Marshmallow God Productions

Tuesday I took in five ferrets. Five. Surrendered all at once. The good news, they are the most well adjusted, healthy ferrets I have ended up with as a rescue. They are all around 2 years old, playful spunky little brats and I love them already. 

This is Quentin.


Fred and George (they are almost identical, and trouble makers. The names suit.)



Amelia


Dare. One day she will actually look at the camera. Everyone needs to see her nose freckles.

Remember Jack? The ferret found in a dumpster? I am pleased to say he is doing brilliantly. He has turned into a charming, playful little bugger. The only problem we are having so far is that Oliver seems to see him as a threat to the ranking order, being another large and sturdy male, and every now and then tries to put a very confused Jack in his place. The fact Jack has gotten back on his feet enough to be perceived a threat by our ranking male actually pleases me, even as I sigh and pull them apart. But conflicts are not the norm. There is a lot of play and dooking and general ferrety carrying on. Ferrets are generally in rotten shape when I get them- the best part is when they start to get healthy and adjusted enough to be ferrets. Like Jack. Who tried to hoard my pointer finger last night. Seriously.

What was that? You definitely wanted pictures of ferrets playing outside? I sure am glad I can oblige!




A whole pile of pictures of ferrets playing in leaves can be found here. Warning- may cause smiles.

It started out as a normal evening- a good one, even. djkc picked up our shiny new bikes (!) and some shamrock shakes (crack...) and made our way home to let the ferrets out for their evening romp.

Celia, the most hyper of ferret kits, was less than hyper, which set of some alarms.


( Cut for ferret health TMI )

Yesterday, djkc and I manned the trenches for the Life Long Tails adoption event. We hauled Alicia, Sigyn, and Selena along with us as adoption events are one of the few times we get to do a lot of ferret education. It is always grand to let people meet and handle the kids- I love that moment where people realize ferrets are not stinky, foul tempered creatures. Ferret harness in hand, we unleashed the weasels! Sigyn learned that linoleum floors are hard to scurry on, but that pet stores are fulled with fascinating things to sniff and explore. Alicia hauled djkc all over the store, excited to be out and exploring. Such a wonderful, energetic change from the ferret surrendered to us at the November adoption event that could hardly walk.

Last night, Alicia went home with libwitch and gravmyr. I will miss my little grizzly bear in a ferret body, but it is so good to know she has a permanent home! And, honestly, she will visit whenever libwitch needs a ferret-sitter.

There is something absolutely glorious about listening to rescue ferrets play in the morning. Being a creature of deeply ingrained habit, I was checking my email first thing in the morning, and became mightily distracted due to the sounds coming from the ferret cage. Sigyn, Alicia, and Celia were up in the hanging nest duking (a low sort of purring chitter, the ferret happy noise) to each other and rolling about in play. 

Alicia, who was more or less on deaths door when she was surrendered to the rescue and had NO idea how to be a ferret (she came with a...hamster ball...). Sigyn who has only been here a few weeks. And Celia, who has become our all-purpose mothering ferret since she joined the household in November, even though she is just about a year old. I love seeing everyone acting like healthy, adjusted ferrets.

Sigyn eventually fell out of the hanging nest, but she is still at the awkward baby stage so it was expected. She has now chased Selena, the ferret she was surrendered with (another very young female), out of the octopus toy and they are having a grand tussle around the bottom of the cage.

Adoption event next month. On one hand, it will be great to introduce the kids to potential adopters, and it is ALWAYS fun to run into the 'but I thought they were smelly and mean' comment and merrily burst that bubble. On the other hand...can't I just hide Sigyn in the octopus and pretend she was here all along?

Its a funny way of deciding, but I can now say that little Alicia is 100% in the green, health-wise. I made the decision to open the divider between the two segments of the ferret cage to allow travel, and Alicia has (loudly) defended her turf against Molly, who decided sleeping in the Pirate Ship was not worth the trouble and returned to the top floor, and Oliver, who seemed more amused than concerned by the wee thing biting him.

Alex went to bite Alicia, and changed his mind as soon as she opened her mouth in his general direction. Little girl has some steel to her.

Celia is wandering about and, apart from one aborted attempt at curling up to sleep with Alex, seems pleased with the new arrangement.

Live with ferrets- never a dull moment.

 Life goes on, right?

Finishing my last paper for grad school (the most dry, unappealing thing I have ever written. Ever.) and working at acclimating the new Life Long Tails Rescue member to her foster home. Meet Susan (her name was Sphinx, but I vetoed that. For some reason all my ferrets need to have rather generic use names that are only amusing to people who have read the same books as I. Susan is named Susan as she is generally disapproving of everything and I do love reading Pratchett).

   

She is five years old, terrified of even Oliver, smells vaguely of cigarette smoke, and has been living on Meow Mix. I think I have another project. As if Sid wasn't enough of an adventure in teaching a ferret how to be a ferret...

She is a sweetie though.