Post by FerretNewbie on Jul 6, 2018 15:03:00 GMT -5
Hi everyone! Sorry for the radio silence, I've been really busy.
Small update for those who want: I've been carrying her around in a sling a lot and she seems to have settled in. She's pretty active so most of the time she's out of the sling and trying to trip me, haha. She's very mom (me) obsessed because she still cries when I'm out of her sight but that's ok, I know she's young. She has met both our dogs, under supervision of course, and it went ok for the first time. She screamed so loud that both dogs are scared of her, but they're not aggressive towards her so that's good. I'll never put them in the same room together when I'm not around though. Our dogs are mostly outside dogs in the day and come inside in the evening, which is when wewatch television while my baby is in her sling.
She had been scratching her ears a lot and whined and bit me, so I went to a different vet for another check up, a second opinion if you will. Good that I did! Apparently my kit is almost deaf because of a massive ear infection that she probably had since birth. I was already wondering if she might be deaf because she doesn't respond to me when I call her, but comes running when I show my hand. The vet said that she can hear a little but only if its loud. He vet also said that deaf ferrets tend to be more smell orientated and use their mouth more, biting etc. I have to watch out for her more because she won't hear me coming, meaning more risk of stepping on her tail. I did that already of course.
I have some questions about deaf ferrets, maybe someone who has one as well could help?
I have trouble to stimulate her while playing. She doesn't really seem to like her toys. Maybe she needs some that squeak loud enough? I don't wanna scare her though. The only thing she likes is when we play with an old sock, probably because it has my smell? It's a clean sock btw.
How do I wake her up gently without scaring her? I normally tap my fingers near her bed to make her feel the vibrations, but then she startled.
How do I praise good behaviour if she can't her my voice? Should I give a treat each time? I have this organic ferret paste but she doesn't even like the smell of it.
Other than that, I'm really happy with her and we seem to have a good relationship. She sleeps on me almost every night and has never had a toilet accident so far. I'm thinking of making her a free roam ferret (meaning that my entire bedroom will be her 'cage'. It's ferret proof anyway and I'm sure she would be thrilled because she still keeps crying when I put her back in her cage. ...and doesn't give up for 45 minutes. It's just too sad.
Thanks for all the suggestions btw! I did put a clock in her bed but since she's almost deaf , that's probably why it didn't work.
By the way, I'm sure many ferret lovers here will be mad at the kind of breeder I got my baby from. So am I, because she's deaf because of them. She could just as well have died. But the good news is that I called the local animal rescue here and told them about the breeder and gave the adres.I don't know if or when they'll go but I feel better knowing I did something. I also went back to adopt the other kits but there were only two left, the others died without cause said the breeder. The two kits got a home with a family member who hates animal cruelty, they'll have a happy home. I'll post a picture when they've settled in (family member lives pretty far away). Also adopted an underweight baby Savannah monitor (I know a home for him) and all of the birds he had, about 15 canaries and another species I don't know the English word for). There were still many badly cared for animals, but most of them were exotic animals I can't care for so I hope the animal rescue helps the rest.
So sorry for the long post but that sh#t gets to me.
Small update for those who want: I've been carrying her around in a sling a lot and she seems to have settled in. She's pretty active so most of the time she's out of the sling and trying to trip me, haha. She's very mom (me) obsessed because she still cries when I'm out of her sight but that's ok, I know she's young. She has met both our dogs, under supervision of course, and it went ok for the first time. She screamed so loud that both dogs are scared of her, but they're not aggressive towards her so that's good. I'll never put them in the same room together when I'm not around though. Our dogs are mostly outside dogs in the day and come inside in the evening, which is when wewatch television while my baby is in her sling.
She had been scratching her ears a lot and whined and bit me, so I went to a different vet for another check up, a second opinion if you will. Good that I did! Apparently my kit is almost deaf because of a massive ear infection that she probably had since birth. I was already wondering if she might be deaf because she doesn't respond to me when I call her, but comes running when I show my hand. The vet said that she can hear a little but only if its loud. He vet also said that deaf ferrets tend to be more smell orientated and use their mouth more, biting etc. I have to watch out for her more because she won't hear me coming, meaning more risk of stepping on her tail. I did that already of course.
I have some questions about deaf ferrets, maybe someone who has one as well could help?
I have trouble to stimulate her while playing. She doesn't really seem to like her toys. Maybe she needs some that squeak loud enough? I don't wanna scare her though. The only thing she likes is when we play with an old sock, probably because it has my smell? It's a clean sock btw.
How do I wake her up gently without scaring her? I normally tap my fingers near her bed to make her feel the vibrations, but then she startled.
How do I praise good behaviour if she can't her my voice? Should I give a treat each time? I have this organic ferret paste but she doesn't even like the smell of it.
Other than that, I'm really happy with her and we seem to have a good relationship. She sleeps on me almost every night and has never had a toilet accident so far. I'm thinking of making her a free roam ferret (meaning that my entire bedroom will be her 'cage'. It's ferret proof anyway and I'm sure she would be thrilled because she still keeps crying when I put her back in her cage. ...and doesn't give up for 45 minutes. It's just too sad.
Thanks for all the suggestions btw! I did put a clock in her bed but since she's almost deaf , that's probably why it didn't work.
By the way, I'm sure many ferret lovers here will be mad at the kind of breeder I got my baby from. So am I, because she's deaf because of them. She could just as well have died. But the good news is that I called the local animal rescue here and told them about the breeder and gave the adres.I don't know if or when they'll go but I feel better knowing I did something. I also went back to adopt the other kits but there were only two left, the others died without cause said the breeder. The two kits got a home with a family member who hates animal cruelty, they'll have a happy home. I'll post a picture when they've settled in (family member lives pretty far away). Also adopted an underweight baby Savannah monitor (I know a home for him) and all of the birds he had, about 15 canaries and another species I don't know the English word for). There were still many badly cared for animals, but most of them were exotic animals I can't care for so I hope the animal rescue helps the rest.
So sorry for the long post but that sh#t gets to me.