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Post by katt on Jun 27, 2010 4:04:47 GMT -5
So I am going down to my bf's family cabin down at the beach over the 4th of July and through his brother's birthday. I will leave the night of Sat 3 after work, and get back Thursday night (8th) so I will be gone about 6 days. My roommate is watching Koda for me. I would like to take him with, but this time around it is just not feasible. there will be too many people there for us to keep good track of him (the bathroom we would keep him in will be being used) and Shane and I will be spending a lot of time studying. Anyways, I doubt my roommate will have time to take Koda out very much since she is working graveyard shifts right now and is pretty busy. And honestly, I would rather her not take him out unless she is going to be Actively playing with him and watching him anyways. I am sure he will get some play time, but not a lot. I have never left him home before other than like a day (and then I usually come home at night and give him kisses before I go to sleep). I know that he has been a little depressed lately because this week has been rather hectic and he has not had as much play time as he is used to. (We have been taking him on walks and stuff at night and taking breaks to play with him, but it is still not enough). I am really nervous about leaving him behind, and I am afraid that he will get very depressed and/or destructive. I worry about him not eating or getting into something, or eating something he shouldn't (like ripping apart his cage and/or toys when I am gone or something lol). I think I will put a shirt of mine in there for him, and several plastic toys (no rubber or stuffing). But what can I do to help him feel less abandoned? I am really anxious to leave him, but I can't take him with. Will he "hold it against me" and act different when I get back? I know I sound like a paranoid new mother leaving her baby with a babysitter for the first time and fretting about every little thing, but well...I am! I just worry about my little guy and want him to not feel like I am abandoning him...
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Post by wepamperpets on Jun 27, 2010 7:44:06 GMT -5
When I go on vacation I have a regular sitter, I take my kids to the local ferret shelter, best ferret sitter ever of course! As she is a awesome ferret mommy. Before I left them there I took them out to play at the shelter so they could get accustomed to where they will be staying, even at that the 1st couple times one kid was ok, the other was really sad and upset with me -it ended up with me having to take him to vet, nothing wrong with him he was just upset. Needless to say now all of the kids LOVE to go to the shelter now when I am gone, no issues and they think its like Disney world for ferrets. They even have their own lil friends there they enjoy seeing again (shelter residents), they have alot of fun. So when I go on vaycay, or just out for the day I take them to the shelter. What is great is shelters do not charge big sitting fee's, plus all money goes to the shelter kids so thats great way to donate, and you cannot ask for a better sitter. So if you have a shelter not too far from you that can work something like this out, contact them. Especially since you do not trust this sitter, how can you go anywhere with a sitter like that you wont be able to concentrate or quit worrying. With the shelter I can leave my kids with no worries I know how they are being cared for. It will probably help that he is in his home with this sitter as its his cage his stuff and his house, its hard to say what he will feel but hope he does great! btw - 1st couple times i was gone I got snubbed but they got over it quick as they where excited to see me
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Post by sherrylynne on Jun 27, 2010 10:17:01 GMT -5
Of course he's going to be mad at you! That's normal. And, you'll likely have protest poops to deal with But he'll get over it, and also be really excited to see you back again. And it's normal to be worried about leaving Koda in anyone else's care, especially the first time! Not paranoid at all- particularly with Koda Just make sure she's got your vet's name, address, ph #, and access to some sort of payment arrangement with the vet in case it's needed. Also, you can leave a few articles of clothing you've worn for her to put in his cage with him. A different one every couple of days(unless he eats material!). That way, you're not really gone to him, because he can still smell you.
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Post by zoologist on Jun 27, 2010 11:14:22 GMT -5
I don't remember what kind of cage Koda has- is it a 2 story FN? If it is you could make the top story his "play ground" while the bottom story is his sleeping and living area. I had to do this when I went out of town for a week because I had a sneaking suspicion my roommate wouldn't really care for lily and chewey. and I was right. She only fed and watered them. put their litter boxes back in totally wrong areas (so they pooped where the litter box was SUPPOSED to be, such a mess) and the ferts freaked out when I finally got home and allowed them out of their cage- all sorts of pent up energy. Remember that your roommate doesn't love Koda as much as you and even if she says she'll take good care of him, her version of good care is WAY off from yours. Next time i'd say take him to a ferret sitter or something also, try giving him toys he's not used to and instruct your roommate to switch out toys every couple of days to keep him entertained. put them in baggies labeled with dates so she knows what needs to go in, and what needs to come out
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Post by katt on Jun 30, 2010 3:51:46 GMT -5
Thanks guys. It is not so much that I do not trust my roommate, it is more I don't trust ANYONE except for a select few people with Koda because...well...he is Koda and gets into every last bit of trouble possible! haha Apparently my roommate got invited to come for a few days also. She will be watching Koda like Mon/Tues is through Thursday. My good friend will be coming to take care of him Sat night through then. MY roommate plays with Koda when she is home and knows he is a trouble maker. I pet sit for her and she pet sits for me. It is a nice arrangement. Right now though things are not as ferret proofed as possible and with his new habit of chewing electrical cords (can you say ORAL FIXATION?!?!?!?!) well... Yeah. Again, this is Koda. haha I got a few new toys for him today to help occupy him while I am gone, and I am going to change up his cage before I leave. I got a babble ball and he seems to really like it. I am hoping the noise will help him feel better about being alone for more of the day. I also got him a flexi tunnel...can you guess what he did? As soon as he got tired of just running through it, he began trying to chew it up from the inside out!!!! AND was digging it! haha His natural instincts are too strong I guess. I will be bringing it back to the pet store before I leave. I will probably switch it out for the hard tunnels so I can actually use the holes in his cage and eventually (aka after inspections which my roommate says she thinks don't actually exist haha) hook the cage up to a rice box, and maybe even a remote litter box. I like the idea of putting new clothing items in there each day. Before his cage was set up with litter, food and water, and feeding den (capri sun boxes are the best! lol) and just space, blankets, toys etc under the shelf (sorry yes it is a FN 142). Then the top level the shelf was on the right up high, and the left floor had a sleeping den with Marshall's octopus on top and toys on the rest of the floor. He would always drag the octopus down though so it took up the floor space lol Then he had a hammock above the food area, and one across from the shelf in the upper level. I recently switched it so that the sleeping den is across from the food and litter, and the top level shelf is low down (bc the hammock is still on that side haha) and the whole floor pretty much empty except for Mr. Octopus. I think before I leave I will move the top level shelf up and to the right and take out the ramp to give him more open space. He is a good climber. Should I take out the octopus too since he has multiple places to sleep and it takes up floor space, or should I leave it in there for familiarities' sake? I don't want to change things TOO much, then leave, and totally freak him out!
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Post by Heather on Jun 30, 2010 12:53:05 GMT -5
Ferrets like change except in the case of the litter box location and their play times They're very much an "it's all about ME". Self centered little sods and you have an only child too I'm sure he will make you pay for leaving him. Be prepared for tantrum poopies but as long as he has someone who plays with him and keeps him out of trouble he should be ok. You might want to buy some rescue remedy just in case he figures out (and he will) that you're not there. It will help him if he gets depressed. This was the one problem that I had when I babysat little ferts. I know how you feel, I'm going away for 3 days (my first time away for holidays in 7 yrs). My son (who helps care for all the furkids) is going to be looking after them but .... I know what the brats can do and I've just had 2 newbies dumped off. Today was their first day of eating raw entirely on their own. So fingers are crossed that they don't give him a hard time. Good luck, give the brat a hug and tell him I told him he had to behave (for whatever that's worth ) ciao
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Post by sherrylynne on Jun 30, 2010 21:03:23 GMT -5
And just to let you know- my guys LOVE their flex tunnels. They usually lay on their backs in them, dig for all they are worth, and bite at them
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Post by katt on Jul 3, 2010 4:59:00 GMT -5
The plastic material just seemed so thin. I felt like if Koda can eat electric cords thicker than that, he can probably chew through the tunnel. I returned it. I can always go back for it again later. It wasn't really the color I wanted anyways. I thought it was blue but it was more of a purple when I pulled it out. Oh well. Well, I leave tomorrow. My roommate was, apparently, invited to come. I like her (I wouldn't live with her if I didn't) but I was looking forwards to a week away from living with her. Anyways, She is coming tomorrow night through Mon, so Sun-Mon Derek, a really good friend of mine is going to watch Koda and my other critters. I love him to death - he is one of my very best friends - and I know he will do an excellent job. After my roommate gets back, Derek is still going to come check on Koda and play with him and such. I know my roommate is busy and stuff. She also thinks she knows everything about animals and is very proud and stubborn. I felt like she only let me show her Koda's stuff to humor me. I asked her if I could show her his food stuff and she was just all "you mean the meat?" Like "I know what he eats!" I was like "I need to show you how much to feed him!" So she humored me. She can be a lot of fun, and is over all a good roommate, but she really makes me angry sometimes. I trust her with any of my other pets totally, but Koda is....well....Koda is a little special needs. haha So Derek is going to check on him and play with him. I am very glad. He works at a book store and got me a discount on the Ferrets for Dummies book. He bought it for me after work and was even reading it before he came over! He is really excited to play with Koda and watch him. I think I have some major separation anxiety though still.... I live under the constant fear that Koda will eat something or get into something or whatever when I AM here much less being gone. lol It will be good to have a week away to study though. I seriously need it. Yup, I am going to the beach to study. Exciting right? haha Run in the am, study all day, bonfire, bed, repeat. Anyways, I will miss him a lot but I just have to believe that he will be looked after and can live without me for 5-6 days. haha
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