Saturday report-29 dec 07

So, it’s that time again. THE SATURDAY REPORT by Nigel


Today we decided to give Randy her fill-up of fuzzies, she had been looking a bit peaky lately so we figured she must be down a few hugs and kisses. You all know what I mean, Randy’s form of ferret abuse, she calls it rent, but tell me, how many times do you see Randy with a ferret up to her face with the little fuzzy’s desperately trying to push her away with his or her front paws. We brought along an alumni of ferrets from the shelter, Higgins & Burke, Fabian (Stumpy) and Dew. Sorry Deb, he’s still as cute as ever.

Out first, came Gloria and Laura, or Laura and Gloria if you prefer. And after an appropriate pause, Burkie was deposited in the middle. Gloria was ecstatic, a great big male to sniff and frolic with, Laura also soon caught on and we had a threesome. No dirty thoughts here, just three ferrets. So, guess what, we dumped Dew into the mix. No problems, all were having fun together, in went Fabian, and finally Higgins. We were concerned about Higgins, he used to be Juggernaut, and for a reason. He is very rambunctious, just big and fuller of energy than most. Well apart from a bit of a drag across the floor of Laura until she was taught him his lesson. All went well for the rest of the hour. These two girls should be tried with other ferrets in the shelter, under strict supervision, because they seem able to mix with others quite well. They did the same mixing with Ali’s two boys a couple of weeks ago.

We did see one funny thing during this gathering. Our boys all needed their nails cut so we decided to do it while at the shelter. When we were finished, we gave each a bit of tone on the belly and let them lick it off. We also gave some to the girls so they would not be left out. Well it so happened that Burke was placed next to Gloria while they both licked themselves clean, weeellllll.,……………. Gloria finished first and decided to help Burke and started to lick his belly. I haven’t seen Burke move so fast with such an indignant look on his face when she licked his privates.


Then our boys went to bed and out came Hercules and Sophie in one room and Tommy and Bailey in the other room. I had T & B in the main room. I also filled a box with some leaves from the bag in the back room. Bailey went absolutely nuts when dumped in the leaves and then had leaves poured all over him. Tommy was excited too but not as nuts as Bailey. On Bonnie’s side, Hercules and Sophie were introduced to first Burke and then Dew. Hercules did not like Burke being there but took some time to get nasty. He tried to intimidate him, but Burke can’t be intimidated, he just ignores aggressive ferrets and goes about his business, this must have frustrated Herc, cause he then tried to teach Burke a lesson, and although he wasn’t getting very far we pulled Burke out and put in Dew instead. Sophie got to Dew first and tried to take a chunk out of him. Looks like Sophie and Herc are great together but not with others at the moment. Neither was very impressed with playing very much in the leaves. They were both active until about an hour had passed and then Hercules went down for a snooze. Sophie was still active when she was put away, with a large dose of goop on her belly.

Tommy prefers the paper box to the leaves.


Lastly we had Juniper and Gizmo out, one to each room. Giz is like a puppy, and wants 100% attention. He actually nipped me to get my attention when it faltered. He now has an impressive coat of fur and needs to get adopted. He will make some one a wonderful personal friend. He is so gentle, and yet loves to play one on one. At some point, it would be interesting to try and introduce him to another ferret. Perhaps we could try him with Laura and Gloria.


While Juniper was out she had Burke for company, and to those that thought she would not mix, they got along fine. She did try to show him who’s boss, but when he stood up to her she backed off and then tried periodically to provoke a reaction from him. He would then ignore her. All in all, they tolerated each other and even interacted quite well. They survived an hour together without any conflict. She is another that should be mixed in with another ferret. Maybe Gizmo.


And that ends Saturday, we have four exhausted boys all curled up and fast asleep. Bonnie and I may not be far behind.


Nigel and Bonnie.