Tentative Name For New Ferret Baby (VIDEO)
The new baby gave Mr. Woozle ferret clap, alas. He had E.C.E. (basically, a bacterial infection that causes green, slimy poo) and ear mites. Both fuzzies got examined by the vet the minute the vet's office opened today--I was beside myself with anxiety all weekend, as no exotic vets are open on weekends in this town. The baby got his shots, Mr. Woozle got examined and prodded and pronounced "healthy and fat, for a terminally ill liver cancer patient" and got nasty medicines to take twice a day until Friday.
I'd dosed him with Pedialyte & Beechnut baby food and water all weekend, which kept his blood sugar up. Poor little old man. Anyway, this was apparently exactly the right thing to do. He survived the weekend and was actually a little heavier than normal when checked, which is good. His shoulders are bony from the E.C.E. vomiting and diarrhea, but he had enough winter weight already put on to weather it.
The little one is a mess. He poops everywhere, isn't motivated by treats (so he will be very hard to train), and is the cutest thing ever. He's also an escape artist. He's found ways out of the condo, twice (bought more snap leads), he's escaped out of his harness three times (hopefully when he gets bigger, it will be more difficult to do), and when I was at the vet's office letting him work off some of his energy with a jingle ball, he squeezed under the exam room door and escaped into the back kennels and supply closets. One of the vet techs noted he was a regular Houdini. He is. So, until he tells me what his name is, he's Houdini. If it sticks, it sticks. I had to have a name for the vet papers, anyway.
Because they were such good boys at the vet, and because the carrying case was meant for one ferret and had seen better days (especially since in the five minute ride to the vet's office, Mr. Woozle had another attack of green, slimy diarrhea...ARGH!...and they both were clawing escape holes through the mesh), they got a new (doggie) carrier with spiffy lambswool liner, lots of treats (Bandits and Cheweasels), a big bag of spiffy (expensive) kitten chow with lots of protein to use as treats and to mix into the blend of 4-5 foods they get, a new potty pan, lots of toys, and I'm trying out a simple bell collar on the baby. They are so spoilt.
They are both worn out and snoozing now.
Here's a quick'n'dirty video I just slapped together in MovieMaker. I didn't do anything fancy. You can see the guys play-fighting, getting into mischief, and just hanging out (with the old carrier--I should burn it, really):
Enjoy!
I'd dosed him with Pedialyte & Beechnut baby food and water all weekend, which kept his blood sugar up. Poor little old man. Anyway, this was apparently exactly the right thing to do. He survived the weekend and was actually a little heavier than normal when checked, which is good. His shoulders are bony from the E.C.E. vomiting and diarrhea, but he had enough winter weight already put on to weather it.
The little one is a mess. He poops everywhere, isn't motivated by treats (so he will be very hard to train), and is the cutest thing ever. He's also an escape artist. He's found ways out of the condo, twice (bought more snap leads), he's escaped out of his harness three times (hopefully when he gets bigger, it will be more difficult to do), and when I was at the vet's office letting him work off some of his energy with a jingle ball, he squeezed under the exam room door and escaped into the back kennels and supply closets. One of the vet techs noted he was a regular Houdini. He is. So, until he tells me what his name is, he's Houdini. If it sticks, it sticks. I had to have a name for the vet papers, anyway.
Because they were such good boys at the vet, and because the carrying case was meant for one ferret and had seen better days (especially since in the five minute ride to the vet's office, Mr. Woozle had another attack of green, slimy diarrhea...ARGH!...and they both were clawing escape holes through the mesh), they got a new (doggie) carrier with spiffy lambswool liner, lots of treats (Bandits and Cheweasels), a big bag of spiffy (expensive) kitten chow with lots of protein to use as treats and to mix into the blend of 4-5 foods they get, a new potty pan, lots of toys, and I'm trying out a simple bell collar on the baby. They are so spoilt.
They are both worn out and snoozing now.
Here's a quick'n'dirty video I just slapped together in MovieMaker. I didn't do anything fancy. You can see the guys play-fighting, getting into mischief, and just hanging out (with the old carrier--I should burn it, really):
Click to viewEnjoy!