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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2011 23:56:33 GMT -5
Timmy is acting a little weird. I knew he was the stash king but I feel like I made a mistake. Timmy is bad about not being able to make it to the litter box when he wakes up and so I added another litter box to the top level of the FN so Timmy had another potty to make it to. Well He has claimed the box as his. then after moving the couch to sweep under it and straighten the cover I pulled his toys out he stashed and put thenm in their cage with them. He grabbed is fave toy and ran into "his" box and cuddled with it to chew on it. Now any of the other ferrets that cone into "his" box get a good scruffing and hissed at to the point they are crying. Now all the girls are hissing at him. They are def mad at him. Is it normal for a male to be so possessive or is this something I need to be worried about?
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Post by taratee on Feb 27, 2011 0:22:29 GMT -5
I read an article about ferrets and possessiveness, Ferrets develop attachments to things they like and are able to have at regular intervals, for instance crane has his ball. when other ferrets mess with his ball he gets pi**y and he has a few places he thinks it should be, when its not where he put it he gets a little panicked he is okay to play with the ball when he wants to play with it but if someone else goes to grab it and he thinks it should just be sitting there ohhh does he get pi**ed. their possessive nature must come from the same place that their need to hoard comes from. lulu will kick my butt over yarn balls, so i dont know if its a gender thing or not it doesnt seem like it just reassure him its a toilet not a bed and eventually he will either lose interest because its a toilet, stay interested because its a toilet. maybe the newness will wear off. just watch for blood and poo
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2011 8:15:14 GMT -5
I have tried putting poo in the box (should have done that from the beginning) and filled the rest of the corners with stuff. (food dish in one corner litter box in another, hole to bottom level in another and water bottle in last corner) and shoved his lovie in the sleep sack then shoved him in the sleep sack. He pushed around in there for a min and pushed the lovie out then he curled up in the sack with his head sticking out so he could cuddle/chew on it. I think that may get him to think "hey those other corners are for other stuff not stashing my lovie. This is a much better place for it." So far it's looking like it's working. Seems like once the poo was in the box it lost it's appeal. He sniffed at it and was like "WTH is this!? Now it's not good for cuddling." Hopefully it works. But I think it's mostly the lovie he's obsessed with and doesn't want any of the others to touch and thought the box was a good place to keep it "safe". I think that's why he was being a jerk about it. Here he is with his prize.   |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2011 11:06:35 GMT -5
Yes, this is normal - even for boys. Some ferrets get wildly attached to certain objects. In your boy's case, watch that toy for damage. I think it was SherryLynne who posted something a bout a dog ingesting stuffing from a plush child's toy. The stuffing had been treated with a fire retardant , which killed the dog.
Honestly, I would un-stitch an opening on the toy and replace the stuffing with something like untreated polyfill, which is not an attractive thing to eat. This way you know that the toy has not been contaminate and is not a big risk for obstruction if your boy chews a hole in it.
-jennifer
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2011 11:46:13 GMT -5
Seems normal to me  I agree with Jennifer, remove the stuffing. It could cause a blockage if he ingested, or worse.  |
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Post by Sherry on Feb 27, 2011 12:52:27 GMT -5
What happens is the filling turns to a gel in the stomach/intestines, and kills them off. A few dogs who'd ingested this died from it, there was nothing the vet's could do. During surgeries for suspected blockages, this stuff was found all through the digestive system, and most of the intestines were already necrotic. They still aren't certain if it was the fire retardant in the filling, or the chemicals used to make it unfriendly to mites, etc. Regardless- it is deadly www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/stuffedtoys.aspAlso, a friend on another forum worked in a vet's office, when this was found during a dog's surgery as well |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2011 12:54:20 GMT -5
Wow, that is horrible. I never knew they put that in the stuffing. You think the manufactures would be a little smarter   What a terrible way to go |
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Post by Sherry on Feb 27, 2011 15:14:50 GMT -5
How many kids eat the stuffing from the toys? For what it's intended for, it's safe enough.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2011 18:11:14 GMT -5
Dang I didn't know that! Thankfully it's still a fairly new toy and no one has chewed through to the stuffing yet. I'll go ahead when Timmy isn't looking and take the stuffing out. I have left over fabric scraps I saved just for stuffing toys or pillows with. They are scraps too small to make anything out of it but too big for ferret to swallow. I'm glad you guys told me this! Thank you!
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Post by taratee on Feb 27, 2011 18:45:36 GMT -5
BAHAHA i love that picture hes in the sleepign sack and keeping his eye on the toy that right there should explain to you how much he likes it  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2011 7:36:08 GMT -5
How many kids eat the stuffing from the toys? For what it's intended for, it's safe enough. My eldest sister was a weird kid; she ate all the fur off of her strange-looking hard-faced teddy bear doll thing. |
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Post by lozmoz on Feb 28, 2011 9:16:33 GMT -5
Ahhhh!!! that second picture is SOOO cute!! I almost can't stand it hehehe :-)
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