Basic Ferret Care

Basic Ferret Care

Cyclone looks around the room, a bit nervous at teaching his first class. As everyone takes their seats he begins, "Welcome everybody. We will be talking about the basic care of ferrets today."

He walks over to the cage that is against the wall and produces a ferret. "This little guy is Kmor. Notice how is coat is not too coarse. Many ferrets you may have seen had a coarse coat and maybe some clumps of hair missing. This is not because of any disease, it is because many litters used in litter boxes have large amounts of dust. This causes a coarse coat and hair loss."

He lifts Kmor into the air so those gathered can get a better view of the subject, "Now this guy is a very clean animal. This is not because of constant cleaning on my part. Ferrets are naturally clean animals and don't need baths often; in fact, bathing too often may also result in hair loss."

Cyclone watches the faces of those gathered as he lowers the animal to the ground, putting it down. As he sees flashes of discomfort on their faces he proceeds. "Now don't be afraid of our little friend here. His is very friendly and wont hurt you, but he, like most ferrets, are very demanding. If he wants you to play he might tell you so by nipping a bit at your feet." As he finishes his last sentence, Kmor starts to run around wildly and moving erraticly. Before Cyclone can explain this strange behavior, many people stand and move quickly to the back of the room and out of Kmor's way. "Calm down, calm down. This is what we call a ferret's 'war dance' which he might do if he wants to play." As he proceeds to pick up the animal a few people begin to take their seats again, with one very watchful eye on their teacher and his pet.

Cyclone puts Kmor back in his cage as he proceeds with the teaching, "We want to be very watchful of our ferret friends as they like to go exploring. They can fit into holes as small as one inch by one inch. They accomplish this feat by dislocating every bone in their body." Some cringe as he proceeds, "I know this sounds painful, but they don't seem to be hurt by it. It is kind of like how a snake dislocates his jaw to swallow food."

"Okay, we also need to keep in mind that their metabolism is faster than ours. This means that they need to eat about every four hours, so keep food close by, even at night." A light goes on in his eyes, "Oh, yes. Another important thing to know is that these animals are nocturnal. They will wake you up constantly with their wild antics." As his students shift uneasily he quickly reassures them. "Don't worry this may only last a couple of days until your pet adjusts to your schedule.

"The last thing I want to talk to you about today is litter boxes. Most ferrets can be taught to use a litter box, but some refuse to do so. These animals are very smart and independant and will not use the litter box if they don't want to."

"This concludes our first lesson. Please if you have any questions, don't hesitate to seek me out and please share any and all knowledge you gain with any new owners you might encounter. Now get out of here and have fun with your new pet!!"

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