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Post by FerretNewbie on Jun 26, 2018 16:59:24 GMT -5
I finally got my little ferret kit after 4 months searching for a breederin a somewhat acceptable distance from my home. I thought it was a good one but turns out its not. Six kits in a bare metal cage, no toys or beds or even water. I wanted to get them all but sadly don't have that kind of money. Anyway, my 7 week old kit (so young!)chose me by being the only one to reactto my hands. She crawled into my sleeve and I lost my heart to her. I've only had her for 4 days now and she's everything and more than what I expected her to be, but... She is extremely vocal but only negative sounds like very loud whining whenever she is in her cage or alone. Even if she's only in three for 5 seconds, she whines and screams so loud that my neighbours asked me what that was. I know she's too young to be away from her real family so I can understand but she can't stand to be alone. If I'm too far away (like 5 feet..)she will start to cry and scream like she's being murdered. I know I shouldn't encourage this behaviour by hugging her but I feel like she needs it. I can't put her to bed (in her big fluffy cage) at night because she goes ballistic then too, even though she sleeps in my bedroom too. She constantly wants to sit in my hand are lie on my chest, which is adorable, but inconvenient when I need to do house work. What do I do? Is this still normal? Why does she whine so much? Is there anything I should or could do to make her feel better? She seems to be happy though, playing like crazy and she can roam free whenever I'm home. I only work part time so she has many hours of fun, at least 6. And she can time-out if she feels like it because her cage door is always open. She is extremely smart too, notkidding. So, help? Any advice or tips? P.S. she's not deaf or blind and has been checked by the vet
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Post by mhuerter on Jun 26, 2018 17:27:15 GMT -5
I am so glad she chose you! I don't have much experience with young kits so I'm sure someone else can provide much more useful information than I can but I wanted to reply in the meantime. My baby did this too, but only for the first day and then only cried for a few minutes each time he was put back in the cage. I'm really going out on a limb here, but I know a clock will work for a puppy because I've done it. It apparently mimics the heart beat of mom. I wonder if it would work for your baby? It has to be a clock with a notable tick of the second hand, wrapped in a slightly warmed blanket. It may be worth a try until someone else here with much more experience can provide some better advice. Just make sure your little one can't chew on it and ingest any small pieces. She sounds very happy, just has some separation anxiety! Good luck!
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Post by Blue on Jun 26, 2018 17:34:05 GMT -5
Aww, poor little girl. She is way too young to be away from her mother. I wonder if she might not even be younger than 7 weeks old, since this "breeder" is so bad. It's not a question of encouraging at this age, she really needs the closeness and security. She should grow out of it once she gets older and feel safe. Maybe you could put her in a sling right now while you're up and about?
Does the crying sound like this? This is the sound of a very young ferret. They do that when they're looking for their mom. You have to fill that role for now. I'm really glad you rescued her and are willing to give her the attention she needs.
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Post by FerretNewbie on Jun 27, 2018 4:31:16 GMT -5
I am so glad she chose you! I don't have much experience with young kits so I'm sure someone else can provide much more useful information than I can but I wanted to reply in the meantime. My baby did this too, but only for the first day and then only cried for a few minutes each time he was put back in the cage. I'm really going out on a limb here, but I know a clock will work for a puppy because I've done it. It apparently mimics the heart beat of mom. I wonder if it would work for your baby? It has to be a clock with a notable tick of the second hand, wrapped in a slightly warmed blanket. It may be worth a try until someone else here with much more experience can provide some better advice. Just make sure your little one can't chew on it and ingest any small pieces. She sounds very happy, just has some separation anxiety! Good luck! Thank you for the tip, I'm definitely gonna try that at night when she can't be with me. I also have the radio on when I'm gone so she maybe feels less alone.
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Post by FerretNewbie on Jun 27, 2018 4:43:01 GMT -5
Thanks for your reply. Yes, this is exactly the sound she makes all the time, but it can be much louder. She also looks like that size. If she could be younger, how old do you think she might be and would she still need a bottle then? Because she excessively licks my face, nose and neck and then tries to bite, almost like she's looking for something. She has been eating softened ferret kibble though so I'm not sure if she still needs milk. And since she's so young, do I put her in time out if she does that biting behaviour or would she not understand? I've also tried carrying her around with me in my sweater but she won't sit still so that's not really useful either. I'm just worried because I'm a first time ferret parent (I had/have a lot of other animals though) and I want her to be happy.
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Post by FerretNewbie on Jun 27, 2018 4:48:49 GMT -5
I hope I'm doing this right,this is my girl
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Jun 27, 2018 7:14:58 GMT -5
Hi and hope you have joined the forum and congrats on new little one. Bless her heart. I know a lot of holding, comfie blankets, and food coming her way. There are several people on forum like Sherry, Heather, Crazylady, and Poseidon that have experience or knowledge of raising tiny kits. Maybe they can help you. Yes, she is too young for time out right now. Some people do use time out later. No more than 3 minutes in a carrier. Some people find ways to curb the behavior by other ways. I have one who was a serious biter at 1 yr old. I got her from craigslist. 'could not even move blankets or change the potty in her cage. I had to remove her from the cage first. It was like movement just got her juices going. I used this to teach her to eat frozen mice by tying a mouse on a cat toy with string as she really liked chasing it. I did waste a few mice . She has mellowed out at 4 now, but I would not let a child get her excited in play because she is a little mouthie or should I say toothie when excited. What I have done to my bitey ferrets is redirect their attn or walk away. My playful 3 year old will come and bite my toe while I am at computer. I reach down and play with her for awhile. She has a lot of energy and I figure she wants to play.
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Post by Blue on Jun 27, 2018 9:10:12 GMT -5
Aww, what an adorable little girl! Yeah, 7 weeks looks about right. It's just that baby kits eat a lot, so unethical breeders tend to want to get rid of them as soon as possible. Your baby girl doesn't need milk. Kits much younger than her already eat meat. You could probably just give her a chopped up chicken wing (raw) and she'd know what to do with it. Baby kits can eat up to their weight in meat every day! I really recommend a raw diet, at this age she'll take to it immediately and have all the nutrients she needs to grow as healthily as possible. For the biting, she just hasn't learned yet. I think if you do a very gentle "ignore" for just a few seconds, it should work. Later on you can use the "sin bin" (put her in time out for 2-3 min), but at that age, it would be cruel. Another thing you can do is redirect her attention. So if she's biting you, give her a stuffy to play with so that she's biting the stuffy, not you. You can play tug of war with her. Kits should really be with their mom until they're about 12 weeks old; mom teaches them a lot of things like socialization, biting, potty training. You're taking over all this. It sounds like you're doing a great job! And we'd always love more pics
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Post by Sherry on Jun 27, 2018 9:10:23 GMT -5
Oh she is SO tiny. And far too young to be away from mom and sibs I hate bybs like this. Keep her by you as much as you can. Actually get a carrier you can wear for her to be in if possible. She need the reassurance for the next few weeks.
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Post by Blue on Jun 27, 2018 9:21:40 GMT -5
(bybs = backyard breeders - just putting that there in case you didn't know, because even I was puzzled for a sec!)
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Post by FerretNewbie on Jun 27, 2018 10:03:57 GMT -5
Thank you for all the replies! I'm glad that I seem to be doing okay with her, except the food. I'm gonna switch to a raw diet right away. I hate bad breeders like that too but I only saw it when I went there to pick a kit up. It was so dirty there and no water is just unbelievable. The breeder told me that she wasn't potty trained or socialized, which in the e-mail he said she was! Surprisingly, I only put her in one of her toilets once and knew exactly what to do. And she's a social little fur ball, loves other people from my family and just loves the attention. With our dogs it will take some time but I'm confident And yes, I'm carrying her around a lot or let her explore. Going to work is hard though..I thought she would sleep during that time but I don't think she does. She usually sleeps long on my chest when I'm back home. Oh, little question! She hasn't done the weasel war dance yet and hasn't dooked or made happy noises, although I know she enjoys play time. Is that normal or could she really not be happy?
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Post by FerretNewbie on Jun 27, 2018 10:07:46 GMT -5
When we came back from the vet.
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Post by Blue on Jun 27, 2018 15:34:44 GMT -5
OMG she is so adorable and so tiny! She looks like a very young 7 weeks... could even be late 6 I would think. Take lots of pictures because she will grow up very fast! I'm really glad that you're planning on feeding her a raw diet, she will be so much healthier and happier like that. My ferret was never excited about kibble, but she comes running for her raw meat! Be careful with the dogs. Dogs and ferrets can get along just fine, but accidents can happen so fast, even between the best of friends. All it takes is a quick snap in surprise or playfulness, or a terrier whose prey instinct has been triggered. People have lost ferrets that way, even when the animals were best of friends. She sounds lovely I'd imagine she's still settling in and getting used to her new environment. It's been a big change for her, and it's only been a couple of days. I'm sure she'll be war-dancing in no time. As for dooking, not all ferrets dook. The only time I've heard Maisie dook is when I've stepped on her (that sounds awful: it was just the tip of toes and the tip of her tail, and only 3 times in 4 years!). I was very thankful for the warning. Who knows what sounds your little one will make, if any
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Post by Heather on Jun 28, 2018 23:57:05 GMT -5
Poor wee mite. You might consider carrying her around in a sling to keep her near you. She will probably do not much more than eat, sleep and poop. How can people be so cruel to remove a kit so young from their momma and sibs. In a week or two she will become more independent. Unfortunately, for you, all her instruction (litter box, bite control, manners) are going to have to be taught by you. These are things that are normally taught by mom. BYBs often dump kits as soon as their eyes open as that's when they start tucking into the food. There is no consideration as to the kits mental and physical well being. Most kits are not even weaned at this age. ciao
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Post by crazylady on Jun 29, 2018 13:04:32 GMT -5
oh my she is so cute heather is correct she will need physical comfort from you you can also stick a couple of soft toys( no rubber ) in with her too she will snuggle into them especially if there is a clock hidden under a blanket ticking one good thing that will come out of this biting can be easily controlled at this age you simply need to set her boundaries of what is and is not allowed ( if she goes to nip bend your finger and place the knuckle in her mouth pushing backwards gently at this age she will try and spit it out and soon learn fingers are not to bite on ) you are going to have to take over everything mom would teach her if you see her going potty anywhere not in the box then quickly place her in the box and keep repeating until she catches on you will need to feed three or four meals during the day and if you are feeding soup try adding in some kitten replace powder this will cover vits minerals and some calcium its going to be a long road but its a good bonding road for you both she will give you her trust and you can give her yours keep us updated please Bev
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