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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2016 22:22:59 GMT -5
Jack has suddenly taken it into his head to become a power cord chewer. So far he has ruined two charger cables, tried noming on the cord to our only table lamp and tried chewing through my laptop charger cord.
He hasn't exhibited ANY interest in power cords until very recently...Yesterday and today. In fact, we thought it our new kit that was chewing...But this afternoon he got caught red handed with my computer cord hanging out of his jaws!
He is mostly a free range ferret, and he has plenty of toys, and both the SO and I play with him several hours throughout the day. He has two other ferret friends to play with. I'm not sure what is driving him to chew through the cords. Is he bored? Is he going through some kind of phase?
What can I do to make this behavior stop?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2016 22:34:28 GMT -5
Stopping the behaviour is tricky. Some times ferrets do this because they are bored so if thats the case, distraction may be the key. Some ferrets simply like to chew. There are a few members on here that have chewers. @julesalot has a chewer. There are a few ways you can protect your cords. Taping them down may help. Sometimes if the ferret does not see the interesting thing such as a cord, they may not necessarily be tempted to chew it. However some ferrets may figure it out and try chewing through that. You can try using some cardboard rolls and slide the cords through them, or using the same concept, use split loom tubing. lifehacker.com/use-cheap-split-loom-tubing-to-protect-power-cords-fro-584196962There are some protectors you can buy as well. Keep in mind that ferrets who are very determined, will try to chew through anything you use to protect the cords. The best thing you can do is try to minimise the contact between interesting thing and ferret. If you can, leave them out of reach to ferrets. Keep the cords on benches, tie them up and keep them off the floors, tape them to the walls with an appropriate tape, etc. I hope that helps.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2016 0:01:54 GMT -5
Right now I'm crocheting yarn over most the cords that I can't get taped up or wrapped away. It's stupid how many electronics we have in this (one bedroom!) apartment! So frustrating! I let him out of confinement for a bit (Our furry menace managed to get into Simon's desk from the bottom and drag something Styrofoam out and chew it into unrecognizable pieces, so he's been in confinement until I've determined he hasn't swallowed any and given himself a blockage.) he didn't seem to any any interest in the yarn covered cords, but went straight to the printer cord I had taped on the wall, just out of reach.
I honestly don't know what has gotten into Jack. He's NEVER gone for something like this before and he's never been so single-mindedly destructive.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2016 19:12:05 GMT -5
Now that all the cords have been proofed, Jack has gone directly for the power outlets. I found him chewing on the power socket behind the bed this afternoon while getting ready for work. This has gone immediately from annoying to potentially deadly. I asked the SO to go out and buy outlet covers while I'm at work tonight, but I'm not so sure that he'll remember to actually put them into the outlets. What else can I do? Why is he suddenly going for electricity?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2016 0:01:11 GMT -5
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Post by katt on Apr 23, 2016 0:02:14 GMT -5
Use this: www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EK8029C/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1You may want to get a thicker one if you have any cords thicker than a cable cord. My boy Koda is a VERY determined chewer (he has a bit of a reputation lol). When I first put these on he chewed the cords a little more bc it made noise, but he couldn't get to the cord inside and eventually realized he wasn't getting anywhere and gave up.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 9:21:43 GMT -5
The SO just got some plain child proof covers, just like you'd get in the infant section of a big box store. Sort of like the second link you posted! Plus he picked up (and remembered to install!) The cheapie two cent plug in protectors so there's no way he can get a mouth or tooth or tongue into a socket even if he could get the cover off. Funny thing is as soon as those went up Jack stopped being interested in electronics. now he doesn't even look at any cords. Well, whatever. Weirdo ferrets! At least now my apartment is FULLY proofed now. Baby locks on the cupboards, protectors on the sockets, padded corners. Locks on the fridge and oven. Cords taped or covered. I honestly feel like I have three infants instead of ferrets!
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Post by Sherry on Apr 24, 2016 9:24:50 GMT -5
:heehee: :heehee: :goodjob: I often said I don't need kids- I have ferrets!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 13:19:01 GMT -5
life long toddlers lol
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