|
|
Post by angelfish on May 2, 2011 11:36:20 GMT -5
So I bought a brand new cat bed for the cage about a month ago. Well, now it's got a lovely hole in a corner because my youngest has decided it's the best chew toy ever. I really don't know what to do about her. It can't be because she's bored because I was playing with her yesterday when she ran away from me, climbed the 4 levels of her cage and proceeded to chew on that exact spot. It's not like she wasn't getting attention AT THAT VERY MOMENT.  I know some people have said she'll grow out of it. And considering she was 3 months when we got her from CL, and those people had her for a month, I'm sure she was removed from her mother too early, probably contributing to her chewing, but just how much bedding is she going to go through before she cuts it out? |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 2, 2011 11:45:48 GMT -5
I'd remove all bedding she chews with some less tasty fabrics like jeans. Try giving them back in a couple months.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 2, 2011 12:12:13 GMT -5
One of the first things that I'd be worried about is, what gives the bed its structure? Is it foam? If it is, then the bed has to be removed immediately because if the little one ingests foam, even a small amount, that can lead to a blockage.
That said, it takes time & patience, and some never outgrow that proclivity.
|
|
|
|
Post by angelfish on May 2, 2011 12:30:14 GMT -5
It looks like it's made from a green poly-fill. She made small teeth marks in the cloth but I took it away before she actually got through to the poly fill. I guess I'll have to see if I can find some jean material at the craft store to make some bedding with.  |
|
|
|
Post by Heather on May 2, 2011 13:27:36 GMT -5
Some bedding filler, toy stuffings and such are a mixture of fibers and poly fillings. Many of those "plastics" have an additive of melanine. It makes the material soft and squishy and irrisitably tasty to little fuzzes (and cats too). Some ferrets for whatever reason eat bedding. I've had a couple, I have one presently...Yuri. I have to watch him like a hawk. Something isn't quite right and they look at it as a supplement. Was it because they were weaned to young  i don't know...if that was the case wouldn't all of them be that way It's a mental issue is the easiest way to view it and it means that you will have to keep on top of it probably for the life of the ferret. I found that Mayhem would go through stages, he wouldn't eat the sheets for weeks, sometimes months and then I would take out a sheet and there would only be the seams....the rest would be gone. A great big hole in the middle of the sheet. The would be the administration of pumpkin and lax and away we would go again  . ciao |
|
|
|
Post by shilohismygirl on May 2, 2011 14:41:01 GMT -5
Oz used to eat everything. Jeans? Um, according to Oz, that should have been the main course. The only thing he didn't chew very often were the hammies, though he sucked on ears a lot. I think he was def. separated from his mommy too early. He grew out of it later, except occasionally when I'll catch him in the corner trying to chew. But yeah, you'll always need to check no matter how old he grows because they do seem to go through stages.
|
|
|
|
Post by angelfish on May 2, 2011 17:22:41 GMT -5
I've noticed she doesn't do it all the time. Sometimes it will be several weeks or so before I catch her chewing on something. The cage was in our bedroom and I could hear the squeaking of her teeth against the fabric as she was chewing. (I'm a very light sleeper, in fact, the dog's rumbling stomach has been known to wake me up).
I know she's not hungry because I woke up in the middle of the night to find her eating the chunks of meat that were in her cage (yes, her chewing woke me up).
*sigh* I guess there is no solution except to be extremely vigilant with her.
Oddly, she doesn't chew on rubber, only on things that are thick and give her mouth resistance. My other two like to bite rubber. *shrug*
|
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on May 2, 2011 20:15:05 GMT -5
It almost sounds like she enjoys the stimulation of the chewing, if she's only going after certain things. Is she eating things like chicken wings and gizzards yet?
|
|
|
|
Post by angelfish on May 2, 2011 20:24:48 GMT -5
Oh yes. She likes to carry around her "jerkified" wings and stash them all over the room. She gets wing tips, meat chunks, and heart but she'll ignore those in favor of non-edible items.
|
|
