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Post by katt on Dec 5, 2009 13:23:13 GMT -5
Many of you have already commented on my other thread and your replies are very much appreciated. My apartment is very hot and I want to get a baby ferret, but don't want it to overheat. Is it safe to leave a small tub of water in the cage while I am gone so that the baby can play in the water to cool down? The water would be shallow of course. Also, I am often gone for a good portion of the daytime - I am hoping that baby will learn to sleep then and we can play when I come home. How many toys should I leave in the cage during the day when I am gone to keep the little one from getting bored while I am gone?
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 5, 2009 14:10:13 GMT -5
Mine usually sleep in the day time, but they are adults. For a kit, if you can leave toys they need to puzzle out, it would be better. Like the foraging cups, or treats crumbled up in paper. Tubes, stuffies, etc.
As for how many? He/she won't need a lot, but they should be rotated out frequently to help alleviate boredom.
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 5, 2009 14:11:29 GMT -5
oh, and the "pool" should be deep enough so he/she can't dig all the water out of it(and they WILL try), but shallow enough for easy ingress/egress.
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Post by katt on Dec 5, 2009 14:34:03 GMT -5
Great! I didn;t think about digging the water out! haha The "pool" I have will not work then (that's ok, I like it as a shoe holder anyways haha). But that is okay then to leave the pool in there? Will about 3 inches of water be too deep (drowning risk?) or is that an okay depth?
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Post by Heather on Dec 5, 2009 18:16:36 GMT -5
I think at first you will be amazed as to how small that little ball of fluff is going to be. Napoleon is about 7 weeks old in this pic, we had just brought him home. He had just been shipped in (cruel practice  ) Others can tell you better than I, but he was probably larger than what a little girl would have been but I may be mistaken, maybe baby ferrets are all about the same size when they're babies. Rather like puppies.  3 inches could very well be too much for him, at least in the beginning. They don't know any fear, these little ones. Playing in water is something that a lot of ferrets love but they've got to be able to get out of what they got themselves into  . Later on when your little one is bigger (and that will seem like no time at all)3 inches would be some cause for celebration for your little one. Ferrets have no belief in "let still waters lie" Water for ferrets is an active element and is only worth consideration if it can be enticed into motion. Better yet, if it can be moved from it's container to various corners of a given space. Water like ferrets is very difficult to contain. Maybe, that's why they get along so well     ciao |
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Post by katt on Dec 5, 2009 19:09:02 GMT -5
What about about just a thin layer of water about an inch or so deep? I want it to be there for fun and to cool off, but without any risk of drowning. And thanks for the pics |
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 5, 2009 20:22:02 GMT -5
An inch should be fine if the baby is only a few weeks old, as long as the container is shallow enough for two inch legs to climb out of.  I keep forgetting how small they are at that age! My youngest was almost twice that age when I got her. |
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Post by Heather on Dec 6, 2009 1:39:29 GMT -5
Just give them enough water to puddle in. Baby ferrets aren't very coordinated and have a tendency of falling and slipping (especially at that age). I found Napoleon sound asleep in the dog's food bowl. He had jumped in and couldn't get back out, so he just fell asleep with his face planted in the meat....really icky and he smelled just terrible too   He got his first bath after that episode. Once they get to be 3 or 4 months old they're little hellions and you can't keep them out of anything.  In this photo he's now big enough to climb in and out of the dog's bowl but there's food in it so he has no intention of leaving any time soon. ciao |
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 6, 2009 10:58:12 GMT -5
That photo is hilarious, Heather! He must have thought he'd found a fuzzy version of heaven  |
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Post by josiesmom on Dec 6, 2009 15:34:31 GMT -5
Something to think about regarding a "pool" for a baby ferret - or aANY unsupervised ferret is to NOT offer them an actual pool or puddle of water but rather a soaking wet towel in a tub.Take a second tub the saame size as the one with the towel in it, toss in a blue gel non toxic ( preferrably a hard cased opne) inside the second tub then put the first tub and towel inside the second tub push the first tub down tight, this allows the freezer gel pack to cool the wet towel and the wet towel prevent the unsupervised ferret from drowning, yet offers it a cool damp place to stretch out on or ruffle up the towel.
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