Post by lorelei0922 on Sept 18, 2008 4:14:08 GMT -5
Hi everyone...
i'm looking for a few tips and suggestions to add to my cornucopia of ideas and knowledge here...
as some of you know i've just recently added little Ivy to my bunch...
she's 13-14 weeks old.. about 6 weeks younger than my other kits...
When we got her we noticed she was EXTREMELY tightly wound... she would grab hold of you very very tightly whenever picked up and stay very tight for a long time.. eventually she would relax if you put her up on your shoulder to stroke etc.. but still not by much..
Thats getting much better.. she is still clinging but she's easier to relax .. and if the yawns and stretches when she's snuggling into your arms is an indication .. she's doing alright with that part.
When we brought her home we had lil mooch here in the indoor cage .. fattening up and socializing until he was ready to go home to his new mum. We also introduced Ivy to each group outside... with no apparent problems. Mooch is a very gentle ferret but they did enjoy a few quiet tussles and dancing around in the living room with all the ferrets at play time...
Sunday came and show day... and all the ferrets shared the big cage that Ivy was in for the show... happily enough.. she was snuggled into the pile of ferrets just fine.. i didn't give it much thought.
Sunday evening came and Mooch went home to Penny... and i intended to put Ivy back into the outdoor shed with the rest of the gang.. she'd gotten along alright with all the times i had watched them interact...
Unfortunately.. thats where the trouble started! ..The next morning, She was SHRIEKING!! seriously screaming her lil head off and attacking any ferret that came near her...
The boys are generally good lil guys though boisterous and playful.. but Bella never had any trouble with them... i thought that could be the problem though.. so took her out .. and after a snuggle and reassuring her ... i tried introducing her into the other shed... no joy there either... she was just plain NOT having it!!
So indoors we came.. back to the indoor cage.. where she settled fine on her own.. but if i picked her up without distracting her with tone... she was having my hands... hmm.. NOT like the lil kit i was getting to know! I checked her out ..making sure it wasn't an injury or something actually HURTING her... but nothing...so i let her have some time on her own .. thinking she was just overly worked up by whatever caused the problems in the shed...
The next day Saff had her check up post op from her spay.. got the green light from the vet to go back to the gang... she's a good lil mum and i think its important that whatever is up with Ivy .. she needs to sort it out... so added her to Ivy's cage for company and to see if i could figure out what was actually happening...
They sleep together... and after several shrieking fits !! Saff pretty much ignores her for the most part... but if Ivy thinks even for the tiniest second that Saff might grab her ...even for a lick.. she goes mental! Ivy will wake up in the hammock and snuggle Into Saff.. and even groom her head while Saff sleeps.. so it appears she's happy to have someone there... There has been skunking and pooing though when she goes into a serious snit...
she was happy enough with Mooch... and had lived with a sister in her old home... she's lovely to me .. not even trying to have a go at me .. though still very agressive through cage bars... all leading me to believe she's simply scared stupid!
So.. ideas? Suggestions? Is this going to be a case of those rare ferrets who dont like to be with others?
i'm looking for a few tips and suggestions to add to my cornucopia of ideas and knowledge here...
as some of you know i've just recently added little Ivy to my bunch...
she's 13-14 weeks old.. about 6 weeks younger than my other kits...
When we got her we noticed she was EXTREMELY tightly wound... she would grab hold of you very very tightly whenever picked up and stay very tight for a long time.. eventually she would relax if you put her up on your shoulder to stroke etc.. but still not by much..
Thats getting much better.. she is still clinging but she's easier to relax .. and if the yawns and stretches when she's snuggling into your arms is an indication .. she's doing alright with that part.
When we brought her home we had lil mooch here in the indoor cage .. fattening up and socializing until he was ready to go home to his new mum. We also introduced Ivy to each group outside... with no apparent problems. Mooch is a very gentle ferret but they did enjoy a few quiet tussles and dancing around in the living room with all the ferrets at play time...
Sunday came and show day... and all the ferrets shared the big cage that Ivy was in for the show... happily enough.. she was snuggled into the pile of ferrets just fine.. i didn't give it much thought.
Sunday evening came and Mooch went home to Penny... and i intended to put Ivy back into the outdoor shed with the rest of the gang.. she'd gotten along alright with all the times i had watched them interact...
Unfortunately.. thats where the trouble started! ..The next morning, She was SHRIEKING!! seriously screaming her lil head off and attacking any ferret that came near her...
The boys are generally good lil guys though boisterous and playful.. but Bella never had any trouble with them... i thought that could be the problem though.. so took her out .. and after a snuggle and reassuring her ... i tried introducing her into the other shed... no joy there either... she was just plain NOT having it!!
So indoors we came.. back to the indoor cage.. where she settled fine on her own.. but if i picked her up without distracting her with tone... she was having my hands... hmm.. NOT like the lil kit i was getting to know! I checked her out ..making sure it wasn't an injury or something actually HURTING her... but nothing...so i let her have some time on her own .. thinking she was just overly worked up by whatever caused the problems in the shed...
The next day Saff had her check up post op from her spay.. got the green light from the vet to go back to the gang... she's a good lil mum and i think its important that whatever is up with Ivy .. she needs to sort it out... so added her to Ivy's cage for company and to see if i could figure out what was actually happening...
They sleep together... and after several shrieking fits !! Saff pretty much ignores her for the most part... but if Ivy thinks even for the tiniest second that Saff might grab her ...even for a lick.. she goes mental! Ivy will wake up in the hammock and snuggle Into Saff.. and even groom her head while Saff sleeps.. so it appears she's happy to have someone there... There has been skunking and pooing though when she goes into a serious snit...
she was happy enough with Mooch... and had lived with a sister in her old home... she's lovely to me .. not even trying to have a go at me .. though still very agressive through cage bars... all leading me to believe she's simply scared stupid!
So.. ideas? Suggestions? Is this going to be a case of those rare ferrets who dont like to be with others?
. It sounds to me like she's scared and slowly integrating her into your business may be the only way to work it. 
I have one old girl who's going blind (old age is a bear) and she has a tendency to misread signals. So, an invite to play is treated as an attack. She will scream first and bite and ask questions later, with the more aggressive of the furbrats she's treated very harshly. Perhaps, your little one, after being a toy with the boys, now misreads the subtle or not too subtle overtures to play as an open attack. 
) and none of them can stand one another. I have 2 who have spent their whole life together and even they bicker and pregnant dog at each other.