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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2012 21:27:09 GMT -5
I was hoping this day wouldn't come so soon, but I am afraid my hob Finn might be starting to feel his hormones... Today when I let the ferrets out to play, he kept following my female Fiona around, licking her head and neck. Then he started to follow her around dooking constantly... Uh oh... Next thing I know, he grabs her scruff and just drags her off! He just took off with her and drug her under the bed! Meanwhile he is dooking like crazy, and she is also making annoyed dooking noises... He kept this up for a few minutes, Fiona would run away and Finn would chase her down and drag her under the bed! Poor girlie... After a few minutes he stopped and calmed down again and went back to his normal relaxed self, and stopped harassing her. He hasn't hurt her so far, but how much of this should I allow before I start making them have separate playtimes? Would you suggest trying sudocreme on her neck to discourage him from harassing her? I have to admit it was kind of funny, he normally never scruff-drags other ferrets, but she's so little and he's so big, and if he wants to carry her off, it is very easy for him to do, poor girlie! EDIT: For the purpose of helping further document my journey, here are links to other relevant threads about Finn and the process of getting him:
Getting more information about the breeder: holisticferret60.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=breederboard&action=display&thread=2223&page=1
Finn's arrival by airplane and first few days with me: holisticferret60.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fuzz&action=display&thread=2863I have also added a chart of Finn's growth, showing his weight at different ages since I got him! The chart stops when he reaches his maximum weight, after that he slimmed down for spring:
docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgcblfyKht2MdDR2SWZqenctblpiWWVjdDIxcFN3LUE#gid=0
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Post by Heather on Feb 7, 2012 21:37:30 GMT -5
You can try the sudocreme to start but because it's his first season he may get to be a bit of a handful later on and he may not leave her alone. I know that Odin drove poor Lady"B" crazy. He didn't care if she beat the crap out of him, he'd just follow her around dooking (singing his hob song) For the most part he would not drag her off (I would step in if he got rough with her, he could hurt her). The one you will definitely have to watch is your wee boy....and Finn's best friend. During this time of year hobs sometimes don't recognise "friends" ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2012 21:45:58 GMT -5
I think i jinxed you! Sorry! Is he being aggressive to you?
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Post by Sherry on Feb 7, 2012 22:05:07 GMT -5
Generally when a hob is in rut stivs, they aren't aggressive to their humans, just other ferrets.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2012 2:53:13 GMT -5
Sarah is also doing that same follow, dook etc type behaviour to my girl Mika. I thought it was just something she decided to start doing recently. I don't see a swollen vulva though so I guess the des is doing its job.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2012 4:14:03 GMT -5
What exactly, is sudocreme? I get that it's some sort of repellent. But is it hormone-based, bad tasting or what?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2012 6:52:59 GMT -5
it's a nappy rash cream basically for humans. Tastes horrible and pretty harmless if they eat it. Small children have been known to eat a whole pot with no effects.
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Post by nancyl on Feb 8, 2012 10:01:49 GMT -5
FWIW Finn may just be doing the obnoxious adolescent thing a little late. Rut will come but it may not be here yet.
Sherry, the hybrids tend to go through what Joan calls the "Me Heap Big Sh*t" stage. They'll bow up and try intimidate the human. This leads to a few discussions of "Just who the h*** do you think you are, young man?" Onyx and I have been having this talk for the last couple of months. So far he is not trying to mount his Sissy. And if he did she'd make him regret it. She makes him regret his life on a regular basis. This morning she had him by the skin of his forehead doing the alligator roll while he squalled his lungs out.
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Post by Sherry on Feb 8, 2012 11:39:43 GMT -5
In other words Nancy- the teenage years most go through, but to the nth degree ;D
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2012 11:59:36 GMT -5
Yeah I guess what Finn is doing is pretty tame! It's funny though, Fiona gets really riled up when he scruff drags her, and she will run around like a lunatic attacking everything! The funniest part is, when Finn clobbers or scruff drags her, the FIRST thing she does is run up and bite ME! It's like, what did I do??? This morning I couldn't stop laughing, all 3 ferts are running around like lunatics, and every time Finn pounces on Fiona and drags her, she bolts straight to me and attacks me, biting my feet or hands! ;D Crazy girl!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2012 13:30:12 GMT -5
boojum, in the States sudocreme is called Desitin
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2012 14:09:14 GMT -5
boojum, in the States sudocreme is called Desitin Sorry but I have to say sudocreme is not the same as desitin! Maybe for putting on baby's bum they are the same but for ferrets, no way! The ingredients are different, for one thing desitin has cod liver oil in it, which ferrets love... I have used both, and in my experience ferrets dislike the taste of sudocreme but think desitin is yummy lol... Finn especially thought desitin was quite a treat lol...
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Post by Sherry on Feb 8, 2012 15:04:24 GMT -5
I had no idea!!! Definitely not a good discouragement then ;D
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2012 16:16:44 GMT -5
Yeah it's funny, thinking Sudocreme and Desitin are the same thing seems to be a common misconception. They both contain zinc oxide as the primary active ingredient, but other than that, the other ingredients are different, and the companies who make them are different. One small correction though is that not ALL varieties of Desitin contain cod liver oil. For example, Desitin Maximum Strength contains: Zinc Oxide, BHA , Cod Liver Oil , Fragrance , Lanolin , Methylparaben , Petrolatum , Talc , Water Desitin Hypoallergenic contains: Zinc Oxide, BHA, Cod Liver Oil, Fragrance, Lanolin, Methylparaben, Petrolatum, Talc, Water However, Desitin's "Fresh Scent" variety contains: Zinc Oxide, Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone, Fragrance, Methylparaben, Microcrystalline Wax, Mineral Oil, Propylparaben, Purified Water, Sodium Borate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, White Petrolatum, White Wax So, at least one variety of Desitin doesn't have cod liver oil, but others do. So buyer beware! Sudocreme, on the other hand, appears to only come in one variety, with the following ingredients: Zinc Oxide, EP, Benzyl alcohol, BP, Benzyl benzoate, BP, Benzyl cinnamate, Lanolin, Purified Water, Sodium Benzoate, Paraffin wax, Microcrystalline wax, Heavy Liquid Paraffin, Synthetic Beeswax, Sorbitan sesquioleate, Propylene glycol, Antioxidant (formulation consisting of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), citric acid and propylene glycol), Linalyl acetate, Lavender So as you can see, there are any number of ingredients in Sudocreme that could possibly cause ferrets to dislike the taste, and nothing delicious (as far as I can tell). My own research of testimonials and reviews also seems to indicate that Sudocreme may be the superior product for actually treating diaper rash, and it's even lauded by some as an effective treatment for many other skin conditions
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2012 23:44:56 GMT -5
Well guys, I think Finn is in tough guy mode! Today when I got home and let them out to play, he was scruff-dragging both Fenton and Fiona around. He also latched onto Fenton's scruff and pinned him down and mounted him, and wouldn't let him get up. I applied sudocreme to both of their scruffs to discourage him, and so far it sees to be working. Finn also feels really muscular, and he felt noticeably heavier tonight when I got him out of cage, and when I weighed him, sure enough he has put on weight since yesterday! He is gaining weight every day I think I am going to try taking him for walks around the front yard and see if that helps calm him, I'll let y'all know how it goes...
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