I really need help guys.

[mindfield]

Hey everyone,

I don't know what else to do and I really need help on this. Fern is my first ferret and only ferret. Everyday when I get home I bring her something from outside, she will sniff it and then move on to the next object. I always offer to take her outside but she always runs back in or tries to look for the door. I bring toys for her and she of course hides it but doesn't play with them afterwards... I brought snow it when it was snowing and she loved it but then she got and wanted to get out of the tub. I have sand for her to dig in..she doesn't like it. I have a dig box with shredded paper and she barely plays in there. She was so much toys that it takes two people to carry them all. She has tubes, chirping birds, squeeking mice...the whole deal.. i spoil her like crazy...she has so much attention its not even funny. Shes always out of her cage.

Ok let me get to the point, why does she just lay there all the time under my dresser drawer. She doesn't want to play at all. I try to take her out but she just runs back and lays there (speed bump) and does not move at all, just looks into space.

[Heather]

How old is Fern? When is the last time Fern had a check up? Blood work sounds to be in order with this one. Ferrets even older ones usually play with their people. They don't play consistently with their toys, that's why we quite often put some away, and then bring them back out in a couple of weeks. This prevents the toys from becoming stale. I find that some ferrets also like specific toys. Loki, likes his little stuffed cat but he just hideys him. If I want him to play with it, I have to pull it out so he can find it. He will only play with it long enough to hide it It's all about being a ferret. They play with something and move on. My guys have tubes and tunnels, dig boxes with rice, sand and paper...all are used but not necessarily daily. The rice box went weeks with no one playing in it then Babushka started playing in it. It's the same as sleep spots, for a couple of weeks everyone was sleeping under the 60 gal fish tank, now they're all sleeping in the basement at the bottom of the stairs. They're not creatures of habit, they love sensation, stimulation and anything new.
If your little Fern is doing nothing but speed bumping then I would seriously think that there might be something physically wrong. Take her to a ferret knowledgeable vet, get some blood work done and see if there's something wrong. Once you rule out health, then you can start looking at what in particular appeals to your little one. Good luck
ciao

[ferretlover01]

hmm that sounds very odd. ferrets noramlly lvoe playing from what i've heard around the forum.
maybe you should get her checked up?

[sherrylynne]

I think a physical at the least wouldn't be out of order. She may simply not be an active ferret, or she may just want someone to play with her. But I'd definitely rule out the medical first.

[novemberkris]

I agree about the physical. You should check in on her, for baselines and also to make sure nothing is wrong.

Have you played any chasing games. Paulie loves tag and hide and go seek when he's hiding out in and under the dresser. He loves to be teased with a toy to bite under things like that too.

Also, good games: cat teaser toys (without feathers work best) and classic chase the towel. You drag a towel around on the floor and the ferret usually can't help but chase. Paulie likes to run and jump up it, chase it, thrash it, and ride on it. Its quite ridiculous. Paulie is also an only ferret and if I don't make the effort to "be a ferret" he gets bored and sad. He wants you to instigate play too.

Oh, and also, he loves to play in shoes and slippers (the smell of feet). He has stolen all of my slippers and hidden them, attacks them when I throw them and tries to take them off my feet. She may like playing with those.

I hope that helps.

[mindfield]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the replies.
yeah I have done a couple of blood test and they said she seems fine and nothing is wrong with her.
She has a lot of chase toys and plush toys. Usually in the morning before I leave for work I would hide all her toys. I even bought this little puzzle box and put her toys in there so it's harder for her to take out. I have some others in storage to switch around every month or so. We also wash the all toys one or two months. She has a very big dig box 3 rock band sized boxes that we hide some of her toys in. She has tunnels that she never goes inside of. She use to play with towels and slippers but now I think she's just bored of them. Sometimes she'll chase me but she doesn't do it anymore...it's very rare. I tried taking her out into the kids playground that no one plays in and she was shivering..she was very scared and kept wanting to be held so I just held her and gave her a treat and we left. I didn't want her to get all stressed out.
Her hideout is in this drawer...it's specially for her. We put blankets and fleece in there. Her toys that she hides are also all behind the drawer. We let her roam around and that is where she sleeps most of the day and we just transfer her into the cage at night and let her out in the morning.
Sometimes we hear her wake up by the sound of her bell so we run to the room and greet her but today I came home and she was just laying at the bottom of the drawer staring into space . I think shes lonely and needs a friend but I don't know any ferret owners around here.

[sherrylynne]

Do you have a shelter nearby? Maybe they could put you in touch with another ferret owner for playdates.
I also take mine out to places like pet stores, nursing homes, etc. They love all the attention they get there.

[cristina]

I agree with sherrylynne, I think (if its not a physical illness or what not) then she may just be lonely. If theres anyone around you to set up playgroups or anything that would be great for her.

Also (imo) I have actually been at this point once, When I got my first ferret Penny, I had her for about 4 months and she had the same "symptoms" you explained with Fern. She had everything under the sun that a ferret could ever want but she always just slept in my dresser drawer as well , and didnt stay up long when she was awake . So I went and got another ferret (Boomer) and she changed into a totally different ferret, I really think he lifted her spirits! So I realized that all she needed was a friend/companion, and she has never been happier ! (I have read also many places that ferrets tend to get depressed more so than dogs/cats if they are a "lone" ferret, and usually having two is much better since there is a bond between 2 ferrets that us humans just arent able to fill completely....kinda sad but also kinda cute in a way haha)

I dont know if your opposed or not to getting another ferret but I noticed this was the answer for Penny. *just a thought*

[tsslilsis]

I agree also.. Reading this, I think she is lonely.. You say she doesn't use her tubes.. My ferrets usually only use their tubes when they are playing tag with each other, very rarely will they go in the tubes if they aren't playing with each other.

Also I don't know if ferrets are the same way but you say you wash the toys every couple of months.. I know my dog Tessa will not play with her toys after they've been washed, I guess because they smell new..

-~Ketlin

[mindfield]

yeah......I know she needs a friend...there aren't any playgroups around here in Toronto, I live right in the middle of the city. Ferrets aren't really that popular around here as it is in the US (I don't think). I buy most of my stuff from the US because not many supplies are sold around here..or very limited. I been trying to contact Ferret Aid..it's an adoption center here but they think they are super super busy. They don't answer their phone or email too often.

[tsslilsis]

In the mean time you could post on Craigslist in the area and see if there is anyone who wants to set up a play date but I would make sure to carefully go over all of their vet paper work to make sure that the ferret is in good health and such.

-~Ketlin

[Heather]

Have you given Randy a call? She's in your area, or at least just outside of Toronto (Mississauga). She's always got tons of little ones. You're right, ferrets aren't the big thing that they are in the US but there's good number in TO. Give her a call....she might be able to set you up or know someone who you could meet up with to arrange some play dates. They used to have big get togethers but she's been too busy just trying to keep her shelter going and such to arrange them anymore.
ciao

[mindfield]

Yeah, Randy is on my facebook and also i'm in her ferret group on there but it's hard to reach her. I'v given her calls before to volunteer and also emailed her...i think it's best if I go there.

Yesterday though my brother decided to get a friend for Fern, he's not very knowledgeable about ferrets but I'v been telling him that I thought Fern was lonely and maybe getting a second one would help. Well....he took his own initiative and bought another ferret without my consent first.... It was nice of him to do that but I thought he would have asked me first!

The ferret he got was from a man outside of Toronto, he bought it for his daughter but they said "he was out of control" because the little guy kept biting everything and everyone who tried to touch him. We named the ferret Jack and he's around 8 weeks old. He is a big time nipper but he's just a baby, we're currently training him not to.

When we introduced him to Fern, they seemed to get along fine. Fern was grooming him before he went to sleep. I'm just worried about the age difference...what do you guys think? These two was my friend ferrets and they both have their own cage to sleep in. They have their own bowls etc....i'm just wondering if they'll get along, I know it takes time.


P.S Jack is already eating raw meat.

[Heather]

Age isn't a big deal, really. How old is Fern? You may have said...I glanced through the posts and couldn't find it. Years ago, I found myself in a bit of a bind in that I had a ferret, little Mischief that I had rescued (he was very ill, IBD, ulcers).

He had attached himself to a little girl fuzzbutt that I had also rescued. She passed on, leaving him. It was more than he could handle...being dumped, stuffed into rescue, then to loose the one little friend that he thought he had finally found. Little Mischief curled up to die...I actually talked to Randy at length one night, she was on email at 3 am. Basically doing the same thing I was, holding a ferret and watching it waste away She suggested that I find him a friend but let him do the choosing. I was going to go up to her shelter and let him choose there but I didn't have that kind of time. Mischief wasn't ADV tested, so she couldn't let him check out the furbabies there. I was loosing him, so she suggested a kit out of a pet store. It turned out that there was a shipment just in Belleville, so we made the 1 hr treck out there and let little Mischief play with the new babies. He chose a baby....Little Napoleon.

This is a pic taken at the pet store. Mischief has his little friend and actually defends him from being poked and prodded.
Mischief is 7 yrs old in this pic.
Mischief continued to protect his little charge. It gave him purpose and actually got him to stand up to the business and seemed to allow him to find purpose in his life. He bloomed put on weight and played. He still had problems, his IBD refused to be totally controlled but he was happy.

This gives you an idea as to not only how small Mischief really was but how little protection Napoleon really needed . Like a lot of Path Valley ferrets Napoleon was a little hellion.

Napoleon allowed Mischief to cart him off and protect him Mischief lived until Napoleon was about 18 months old when lymphosarcomas finally claimed Mischief. I found them both, in a sleep box, Napoleon sleeping on top of Mischief trying to keep Mischief's cooling body warm, when no warmth could no longer be felt. I pulled them both out of the sleep box and allowed the rest of the business to say their goodbyes. Napoleon kept lying on Mischief and making soft whispering sounds. He'd nuzzle Mischief and try and get him to get up. Mad Max finally came and enticed Napoleon in a wrestling game and the rest of the business then moved him away from Mischief. Ghenghis (playmate), Attila and Lady "B" (dominants) then adopted Napoleon into their little circle and that's where Napoleon has been ever since.

I hope that your Jack fits in and gives your little girl new purpose. Enjoy them, they're truly little treasures (of course like most treasures there is going to be times you really want to bury them )
ciao

[mindfield]

Hey Heather, thanks for sharing your story!


Here's a picture of Fern and Jack. It seems like they are really liking each other. They have been playing and dooking. Fern went inside a tube for once... . Here is a picture of them eating together:



They still sleep in different rooms because Fern has free roam of the house and sleeps in the drawers, Jack sleeps in the ferret room in a cage but when Fern woke up this morning she rushed to Jack's cage to see if he was awake.


Fern is 6 months old and Jack is 8 weeks old.