typical ferret even when he isn't feeling good.

He has started handing out Cracker Jack kisses again which makes me happy, even if Daddy did get them first!

His belly looks pretty good, although some bruising can be seen. He has gained a little weight, since we brought him home yesterday.

Here is a picture of him, resting all stretched out on top of his bedding.

Surgery for Cracker Jack

2009-05-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

Cracker Jack had his surgery this morning. I dropped him off at the vets at 7 am. Dr. Garman called me at around 10:30 to say that he was resting post surgery. It was then that I found out there was bi-lateral involvement, both of his adrenal glands were enlarged. Sigh....

The left gland was removed completely and part of the right was removed as well. We plan on putting him on lupron to help with the situation.

I brought him home this evening. He has a recovery pen set up in our living room so he can rest peacefully away from the others. This also limits his mobility, while he heals.

I offered him food, and he willingly ate his soupie! We continue to offer supportive care and making sure he has soupie and water every two hours.

Tonight I will be sleeping in the living room on the couch next to Cracker Jack. At first my Husband didn't like this idea, until I asked him if he really wanted to hear an alarm go off every two hours. I will need an alarm to make sure I wake up and check on Cracker Jack regularly.

Bath Dance

2009-05-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

A week ago, while cleaning the ferret room it dawned on me the ferrets had not had their spring baths. It is not necessary to bathe ferrets often, in fact if you over bathe them it strips the oils from their fur which is not good. I bathe my ferrets twice a year, during the spring and fall sheds to help remove the loose hair.

For some reason I had not done this yet, so I decided no time like the present to get this done. I felt that it was the perfect day, not too cold plus Grammy would be ferret sitting the following day so we could call her and tell her they took their baths just for her!

I started with trimming their nails, I typically do this once every 1-2 weeks. They don't seem to mind this too much and it helps keep their nails from splitting and getting caught on things.

When the nail trimming was done, we did full body massages. For the ferrets I imagine the experience is similar to that which we humans experience, they feel pretty darned good. From my perspective it gives me the opportunity to feel for any lumps or bumps and check the over all condition of their coats and bodies.

Then it was treat time! I gave them all some vaseline. Yep you read that right, I said vaseline. They think it's a treat and gobble it down, what are really doing is lubing the tubing to help make sure hairballs don't get stuck where they shouldn't be.

Then one by one we visited the bathtub for a bath. Since I am the only human involved in the bathing process, I can not take pictures as I don't want my camera anywhere near a wet ferret in the bathroom!

We towel dry, and then set them loose! Mojo will demonstrate for you, how he finishes his drying process. Enjoy....

Cracker Jack - My Buddy

2009-05-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

Cracker Jack has long been called my Buddy Boo, he is such a happy little ferret and joy to have in the family. Cracker Jack joined the family in 2006, and he is just about 3.5 years old. He loves to dance and cuddle in his Mom's arms.

For a few months now I have suspected Cracker Jack of being adrenal. For those who may not have a lot of ferret knowledge this means I suspect he has Adrenal Gland Disease. He has started to show a few of the clinical signs, the most obvious being some patterned hairloss, inlcuding his tail, tummy, chest and shoulder blades.

We have consulted our vet, and even waited awhile just to make sure we weren't dealing with a seasonal shed. My buddy's hair just isn't growing back. His tail is practically bald these days.

March 2009

May 2009

Additionally he is showing some uncharacteristic agressive behavior with the others. After additional discussion with his veterinarian we have decided to move forward with an adrenalectomy (surgical removal of the affected adrenal gland).

Cracker Jack is scheduled for his surgery May 22, 2009. We ask that you keep him in your thoughts and wish for an uneventful surgery along with a speedy recovery.

Ricebox?

2009-05-02T20:26:00.001-07:00

Ever wonder why this blog is titled "Tales from the Ricebox"? If you are a ferret enthusiast, your answer is probably no. For those who are new to the world of ferrets or just curious....

It would be an understatement to say that ferrets like to dig and burrow. They will dig just about anything if given a chance. To enrich their lives and allow them to do something they naturally enjoy doing, many ferret owners provide dig boxes. A common filler is rice, ferrets will lose their minds digging in rice. Very entertaining for the humans too! It is important to note that it should be long grain rice, NOT instant rice for the ferrets safety.

I decided rice would be a good idea, as it was much easier to clean up after. I tried shredded paper once.....it wasn't such a good idea! Sure they fling the rice out of the box from time to time as they dig. My favorite is tunneling into the rice and then bursting out in a blast of happiness. The rice really flies then!

We've always kept our posts to be about the ferrets on the blog, so we wanted the title to relate to the ferrets somehow. The Ricebox seemed to suit us.

The photos feature BenBen playing in the rice, not really digging just playing.

Tornado Warning

2009-05-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had our first tornado warning of the season. My husband and I gathered the ferrets into their carriers and took them to the basement.

Mind you they could care less about the sirens going off, and were oblivious to the potential danger they were in. They were however very excited to be going somewhere.

Imagine their surprise when the arrived in the basement, and placed into a cage. They were not happy and were pretty rowdy for awhile. They did eventually settle down.

Here is a picture of them waiting on Mom to decide it was safe to take them back to the ferret room upstairs!

Photo's from the ferret room!

2009-04-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

A few recent photos of the family for your enjoyment...

Ozzy celebrating his 3rd birthday playing in the tubes!

Mojo, checking out the world upside down..thinkin' he's pretty darn cute!

Cracker Jack posing handsome for the camera!

Moki demonstrating how to REALLY relax!

Ben Ben "Tastes Like Chicken Poofer" sneaking up on someone....

Bobo, playing with her new favorite toy she got for Easter.

Luna says "This is the face you get when you take pictures of my while I'm sleeping"

No wonder they never have any toys to play with...who put them all under the cage?

State of the Ferrets

2009-04-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

Today was Spa day in the ferret room! Everyone had pedicures, their ears cleaned, their teeth brushed, we brushed coats to pull out loose hair from the spring shed. We also put everyone on the scales to see how much they weighed. Paying attention to weight fluctuations in ferrets helps a ferret parent know when something might be amiss.

For the curious of mind here is what the scales said:

BenBen 1360 grams

Ozzy 1350 grams

Mojo 1189 grams

Moki 1081 grams

CJ 989 grams

Bobo 796 grams

Luna 795 grams

Nothing out of whack there, it is important to note that Bobo officially has junk in her trunk. We are so happy she is back at weight. In March when she had GI issues she very quickly dropped down to a low of 622 grams. She has gained and maintained her weight. Yeah!

As for the overall state of affairs with the family, well it could be worse however we have somethings to keep our eye on.

Cracker Jack- has lost the hair on his tail with his seasonal shed and it has not grown back. We suspect Adrenal Disease in him and will give him a few more weeks to see if any hair grows back. We are waiting in part because there is nothing that puts him in immediate danger and I will be traveling for work the first week of May. Daddy and Grammy would not be pleased if I left them with a convalescing ferret to take care of.

Mojo- Appears to be happy and healthy. He has a full soft furry coat that makes him look much bigger than he really is. I suspect he will be shedding this soon. Mojo had his rabies vaccination and annual exam last week. The vet felt a lumpy mass in his abdomen, so we will need to investigate this. Mojo will have an ultrasound in the next few weeks, since he is otherwise healthy and does not act like he doesn't feel well we are going to wait until he goes back in for his distemper vaccination unless the situation changes.

Moki-What can I say about our kamikaze ferret? Crazy as can be and appears to be happy and healthy. He seems to be doing well with his IBD as longs as we provide him with some daily soupie to supplement his regular food. He is a happy boy, and we humans could learn a thing or two from him in his enjoyment of life!

Bobo- The Princess is doing quite well now, as mentioned earlier she went through a bought of GI issues at the beginning of March. The road back to health has been long, and filled with yucky medicines. We are now done with the medicines and she is back to her royal self again. She is in the middle of her shed, and looks so darn cute with her short coat.

Luna- She's doing well, and there is nothing of note to mention about her health wise. She is our little "pipster", and enjoys playing with her family daily. One of her favorite activities is climbing on Mommy, sometimes if she is fast enough she can even make it to the computer desk from Mom's shoulder.

BenBen- Poofer Dude, seems to be happy and healthy as well. He is typically the 'last man' standing in the ferret room and relies upon us to play with him long after the others have settled down for a nap. As with Luna there is nothing of concern with his health. We'll be scheduling him for his distemper vaccination soon. We do not look forward to this, as he has a history of reaction.

Ozzy- Just after Thanksgiving Ozzy experienced a urinary obstruction. Ultrasounds showed that his prostate and left adrenal were enlarged. He did have an adrenalectomy, poor fella. His internal sutures came undone and a week later he had a second surgery to replace those sutures. He has been doing well, we will need to look at a follow up ultra sound to ensure the prostrate shrank after the diseased adrenal gland was removed. The Oz Man has been a little sleepier these last couple of days, so we are keeping a close eye on him.

So there you have it, lots of things going on for this family of ferrets. I think I need a second job!

Our first visit to the new vet...

2009-02-15T16:32:00.001-08:00

Ben was the first one to have a need to see our new vet. He was due for his annual rabies vaccination so we made an appointment.

When it was our turn to be seen by the vet, she weighed him. What a chunker 2 lbs 15 oz! She looked at his teeth, eyes and ears all looked good. As the exam continued she listened to his heart and mentioned that he had a slight murmur. Since we are new to her, she asked if anyone had talked to me about this. I explained that Ben was a rescue and aside from an initial health check when I brought him home this was his first appointment.

She explained to me how cardiomyopathy is commen in ferrets, she rated his murmur a 1 on a scale of 1-6 with 1 being the least concerning. She asked about his activity levels, and if he ever did the flat ferret in the middle of playing. I giggled at this, because when Ben plays he is always the last man standing! Still something to keep an eye on.

She also mentioned that his spleen is prominent, but again this is common in ferrets. All in all he seemed healthy. So it was time for his vaccination. He was such a good boy, didn't even wiggle when he got his shot. We thanked the vet and went out in to the waiting room.

We decided to pay first even though we wouldn't be leaving yet. Ferrets can sometimes have reactions to their vaccinations, so it is always a good idea to stay at the vets for at least 30 minutes in the event that a reaction happens. This way you are on site and not needing to rush back for help. Since I wasn't expecting a reaction to a rabies shot we paid and took a seat.

Ben was chillin' in my lap watching the happenings of the vets office when he got very wiggly. So I put him in his carrier and then all heck broke loose. No sooner than I got him in the carrier, he began to vommit. I knew all to well that this was the beginnings of a reaction. I let the vet tech know what was going on and we were rushed back in to an exam room where we were met by the vet.

Ben was given an antihistamine and a steriod injection to counter the reaction, she checked his gums and heart rate all seemed okay. She had us just hang out in the exam room while the medicines took effect. She poked her head in from time to time to see how we were doing.

My poor baby, just layed there in my arms all limp. If I set him down he would move around a bit. His eyes were open, but just staring off in to space although he was breathing fine. As the reaction continued he experienced a bloody and very liquified bowel movement. I notified the vet of this turn of events, and she gave him an epinephrin injection. We waited and watched some more.

He eventually turned the corner, I knew he was feeling better when he started nesting in the carrier moving the blankets around to his liking. Before leaving Ben also received sub-q's to ensure that he was hydrated after his ordeal.

A day later my boy seems no worse for the wear and is acting as if nothing happened.

What a first impression he made on his new doctor!

Socks

2009-02-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

What exactly are they good for?

Ask any human and you will get answers that explain their intended purpose. Keep your feet warm! You might even hear they can be used as mittens or hand puppets.

Watch a ferret on the other hand and you will learn there are many uses for socks....

Napkins. After your evening soupy just find a sock and wipe your face on it. Ta-da clean dry face!
Toy totes, stuff your favorite toy inside and drag it all around with you.
A pile of clean socks make the best dance floor ever. You can dance to your hearts content on a soft fluffly pile of socks! Way better than any ole' laundry pile.
A means of escape from the ferret room! If you grab on to the end of a socked foot just as it is beginning to step over the gate you can hitch a ride to the other side.
Ramp covers, they make a nice soft covering for cage ramps to protect ferret toes.
A means of communication. When your human is busy tweeting, thus ignoring you. Just start to pull their sock down, guaranteed to get their attention!

This my friends is just a start to the many uses for socks....

The Mystery of Hair

2009-02-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder why hair grows the way it does? Until recently I hadn't given much thought to it. A few weeks back Ozzy had surgery to remove his left adrenal gland. I feel it important to share that prior to the surgery he had no pattern hairloss that is sometimes common with adrenal disease in ferrets.

For the surgery as expected the Vet shaved Ozzy's tummy. Hair is now starting to grow back, but not as I expected. Big O has random clumps of hair growing very well and then areas where no regrowth has taken place at all. Huh?

I regularly check to see how his tummy looks, and well it just looks weird with how the hair is growing back. I have tried to take a picture in order to show the world just how funny this looks.

I will say, wiggly white ferrets and tummy pictures showing hair regrowth is not a good combination. I've yet to get a picture that has enough detail to be seen. So for now you will have to use your imagination!

A message from Moki

2008-11-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

Hey peepulz, dis be De Moki Monster!

I am de Spokesfewwet of Iowa Ferrets, self nominated but nobody stopped me!

I wanted to talk to yous about litter flinging, see hoomans got it all wrong. I don't fling litters to make a mess, like my Mommie says. Sure it's lots of fun, but really I jus showing Mommie how much I love her and me brudders and seesters.
I is strategically placing da litters so that eberyone can find the potty pan. You know like a trail of bread crumbs. Sometimes I get a few outta place and dats where my luv for Mommie comes in, when she needs to clean up da few that gets away she knows she is needed by us.

So now dat you all understand the importance of litter flinging would someone pleeze tell Mommie not to clean all the litters up...only da ones dat are outta place!

De Moki Monster

The Power of $3!

2008-11-11T06:52:00.000-08:00

The cold months of winter are approaching and I don't like it one bit! One of the things I do to help with heating costs is keep my thermostat set lower and wear layers around the house. Last year I bought a flannel mens robe for $3 on clearance at Target after the holidays.

While it may not be very stylish, it is like a walk around blanket to wrap around you as you hang out at home. That $3 was the best $3 I have spent in a long time! Who would have thought there would be so much family fun and function in a mere $3?

Last night I got the robe out for the first time this season. I wrapped up in the robe and entered the ferret room. I was an INSTANT ferret magnet, within seconds I had five ferrets sharing my robe with me. Chasing each other around through the robe, tunneling in the sleeves and overall having a good time.

After awhile the novelty wore off and I was left with 3 ferrets sleeping inside the robe with me.

This ferrety fun repeats itself everytime I have the robe on and enter the ferret room.

Prairie Doggin'

2008-03-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ozzy is a very curious fellow. Often when he is out and about in the ferret room he tries to see over the gate out into the rest of the house. He does this by sitting about 2 feet from the gate, and then standing on his hind legs as if this extra height is going to help him see the world.

He will also do his prairie dog imitation when I'm standing in the ferret room and he wants to see what I am doing. Of course he knows when I see him doing the prairie dog, I'll stop everything and pick him up. He's just so darn cute when he does it! It has taken me awhile to get a decent picture of him doing this. If I'm outside the ferret room and he's looking over the gate, he'll sit back down as soon as he can see me. If I'm in the room with him he sits when I move to get a better angle for the photo. Without out further ado...Ozzy doing the Prairie Dog!

Ferrets in the dark....

2008-02-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Saturday so the ferrets were out and about all day long as my Husband and I were home. It was getting close to bedtime, time to tuck the Six Pack into their FN cage for the night. I was in another room when our power went out. Yikes! The lights didn't come back on, and I was resigned to trying to find all 6 of the ferrets in the dark! Add to that the fact that I still needed to scoop the litter pans for the night.

Thankfully most of the ferrets had already tucked themselves into hammies in the cage. With the help of a flashlight I found that 5 of them were safely in the cage already. Moki on the other hand, the one we call Moki Monster for a reason was ready to play. He seemed to like the pitch black in the room, he was out and about. I might also add very helpful in scooping poopies in the dark.

With a little bit of effort we got everything taken care of and the kids safely in their cage. An hour later the lights came back on. Power outages, things you never think about until it happens when living with ferrets.

The Magic Food Bowl

2008-02-23T15:58:00.001-08:00

Anyone else have one of these around there house? I'm not sure what makes it so special, but it most certainly must be magical. It attracts ferrets like no other food dish in the house, well except maybe the soupie dishes.

It is a small bowl that sits out in the ferret room in addition to the two regular crocks that the ferrets have available to them in their cage which they have access to at all times. The magic food bowl is the only one to go empty, and it usually happens within minutes of it being filled. There is nothing special about the food it contains, same stuff as in the other bowls.

When I let the ferrets out each morning, I also replace the food and water in their FN cage. Why then do I have ferrets hovering around the magic food bowl giving me a look that says "Mommy if you don't fill my food bowl soon I'm gonna starve!"?

Variety is the Spice

2007-06-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

Or so they say! I want to offer a variety of foods to the ferrets, this will help keep their diet balanced and hopefully them used to trying new things.

Our next step was to try some egg, I got a little wild too and threw in a very small bit of ground beef. Both were added to the standard chunky chicken soup. It went over very well with all 6 of them. It's moments like this that help keep me motivated to continue with the switch.

In the photo you see Mojo on the right, Cracker Jack in the upper right corner and that is Ozzy sneaking in from the left. Of all the things I've tried so far this has been one of their favorites.

Determination

2007-06-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

Before heading down this path to transition my ferrets to a more natural diet, I had been warned that I should be prepared for it to take time. I'm feeling good about our progress thus far as I really don't have high expectations for a quick transition. Ferrets can be stubborn!

Really it has more to do with olfactory imprinting. At a very young age ferrets determine what is food based on the smell of the food items offered to them. The 6 Pack have been kibble fed up until now, with my youngest being about 14 months old I am certain that the only things they recognize as food are items that smell like kibble.

Every time I start to get a little down about our progress they surprise me and try something new. Sometimes it is one of the not so daring kiddos finally deciding to give something a try. Thus far I think the best motivation for me is Cracker Jack, he gets this look each night when I come in to the ferret room. I can only describe this look as an expression in which he is saying "Where's my meat Mommy?" I'll have to try to get a picture of his look, so you can truly understand what he is saying.

Gizzards?!

2007-06-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

What kind of word is that? I can tell you it is one that strikes me funny, it looks funny and sounds funny to me.

While at the grocery store I found I could by a package of chicken hearts and gizzards so I decided to give it a try. Cost was less than $2.00, I was sure I would end up throwing it all away but I would never know if the ferrets like it or not if I didn't try.

I warmed a few up by soaking them in hot water for a few minutes and then finely chopped them up by hand. I had no idea what I was actually serving, if it was hearts or gizzards or maybe both. I guess I've lead a sheltered life and I don't know how to tell which is which. Any way I chopped them up and served them mixed into the nightly soup.

The addition to the soup didn't stop them from eating their soup, but they sure did pick around those hearts and or gizzards.

Natural Feeding week 1

2007-06-20T18:49:00.000-07:00

So I got all excited about the thought of switching my ferrets to a more natural diet that I soooo went there and tried to serve them some pinkie mice. Nothing doing, and I'm not really surprised. I'm not even sure what possessed me or how I even found the courage to do this.

At the same time I did serve up some chunks of raw chicken and one small chicken leg, bone and all. Nobody seems interested in chewing up the bites of chicken, Cracker Jack thought they were fun to run off with and hide. I dutifully followed along behind him, cleaning up his stash. It was a sight to watch him run off with the chicken leg with a look of excitement. He looked so proud of his new possession, but he didn't try to eat any of it.

I decided that we would maintain through my work week, having a chunky soup dinner in the evening with kibble available 24 X 7 as it always has been. We'd do the experimentation with new things or ways for me to serve it on the weekends. We'll see where that leads......

Always learning...

2007-06-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

One thing I have learned in my time with ferrets, is that I myself am always learning. What works for one ferret will not work for other ferrets. Additionally what works today may not work tomorrow as the ferrets learn themselves.

We started with a plexiglass gate, standard 2' x 3' that we just velcroed to the door frame. This successfully kept up to 6 different ferrets in the ferret room for over a year. Then one day Moki realized if he pogo'd long enough he had enough momentum to grab on to the top and pull himself over.

I figured I'd fix him, and just raise the height by purchasing a larger piece of plexiglass. Now we were at 2' 4" X 3' and this worked successfully for another year.

Then one day Ozzy realized that if he pogo'd long enough he could reach the top and pull himself over. This left me in a quandry if I raised the height again I would not be able to climb over it. So our cleaver idea was to put some tubing at the top edge, so the little 'devils' couldn't get a grip to pull themselves over.

Not pretty but functional all the same. This lasted all of about a month, and then Ozzy realized that he could leverage himself just right on the actual door to the room that he was able to push the plexiglass away from the velcro at the bottom and squeeze through. Aarrghh!

Now we are trying this, they can't push it out based on how it is positioned, it is too wide for little ferret paws to grab on to the top edge if they jump up. It's working for now!!

Anyone betting on how long it takes for one of them to figure a way out?

Natural Feeding, where do I start?

2007-06-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

I've done lots of reading, there are many sites out there. I have found several threads on various ferret forums where this topic is discussed.

One of my favorite articles on the subject was the Bob Church series on the FML from 2003. It was actually this article that convinced me to try switching the 6 Pack over. I gathered from this article that chicken necks might be a good place to start.

After work one night I went in search of chicken necks and found out that these are not something I can just pick up at the grocery store. Silly me! I did find turkey necks, but opted for some chicken legs instead.

Now I wasn't completely comfortable with the thought of raw chicken so I boiled the legs for a few minutes something that was mentioned in the Bob Church series. I still pulled the meat off the bones and instead of making the soup the ferrets are used to I just made it chunkier instead.

The results were really mixed, everyone checked it out and sort of nibbled at what I served. It looks like Cracker Jack and Moki were definitely enjoying the meal.

Not bad for a first attempt I guess.

The 6 Pack ponders Natural Feeding

2007-06-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well if the truth be told, it's me pondering how to convince them it's good for them. After much reading, I have convinced myself that there are health benefits to my ferrets in feeding a more natural diet.

What does that mean? RMB (raw meaty bones) or whole prey? At this time I really don't know. I do not know that I will completely abandon kibble. I do know that I would like to greatly reduce kibble consumption in our household. For now it's a matter of how do I convince them that this is a good idea.

The 6 Pack regularly gets duck soup as a treat, to keep them interested in it should I ever need it to care for a sick ferret. They love their duck soup, but it is very liquefied. I have always made what we call 'Chicken Smoothies' by boiling chicken thighs. I pull the chicken off the bone when done. Using the chicken stock, a small amount of soaked kibble, some Nupro and the chicken everything is whirled in the blender until liquefied.

I know they are used to the smell and 'taste' of cooked chicken. Can I get them used to eating chicken in a form other than liquefied? Will they eat it raw and with bones? I do not know the answer to this question but I am going to try, see what happens and post our journey here.

Moki turns two! May 22nd, 2007

2007-06-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

Moki San our Kamikaze Ferret Ruler of the Universe has turned two! His birthday was a couple weeks back and of course we celebrated in style.

As usual the celebration started out with traditional soupy.

Totally not related to the party, but I wanted you to see the 6 Pack knows how to use "napkins" after soupy. This is Moki demonstrating at the bash...

See Mom...all clean!

Moki & Bobo investigating the box that appeared in the room while everyone was distracted by soup.

Moki checking out the new tube toy.

Tube Jam!! We've had lots of these lately and lots of tail wags too!

As with any good party you should be tired when it's over...

Looking back at life with Moki...
Baby pictures:

Growing up and changing colors:

Long time No blogging

2007-06-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

We're not doing so good on updating the world on our antics, but we are alive and doing well.

We've been going outside to play now that spring is here and the weather is nicer, it won't be long before the weather is too hot for us to be outside.

We are also in the beginning stages of trying out a diet more natural for ferrets. This includes eating raw meat for better health. Ferrets are after all carnivores. There are signs that this transition will be successful, but the ferrets aren't gung ho over their new food choices yet either.

Poo Mystery

2007-02-22T20:18:00.000-08:00

If you have ever spent any amount of time around a ferret owner, you know the subject of ferret poop will come up. Get a bunch of ferret owners together and look out! We seem to be obsessed with poo, we scoop it, we look for it in all corners, and we inspect it to ensure our fuzzies health.

This week we had a poop mystery and I had to use my keen detective skills to try and solve it.

I was holding Ozzy one morning, when I noticed he had a streak of poo on the outside of one of his hind legs. Odd very odd, I cleaned him up and went about my way. It didn't take long to realize that Ozzy had transferred some of his poo to my shirt while I had been holding him. Uggh!!!

Later that day I was greeting Bobo as she woke up from a nap. I picked her up, and lo and behold another streak of poo. This time it was on Bobo's neck. We cleaned her up and I set about my detective work.

It had to be somewhere in there room, cleverly hidden so that I couldn't see it. Out came the step stool so I could get up to the 3rd level of the cage. No blanket or toy was left in the cage, everything was carefully inspected...no poo. I did this level by level until I was satisfied the mystery poo was not in the cage.

Could it be under the cage? That was a pain, does anybody realize just exactly how many toys Ozzy has dragged under there? I do, I pulled them out one by one and inspected each closely...no poo.

We have a one level cat condo, that the ferrets use to climb in and out of their cage. Just maybe it was in the hidey hole portion of the condo....peek inside....no poo. Hmmmm the plot thickens.

Oh goodness, it has to be in their tunnels. That'll be a pain to get to and clean. After peering in each section of tunnel, I was satisfied...no poo.

We have a blankie box, that is just for curling up somewhere warm....out came each blankie for careful inspection...no poo.

Please understand the ferrets have their own room here, so there are no cabinets or drawers that they can get into. This is probably a good thing, for the situation.

Then I decided it had to be on one of the ferrets. Maybe just maybe someone stepped on poo in the litter pan and somehow transferred it onto the others.

One by one each fuzzy got a full body inspection including between their toes....no poo.

At this point I am completely stumped, where could the poo be hiding?

To this day, I still can't say for sure where the poo came from or where the rest of it went but I have my suspicions.

Does this look like a litter box to you?

It does to a ferret! In reality it's a cat bed that I thought they'd like sleeping in. Now I never found any poo in there, I did find a nice wet spot so it is possible.

Just to ensure the other Ferrents out there aren't concerned about the fuzzies, the poo found on Bobo and Ozzy was definitely some kind of transfer and not due to any yucky butt.

Snow Bunnies..err....ferrets!

2007-01-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

Today we received our second measurable snowfall of the season. While I'm not sure exactly how much snow we received, it was beyond ferret deep anyway. The kiddos had never met snow face to face before and we wanted to see what would happen.

One by one we put their harnesses on and ventured out to the backyard. Most of them thought it was okay, Little Luna didn't like it one bit and was scrambling for dry ground and then there was Ozzy. The Blizzard of Oz took to the snow like a long lost friend.

We captured a few pictures of him out playing in the freshly fallen snow.

See what I mean, beyond ferret deep?

Cruising along....

Rollin around....

Gone Poofy...

With the exception of Luna, all had fun and I think we'll try it again sometime.

Happy First Birthday Cracker Jack

2007-01-15T17:29:00.000-08:00

Our loveable Cracker Jack has turned one! We celebrated with Duck Soup, lots of hugs and playtime in the ferret room tonight.

Without further ado, lets introduce the birthday boy, guest of honor!

Is this toy for me?

Yeah, Mom I'll come out for a new toy!

Cracker Jack and Ozzy taking advantage of the fact the other party guests hadn't found the soup tray yet. DIG IN BROTHER!!

Clean up crew, after most of the party guests have moved on the play games.
Featuring Bobo, notice the feet on the plate and Moki.

Of course what is a ferret birthday party without a game of steal the toy and hide it?

Ozzy stealing Cracker Jacks new toy. They toy was then carefully tucked under the cage for safe keeping.

Mojo Turns Two

2007-01-09T18:53:00.000-08:00

We celebrated our Mojo Man's second birthday this evening. There was singing and dancing, followed by a great feast, lots of hugs and some new toys. All I'm left with at this point is a pile of sleeping ferrets!

Here is the Birthday Boy now, anticipating the good things to come his way!

We will use just about any reason to have some soupies in our house, so it was definately the main course at the bash! All the party guests, are bellied up and enjoying the treat.

There were a couple of jingle balls given as gifts, they are Mojo's favorite toy. I have no pictures of Mojo's prized new possessions, because they were stashed before the others could try to take them.

Mommy is just as tired as the sleeping pile behind her, so we'll leave you with some pictures of Mojo over the last 2 years.

Happy Birthday Dancin' Mojo!

Puji at the Bridge

2006-12-29T20:39:00.000-08:00

This is our beloved Puji who waits for us at the bridge. She is Bobo's sister, and her time with us was all too short.

Puji had been a member of the family for just 51 weeks when we learned that she had lymphoma and it had progressed to the point where she was struggling to breathe. She had always been very active until those last few days. We called her our Grippy Girl due to the amazingly strong grip she had with her front paws.

She will be forever missed, but never forgotten. 02/07/2006

Ozzy

2006-12-29T20:32:00.000-08:00

Introducing Ozzy, otherwise know as The Oz Man. We have chosen to celebrate his birthday on April 2nd and he is currently almost 9 months old.

Ozzy is the closest I have to a rescue ferret, he has only been in his forever home for 1 month. Prior to that he had only known pet store life. I have been told that Ozzy was purchased and returned a couple of times before I found him. Every time he was returned the reason was "because he is mean". When I first held him at the store he cuddled into my arms and gave me kisses, how could he be mean?

We brought him home, and learned that he had ear mites and was a biter. It didn't take long to realize the biting was due to the misery of the ear mites, within a week his biting behavior was all but gone. Now he is a good boy, he is the only one of my crew that acts as if he understands his name and responds when he's called.

Cracker Jack

2006-12-29T20:26:00.000-08:00

Meet Cracker Jack, another lovey dovey boy. He celebrates his birthday on January 15th and is currently 11 months old.

Sometimes called Cracker for short, one of the rowdies in the house. He loves to bounce around and leap at Mommy's legs to get her to play. Even with all of his energy he does occasionally slow down for some lovin'. He likes to be "baby dolled" or craddled in his Mommy's arms after a good exhausting round of play.

Luna

2006-12-29T20:21:00.000-08:00

Meet Luna, the petite one. She celebrates her birthday each year on September 11th, and is currently 1 year old.

She may be small, but she epitomizes the phrase "Dynomite comes in small packages". She is my rough and tumble girl who enjoys wrestling with the boys. She is pretty vocal, but her dooks sound more like pips to me. As a result she has earned the nickname Pippy.

Luna makes time for cuddles, and is sure to let you know when the time has come for that special one on one time.

Moki

2006-12-29T17:52:00.000-08:00

Moki, sometimes called Moki Monster is our wild child. His birthday is celebrated on May 22nd and he is currently 1 year old.

Moki is our deaf boy, and certainly one ferret who lives life to the fullest! He has earned the nickname Moki Monster due to the fact he is a lot like the Energizer Bunny and enjoys flinging litter from his potty pan. He is also very athletic and if there is a way to climb or jump to new territories he will find it.

Mojo

2006-12-29T17:47:00.000-08:00

Introducing Mojo our kissy boy. He celebrates his birthday on January 15th and is currently 1 year old.

Mojo was just a tiny thing when we first brought him home, I didn't think he was ever going to grow. He weighed in at just .8 lbs for the first month, once he finally started to grow he did so like a weed.

Mojo enjoys wrestling with his brothers, and snuggling with Mom & Dad. When you've had a rough day Mojo always has kisses to give out and make things better.

Bobo

2006-12-29T17:35:00.000-08:00

Meet Bobo, she is the eldest of the bunch. We celebrate her birthday on November 21st and she is currently 2 years old.

She is the dainty one, and we often call her Princess Petunia. Bobo does things on her terms and is the calmest of them all. (Seems silly to refer to a ferret as calm.) She is dainty at play, her war dance is very controlled, just some cute little hops.

My Story

2006-12-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

I'll start with sharing how it is that I am now owned by so many ferrets then we'll introduce the fuzzies in my life.

As long as I can remember I have had animals in my life, and have loved all animals. When I was in high school I first learned about ferret through a co-worker that owned a couple. Talking with her peaked my interest in ferrets, but this was back before ferrets had reached the popularity levels that we see today. Still I researched, and did what learning I could.

I asked, more like begged my Parents to be allowed to have a ferret. The answer was no, as painful as it seemed at the time I'm glad they said no back then. I continued to read and learn as well as occasionally beg for a ferret. After high school, I went off to college still obsessed with having ferrets someday. By now ferrets were becoming a little more mainstream and it was not unheard of to see them in local pet stores. I spent many hours just looking at the ferrets in the various stores in the area. I loved to hold them, but felt bad asking the employees to let me hold them knowing I wouldn't be bringing one home.

Then one day I met this guy and fell in love. It was pretty early in our relationship that I expressed to him I WOULD have ferrets someday. After much conversation we agreed that when the time was right we would get two little girls. It was somewhere in this time frame that I bought the book Ferrets For Dummies. I read it front to back, and was completely scared off and was certain I'd never get a ferret. It seems so intimidating all the work that went into properly caring for such a small animal.

We were together for almost 7 years before we got around to getting married, and it took us one more year after that to buy our first house. Prior to our house we lived in places that wouldn't even come close to being ferret proof no matter how hard we tried. After having our house for almost a year, my heart was yearning for the ferrets again. I re-read Ferrets for Dummies and felt I could take on a couple of these darling animals. I approached the subject with my husband, reminded him of our agreement years ago and asked for my ferrets. That was in February of 2004.

It was not long before we brought Puji and Bobo home and got them all settled in. We started with two so there was a companion available while we were at work. We started off with a room dedicated to them, and have always had a cage for while we are gone. We fell head over heals in love with these two little fluff balls. It was then that I started spending more time online being active in the ferret communities and I had learned about ferret math.

Then I got the idea in my head that I needed a 3rd ferret, I read over and over that 3 might just be the perfect number. If something were to happen to one of them, with 3 nobody was left alone. I explained this theory to my husband, who reluctantly stating he wanted a masked ferret this time. I found a wee little boy available, standard sable and brought Mojo home. I had my perfect number 3, in March 2004.

I spent hours each day in the ferret room interacting with my kiddos. I was completely happy, then it dawned on my the ferret typically played in twos. Everyone played with everyone, but at any one given time someone was left out since they wrestled in pairs. This would never do, an odd number would never do. I shared my finding with my husband, ferret math struck us once again and in July 2004 Moki joined the family.

That was supposed to be it, a happy family of 4 ferrets and their humans. By November, I was feeling the signs of ferret math coming on again. My Husband made the mistake of telling me there was a brown ferret under the leaf pile in the backyard. Not that there was really a ferret there, it was his way to getting me to help him with the yard work. Well once the leaves were cleared, I held him to the brown ferret statement. Little Luna came home around Thanksgiving of 2004.

My Husband drew the line at 5, flat out said no more and threatened divorce if I tried. I know he loves me. In February of 2006 Puji became ill, her health declined in a matter of days. I eventually made the decision to help her over the bridge because she was struggling to breathe. We had been told she had juvenile lymphoma, which is aggressive by the time we had caught it there wasn't much that could be done. We were given the option of chemo, but I felt that she was struggling to breathe now and chemo would not have an immediate impact on that coupled with the low success rate. I didn't want my baby to suffer, it was the hardest thing I have ever done but I know it was the right thing.

By now 4 ferrets seemed like an odd number to care for it wasn't long before I was asking my Husband for the cute little chocolate boy I had seen. On March 17th 2006 Cracker Jack joined the family and life was good. We still missed Puji but life seemed slightly better with Cracker Jack around. Again my Husband was saying NO MORE, 5 is enough!

He is convinced that I would bring home every ferret I saw if I thought I could get away with it. He is probably right if I was independently wealthy and could afford to take care of all of them. I heard time and time again every time I mentioned a cute ferret or one needing a new forever home that "5 was enough". To which I would agree and then say but 6 is perfect! Just about the time I resigned myself to only have 5 kiddos in the home I learned of a large albino who'd been at the pet store for 6 months. Now I knew he'd been there for awhile, but had never really paid attention to how long so one day I asked. I was mortified to learn it had been so long, that was no kind of life for a ferret.

I told my Husband about the needy albino boy, shared how he had been bought and returned a couple of times. The store employees said others said he was mean. I shared how he would snuggle up in my arms and give my ferrety kisses. He needed us! Again I heard no, but it only took a few weeks for my Husband to realize how serious I was about giving this poor fella a loving forever home. Reluctantly he said okay. In December 2006 we brought Ozzy home!

It's long, but that is my story I have chronic case of ferret math. Realistically, I know 6 is my limit. I want to ensure that I have the ability to properly take care of everyone, for our current situation I am able to do that comfortably.

New Years Resolution

2006-12-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

I'm Stephanie and my life is run by six ferrets, I love every minute of the time I get to spend with them. I was recently inspired by an accquaintence to get back to blogging. You see Tales From the Ricebox was originally set up in September of 2005 and started with a few enteries to introduce the players.

The whole intent was for the ferrets and myself to share our adventures with the world, we never did much with it. This is what brings me around to my resolution, I'm going to use this spot more frequently to tell the world about the wonderful world of ferrets.

I fully believe in giving credit where credit is due, thank you RVM (Loving Ferrets) for getting me thinking about The Ricebox again!

We are starting fresh, I figrured what better time? New Year, New Blogspot, New Content!

Stay tuned..we'll have introductions very soon.