Hershey, Tsuki & Mojo
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  05 April 2008 Mojo and Bingo went to the vets today to have their distemper vaccinations. They seemed fine, but all the excitement of a morning out wore them out. 18 March 2008Now that Hershey, Tsuki and Mojo have been living together happily all winter it's about time that they had a section all together. However, for the time being, Mojo can still have his own section especially as he gets up to all sorts of mischief! 15 March 2008 Since we made the extension to the cage and put Tsuki, Hershey and Mojo together, we realised there was a serious design flaw. Although the inside cage arrangement allowed for maximum floor space, it did mean that whenever a ferret left the hutch is would go SPLAT! down the ramp into the cage front door. Not so great. It also allowed Mojo, who's a complete nutter, to jump up at us and possibly over the door barrier when we went to feed them, again not so great.  So we've been waiting all winter for the weather to be nice enough to make a change. This time we've move the hutch to the far left hand side of the cage, lowered it and put the ramp leading directly to the poo pan. This also means that the food bowls are on the lino and not hidden underneath the ramp, where it was difficult for 3 ferrets to eat from one bowl for the evenings meat meal. Tsuki seems much happier with this arrangement. 27 December 2007 Hershey and Tsuki are much happier now that Mojo has been castrated - he took to dragging them around everywhere by their necks and they looked pretty fed-up by it. Anyhow, everything has settled down better since and they all enjoyed Xmas. Photos of the Tsuki group at Xmas can be found under Mojo's section. 27 November 2007 Hershey and Tsuki seem so much happier living with Mojo - it's really perked them up having him as part of group. You never know what a new ferret will be like and what their character will be - it's a lottery, but we couldn't have hoped for a nice ferret than Mojo and he fits in so well. They love having him around and playing with him. This winter Tsuki and Hershey have changed colour again - Tsuki is quite white with a grey back and Hershey's head has gone very silver. 17 August 2007About 3 weeks ago now, Hershey gave us a real shock. He jumped off the futon and landed heavily, flopping down on the side of his body and hitting his head with a loud plop. He went completely still and I really thought he'd killed himself. I rushed over to pick him up when he moved, but curled backwards, unconscious, paddling his front paws and poofing his tail out - I then thought he'd broken his back as one of our previous ferrets had a spinal injury. My husband rushed over and held him and i rushed outside to get a carrier to put him and potentially rush him to the emergency vet - of course it was late at night! I come back from the shed and find my husband having difficulty holding Hershey still. He'd apparently woken up and was wondering what all the fuss was about. I was so relieved. We still didn't know if there were any injuries or concussion - so we tried to keep him quiet in the carrier but he wasn't having any of it, so we eventually put him outside. In the morning he seems fine, we phoned the vets and they thought he'd only knocked himself out and only to bring him in if we noticed he was in any pain or discomfort. I'm glad to say that apart from suffering from very little brainpower and a lack of fear of heights - we can't tell that anything's wrong. 27 June 2007Well, Tony is being masterful with Tsuki in a last ditch attempt to break her out of biting…and I mean biting. We all know that ferrets nip, but she's savage when she doesn't get her way. For the most part she has calmed down a heck of a lot since we first got her. Generally we can pick her up and even play with her, as long as you've got quick reflexes!! I don't believe she's fearful of people any longer…how could she be…she lives in 4 star comfort. I was hoping that being boarded in 'rustic' surroundings would make her appreciate us more…all it did was make her nip more. If you hold her for any amount of time and she doesn't want to be held, she'll just bite frantically and wriggle like a whirling dervish with VERY sharp teeth and draw blood. So Tony's being brave, as he has tougher skin than me, and is holding her and trying to discourage her from biting. It might be working a bit. She'll also give you a nip if you put your hand in over her head in the cage, so we've been working on getting her used to that a bit more. Boy…she's hard work…but Tony thinks she worth it and calls her his 'sweety'!!! As we've decided that the kits aren't going to mix, we've been contemplating getting them a companion. I always think three is a better number. So we'll just have to see if they'll get on with another ferret. I did start to make enquiries at a rescue centre, so maybe later in the year. 23 May 2007We boarded the ferrets whilst we went on hols. The lady who runs the ferret welfare didn't hold out much hope that we'd get the 2 groups together without causing a lot of stress. She said if they've made their minds up, there's not much you can do! So 2 groups of ferrets it is. 29 April 2007It's fun to watch the kits change colour as they moult their coats. Hershey's gone back to having a lighter body and now has spectacles, but he's not chocolate coloured like last year (so much for his name!) and Tsuki has gone very white across her head and shoulders. Photos to follow shortly - the kits are still very wriggley and don't stay still for posing. They've both settled well with us and Tsuki behaviour continues to improve, though we are still careful around her - she's still a nipper. We've had the kits out in the garden and they both love diggin in the compost heap. However, they are both of a slightly nervous disposition and will jump at breezes. We recently tried introductions again...and they went as expected...not well. We're boarding them at a ferret welfare when we go on holiday - maybe they might get the ferrets together.... 25 February 2007Okay, so we've kinda given up introductions...our nerves and the ferrets couldn't take it!! We do still intend to try, especially Bingo with the kits, but at our leisure. For the last 3 weeks the kits, now all grown up, have been living outside since Tony chopped the cage into two - more pictures of rennonvations in 'Home Sweet Home'. Both sets of ferrets have plenty of room to roam - let's face it, the Bingo group spend most of their time sleeping anyway. The kits LOVE their new found freedom. At first they were a bit wary...we'd gotten them used to the idea of being outside by short plays in the large cage with the Bingo group away - so it wasn't all together strange. After an hour or so, both Hershey and Tsuki stood by the door expecting us to take them back indoors, and for the first 2 nights I did, but after that it was cold turkey and cold it was as it started snowing! We've tried several different arrangements, and just today we put some tubes in the top half which Tsuki adores. They don't have free access to the bottom half - only occasionally as this makes it more fun for them. Now that they're not stuck indoors in a small cage, Hershey has grown sleek and slim and has lost of lot of his winter podge. He's moulting too - I don't know what colour - much more silver, dark points and a white belly, over winter he lost his chocolate coat and grew a dark sable point coat. Tsuki too over winter has gone very grey all over. They love their new home and the Bingo group is interested in their new neighbours too. We're hoping that they'll get used to each other better as they can smell and see each other, so when we do try introductions again, hopefully they'll go smoother. 07 January 2007Well...introductions are taking their time. Tsuki terrorises Casper and Willow who quake in their little paws when she's around. After the initial ragging, an unhappy truce settles and they keep away from each other. Casper raggs Hershey initally and then settles. There's just not a mean bone in his body. We tried Tsuki with Bingo and again after the initial fireworks an uneasy peace was forced - with Bingo ontop, as I expected. I didn't really intend to have the kits indoors for so long, and I don't want to force the ferrets together and stress everyone out too much or cause any injuries. With this in mind, we have decided that the kits should live outside in the main cage. As the ferrets never really used their cage - we are now in the process of splitting it into two temporarily. We are hoping that by living side-by-side it will ease the introductions better. Also the kits can have a lot more space outside to run and play whenever they want. But saying that - I think they are enjoying living indoors where they get a lot of attention. Tsuki has improved with regard to her biting. She still has her moments cos she's still (and no doubt always will be) a little madam. I even managed to hold her on her back in my arms and stroke her chest the other day. On the flip side, earlier this week she had a nippy tantrum, and I being fed of being bitten went down to her level and barred my teeth and growled at her (in my fustration). Low and behold...it worked a treat and she's been as good as gold with me! So there's a tip. She's gone a really dark grey colour all over now. Hershey resembles a womble, and I am hoping come spring he will sleeken up. 10 December 2006The kits are still living indoors. Hershey has grown huge and has a very long sooty coat and Tsuki has a sleek dark grey coat all over. Her biting has improved a lot, but she will still give the odd hard nip when she wants and can't get her own way. Hershey is just a big soft dollop. We've started the introductions this week and it's going as we expect ie. fur, fighting, poo, stink and wee flying everywhere. There seems to be stalemate between the kits and Willow at the moment and Bingo isn't wanting to have them around at all. Oh well, you know the old adage...try, try and try again. 08 November 2006Well, the kits are all grown up now. In fact Hershey has lost his kitten fluff and has grown a beautiful sable glossy coat. Yesterday, we took them to our new local vet who neutered them, so they are both recovering now. We also had them microchipped. We didn't expect to have Casper operated on in the same week, so now we have 3 separate cages and recovering ferrets. Our dining room is more like a hospital ward! Anyhow, the good news is once they all recover, and they heal at about the same rate, it means we can try introducing the ferrets to each other again. Hopefully, things will go smoothly as they are all used to each others smells and hormone levels will be better. 29 September 2006Last week, we took the kits to a new vet for their distemper injections. I'm not too keen on having them vaccinated, but I'd rather do it at least once than have them suffer from distemer, however, remote the chance. After the vax, Hershey went very sleepy and I was a little concerned. We waited at the vets to make sure he didn't have a very bad reaction and he seemed ok. The kits slept all afternoon and by the evening they were their bouncy selves again. Over the last week, the kits have been a little calmer than usual. I don't know if it's due to the vax, them growing older, getting bored/used to their environment or if hormones are starting to pump round their bodies, or possibly a mix of all of that. Tsuki seems to have improved with her biting and me. She seems a lot better, though Tony got the odd hard nip this week. I ordered some goodies from a french ferret website and received a really good harness which is (hopefully) impossible for her to wriggle out of. 10 September 2006Had the guys almost a month now. They seem very settled into their new home and have got quite used to their new routine and us. We've given up with introductions for the time being, as they weren't going well. I took advice from the lists as well as from the breeder, but will wait till the new guys are neutered before trying introductions in earnest. Tsuki is still being a little madam and biting us, albeit not quite so hard or ferociously. But's it's still not behaviour we want. Now she knows not to fear us, Tony has volunteered to handle her a lot more, in the hope that this will help. The new pictures are the guys in their home with their new peek a boo hammock, which they love, made by Dreamweezle especially for us. The kits are only temporarily in this cage when indoors and once integrated will live outside in the court. They get lots of runs in the morning and a long one when we get home from work. 29 August 2006Took both ferrets out in the garden on their leashes today for the first time. Pictures to the left. They both had a really good time and left big holes in the borders - they love digging! I'm trying hard to get my confidence with Tsuki, she has settled really well with Tony and doesn't really bite him. But me, she still nips. I've got to look after them on Thursday as Tony is going on a course. I hope I'm not scared of her by then!!! 25 August 2006We named the boy, Hershey and the jill, Tsuki. The jill has been pretty rabid over the last two weeks and after my hands were shredded, I gave Tony an untimatum...either he handles her and tames her down or she goes back! It's been almost two weeks now, and I'm glad to say she is improving. Rather than biting manically - she just bites! Hershey is adorable and doesn't bite, but like all kits gives play nips. He's a real big soppy boy. Tsuki seems to run on nerves, but is becoming more settled. It's a big change to where they were born and time will hopefully settle her down. Earlier in the week, we did try introductions with our existing ferrets, which didn't go down too well. We'll just have to try little and often. If only ferrets could reason, they'd see these were new bouncing buddies, but no...instinct takes over and they are seen as a threat. Will keep you updated of how they are settling in. 13 August 2006 Since losing Tilbury and Bailey, the rest of the ferets seem a bit lost and lonely. Like they've lost their bounce...so its serious! We decided that we needed to add to our ferret family and get some pals for Bingo to play with. All our ferrets so far have been from rescue centres, and we have been glad to have given them a stable home - the only problem being is their ill health. So this time around, I wanted to start of with kits that had a good start in life. With my contacts on the ferret discussion lists, I made contact with a breeder that was looking for homes for her kits. After sussing out the situation and making friends with someone who already had last years kits - I was reassured of their health. We went down there, and amid the wet weather and chaos, took home a chocolate silver hob and a silver mitt jill, siblings and about 13 weeks old. |
