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Post by suds on Jul 26, 2008 18:46:31 GMT -5
Ok I been looking for a playmate for Hershy (1year old female) I seen a add on craigslist for a female. They told me she was 9 months old loves to cuddle blonde... and wanted 50 for rehoming fee. I should have known better CL are mostly scammers and idiots looking for a quick buck. anyway go into philly to see her as soon as I walked into the house I felt like barfing the stench was awful .. I seen the ferret she was in a small bird cage with dogfood in it grrrrr . I picked her up she was for my surprise very heavy no bones seen of felt coat looked good ears where clean I did not see any flee's on her I was aking the girl what treats she likes and food she gives I turned my head and the ferret grabbed a hold of my arm (ouch) would not let go I was holding her in my left hand and got the upper forarm of the right arm. Next thing I know the girl and teenage boy was yelling and smacking at the ferrets head .. Then I yelled at both of them I realy wanted to pop both of them in the head I kept my cool and instructed the boy to reach over and lightlt but firmly grab each side of the jawl as far back as he can and put some pressure on her untill she releases he did this then I was free . The ferret definetly was full grown not 9months and very agresive. I was gone to just leave with out her . but then I ooked into her sad eyes and just could not leave her with such idiots feeding dogfood and fruits grrrrr. So I took her home with me . while in the truck she was biting and going crazy in the carrier so I pulled over and talk to her to calm her down kept putting my hands on the side of the carrier so she could smell me and knew i ment no harm she even licked me a few times . so I slid the top a little so I could pet her on the nose was open just enough she could put her nose out but not the hole head .. so she roled up in a ball and went to sleep (so i thought) I was driving and had my hand on the top still open a little next thing i know OUCH she bit the palm of my hand deep to drew blood from 3 places grrrr . Anyway I cant blame her stress from the carrier and who know what else .. Anyway we got home I left hershy in her cage and let NJD (New Jersy Devil) out of the carrier she ran around smeling evrything checking everything out . I let her go for about an hour then I took Hershy out of her cage and put NJD in it she smelled around had problems climbing up to the top level but once she got there she started eating poor girl was starving she would grab a piece and run to hide and eat then come back for more and back to hide also she ate like a ravaged wild animal not sure how to explain it but was wierd to see . I am happy she ate though and drank alot of water. I took her to a vet hospital to get her checked out they took bloodwork and looked her over they think she is 3 to 4 years old I have to take her back next week then she will get her shots Rabie's for sure but the rest we will see after the blood results and when I take a stool sammple in (which is yellow/ orange color  Anyway my plan is to keep NJD in Hershies cage and let Hershy free rome in my room untill I hear from the vets NJJD is twice the sise of Hershy I am very afraid she mite hurt Hershy  NJD is a beautiful girl I want to try everything I can to make her happy and be a part of the family . She seems very agressive at this point tried to bite me and take my hand off a few times when I picked her up to put her in the cage Would love any sugestions on how to handle her . what steps to take with her , what precautions to take aswell. And how to best introduce her to Hershy . jesry devil pic  Hesrhy wondering who is in her litter box  |
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Post by Heather on Jul 26, 2008 23:06:24 GMT -5
Congratulations on your new furbaby. You may have your hands full, at least to start with. I've had a couple of furbabies who were abused and mishandled and were terrible biters. With Porthos and Mad Max (strangely enough these two boys seemed to take comfort in each other's company even though they were from separate rescues) at first I let them roam and wander at will. I would occasionally pick them up and handle them, I would always offer a treat when I picked them up. They soon learned that only good things come from those awful hands that had previously struck them. With Max I actually had to use a clicker and clicker train him not to bite. Porthos was so starved for love he just lapped it up once he figure out nobody was going to cage him or kick him around anymore (he was kept in a hamster cage for the first 9 months of his life).
Your girls stool samples may be a weird colour caused by whatever garbage she was being fed. As far as being aggressive towards your little Hershey....time will tell. Porthos was a horrible little bully, but he did live comfortably with the rest of the business (which at that time was 18 ferts). Mad Max had been with 3 other ferrets, so was a little better and being part of a business. I did a rescue of two boys who had been dumped in a green garbage bag at the dump. I never was able to get them to associate with anybody else. I finally placed them in a foster home where they were the only fert babies. I wish I could give you a more definitive answer but there is no absolutes when you rescue. You just do the best you can with what you're dealt with. Whatever way it works out, she will thank you in the end.
Again, congratulations and thank you for saving a little furbaby.
ciao
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Post by josiesmom on Jul 27, 2008 5:19:08 GMT -5
Kudos to you Suds for taking on such a challenge and for rescuing a ferret from a horrible place! The orange color deposits are likely from the dyes in the dog kibble she was eating.
Are you sure NJD is a she and not a he?
I've recently adopted a serious biter (Roman) but he is beginning to realize hands aren't mean they can sometimes be playful and even feel good giving massages, and besides people always have treats!
Roman came to me in May this year. He stapled my nose the very first night and then pierced my eyebrow as I slept a few nights later! I can't count how many times he latched onto my finger, knuckle, thumb pad and palm of my hand. I've had to run him under water a couple times to get him to let go!
Handling him with gloves helped, but still he bit through the gloves a few times and drew blood. But I am persistent with the scruff, drag, no bite! Some times I incorporate a mild shake at the scruffing- lika another ferret would do(this I usually do if he insists on trying to bite again after the scruffing). A scruff, drag, time out works sometimes too. But I make sure to get him back out of the cage after only several minutes in time out. Yes, he's gone right into attack mode sometimes when I offer to get him out, this just means we repeat the scruff, drag, timeout until he behaves better.
We are near the end of the second month together now and just the last few days I've been able to pick him up without gloves on. I am still keeping his nose and jaws occupied with treats of cut up chicken gizzards, chicken hearts and freeze dried liver. But he is definitely making progress! I ALWAYS pick him up in the same manner, using my right hand, scooping under his chest and rib cage and quickly getting my fingers into a harness hold.
Once picked up I hold him close keeping his nose occupied by the treat held in my left hand. Sometimes I hold him so he has to eat the treat in my arms, sometimes I let him down. Sometimes the treat I offer is a smear of corn beef hash, or mayonaisse or butter that he has to lick from my fingers.
So far anytime I've had a treat he has been VERY selective and careful not to bite. But he is nowhere near being ready to be handled without a treat.
For at least two weeks now he's been climbing up on my lap and offering me kisses free will. At first I only allowed him to kiss me( I allow him to drink a bit of my saliva- I've done this with all my ferrets and it seems they bond more quickly when I do). Then after several days I'd touch him gently at the base of is tail, then his butt, then his hips. Now I can stroke him gently as he kisses me.
He is making great progress as far as I am concerned. I don't have to put him in a harness anymore or leave the collar on him. I can sleep at night without worrying that he'll abscond with pieces and parts of me. He loves to play tag and is learning to play nice with stuffed animals and baggies I hold without going straight for my hands.
You may find that NJD will have a better frame of mind after she's eaten more appropriate food!
Glad you decided to take on the challenge, adopting sweet nice ferrets is easy- adopting abused, neglected ferrets that have learned to defend themselves is challenging but VERY rewarding when they bond with you.
Cheers,
Kim
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Jul 27, 2008 6:42:16 GMT -5
Let me be the third person to say Congrats in your new baby and thank you for being a kind person and taking on this poor abused ferret.
Crash was a biter but kinda easy to break as he was only a kit.
Now Xena oh boy we thought she was trying to see how many holes she could put in me and hubby. We got her and Zues and they looked bad, smelled bad, and came in a cage barley big enough for one let alone two ferrets. We were only blessed with Xena for eight months but durring that time she would never stop her biting attacks. We tried everything giving treats and what not. But at the end if she would come to us we could pet her but still not go near her on our own without getting bitten
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Post by suds on Jul 27, 2008 8:40:55 GMT -5
Well the vet at the animal hospital said JD (decide to shorten to Jersy Devil) was a girl . buut they realy are not to aquainted with ferts. I panice and knew they where open so I took her there to be safe . They are where great with my past dogs and good with my cat and only seen JD because I have been going to them for over 20 years . When I get the money I will take her to a better Vet hopfuly in the next month . FOR NOW AT LEAST THEY CAN DO BASIC BLOOD WORK they have a lab onsite and monday will do the tests i was told from there they can see if she needs a distemper shot and then can recomend what other shots to give but must have rabies shot its the law here `and since we dont know if or when she had them we need to start over ... On another note : I left her in the cage lastnight handfed 2 treats a N-Bone and dried chicken piece she took both from my hand gently  Hershy keeps checking her out and she hisses then gives a wierd grunt noise and just ignors Hershy . This morning I put Hershy in the cage and left JD out to free roam.She been busy checking evrything out for over 2 hours so far I had to get her out of the trash can twice , she did not try to bite me wooohooooo  I pet her each time on the back and head and put her on the floor quickly . she did try to jump on my leg and bite my calf grrrr but I said no! firmly and pointed to the floor and she stopped  So I learned she knows the word no or ether the hand signal which is a great thing because I use both always anyway it's a habit from dog training . after a few hours she started to jump on my bed to come and see me I was very aprehensive and would not take my eyes off her mouth , but each time I would pet her and make sure she felt my hands on her as many times as i could scared to get punctured each time ( Imagine a 250lbs man afraid of a 2.8 lbs fur ball I have to laugh at myself even)lol. I realy think the bites I got was from the stress of the day , Who knows what they did to her before I arrived (probably bathed her her coat was very clean and no smell) and being in the carrier and such. Not sure but its what my gut feeling is. An her trying to bite my calf mite been her trying to play and I just paniced ? So my plan is to let her for 4 hours or untill I see looking tired then put her back in the cage and let poor Hershy out ( she is not a happy camper now) . I am hoping once JD relises there will always be fresh food , water and lots of love she will calm down and turn out to be a sweet girl . I just need to calm down to because I feel animals can sence when you are scared or nervouse as well and it makes it more dificult to gain trust on both sides . I know it will take time (months) but I am very happy on the progress over the last 24 hours . I thank you all for the support and always welcome any opinions or suggestions you have .It means alot I am new to ferrets and there behavors . I am reading everything I can aswell. Frank PS. I also put the same post on another site for 2 reason 1. to get as many suggestions as possible. 2. and maybe someone is in the same situation and afraid to post or ask questions hope its not a problem  |
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Post by kaznalf on Jul 27, 2008 12:38:35 GMT -5
Sounds like she hasnt been handled at all! George has biten me twice but i did the gag thing which worked for Zippy and he has backed off! So seeing as he is still a kit im hoping it wont take him long as his teeth seem to be sharper than Zippys!
Good luck with your new ferret she is gorgeous
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Post by josiesmom on Jul 27, 2008 14:25:19 GMT -5
Suds,
Sounds like JD is going to settle right in! You are probably right in your assessment of her situation. Stress can really bring out the worst in them. No, you are not a captive here- feel free to post where ever you wan ton the web. The more info you can get the more ideas you'll get and you can pick what works for your situation. AM happy to hear JD is already more calm and accepting of hands. She's too pretty to not be able to be petted!
Cheers,
Kim
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Post by pear2apple on Jul 27, 2008 22:14:25 GMT -5
Good for you for not leaving her in that environment! Hopefully the food change, the love, and the room to play will bring her to sweetness! Good luck!
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 28, 2008 11:04:17 GMT -5
Congrats on the new addition My suggestion is to take the advice that is offered here in this thread and also to check out the thread that is stickied at the top of this section: holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=talking&action=display&thread=592&page=1I can tell you this, oftentimes a natural diet can help biters out. It gives them an appropriate outlet to rip, tear, chew, and bite However in many cases where the ferret has suffered previous trauma, additonal "therapy" might be need. Congrats on the new addition! I wish you the best of luck with her. BTW- If you are ever unsure of a ferret's gender, look on their belly for a "belly button" if you see one...well....lets just say its not a belly button....its a part of the male anatomy No "belly button" means you've got a little girl. Hope this helps. |
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Post by weloveourweasels on Jul 28, 2008 21:01:36 GMT -5
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Post by suds on Jul 30, 2008 18:46:11 GMT -5
update on JD. Ok we went to the vet today and seen the small animal vet. JD is in great health his TIT's (?) where high and he did not need any shots as of today no signs of adrenal all great news for me . And yes JD is a he I seen a "belly button" lol. which explains why he is so much bigger then Hershy. the vet thinks he is 2 to 3 years old . As far as the biting he has not clamped down on me since the first day , but he does nip for attention and while playing I have been slowly working with him on this with a stern no and point to the ground for when he wants attention ( of cource I give him as much attention as I can) when we are playing I always have a toy in my hands when I see him get excited and try's to nip I put the toy in his mouth its funny most times he will do a role like a crock with the toy . It seems everything you all told me to do is working great . oh I have not had to scruff him or put him in the carrier yet for a time out he seems to get the message the first time once he is reminded not to bite . Yesterday I started to introduce Hershy to him I laid on the floor and let both out at the same time JD started chaising Hesrhy as soon as he noticed she was out with him . Hershy just ran away fast little girl she is he could not keep up and she would hide in her boxes and tubes lol. But they did alot of chatter I never heard any noises from Hershy Untill yesterday . So today I let JD out and left Hershy out to Hershy started to chase JD they both where dooking acting crazy wrestling in a box I was very happy (so worried about little hershy getting hurt) I seen that when Hershy had enough she let JD know it and he would leave her alone . so I let them play today when I got home from the vet for a few hours then put them both in the cage together . so far no problems I will keep monitoring them I realy hope I can cage Hershy again I hate knowing she is free roaming in my room while I am not there to keep a eye on her . Fortunetly so far she not a chewer , But JD he chews anything he can put his mouth on and eats alot I fill the food bowl up 2 times a day now lol.and the little bugger ate half my pork sandwhich while I was playing with hershy ( Ithink they set me up Hesrshy was the distracter lol ) so I doubt I will have a problem switching him to raw . Today I started giving Hershy Unckle Jims duc soup its the first wet food she ever had took a little while to get her to try it but she took a few bites of it but only from my finger . Hopefuly in a couple of weeks I can start the switch to raw foods once they both settle in some . Thanks to everyone for you help and advice Frank |
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Post by weloveourweasels on Jul 31, 2008 2:31:45 GMT -5
That sounds like good news. Seems like JD will be easy to switch since he ate some of your pork sandwich and has probably been giving a variety of no no ferret things like chips and what not. May I make a suggestion. I do not know if you will buy more Uncle Jim's duck soup mix after you switch to raw. I don't know what kind of kibble you feed now or how you feel about Marshall's kibble but when I got Rolo the lady wanted me to buy a bag of Marshall's instead I asked for a small amount so I could switch her from Marshall's to a different kibble. She did give me a little bag for $5.00 but I told her I was feeding the duck soup and she said that it was basically the same as the kibble just crushed. So I switched them to Nupro all natural supplement since it doesn't have by products or fish. Now the only thing about Nupro is it cannot be used for a main source of nutrition like the uncle Jim's can BUT. Here is an easy trick. You can just take regular kibble and put it in a zip-lock baggie and bash it with a rolling pin, meat tenderizer. whatever blunt object you have laying around in the house and you will have your own instant mix you can keep at hand. Plus you can give it to your fuzzies as a treat and they will think you are spoiling them. Me I Just sprinkle the Nupro on their food and occasionally give them it as a treat. If they were sick I would mix in some crushed kibble powder with the Nupro since it helps them digest their food and absorb nutrients. That will be different down the road once I have myself and my situation adjusted and I can feed all raw or whole prey then if they were sick they would get syringe fed pureed meat or whole prey. If you are interested in getting a free sample of some Nupro to try out you can get some here just call the number and tell them you have 2 ferrets and would like to try it out for them (the sell stuff for dogs and cats too) It is a quick phone call they take your shipping info and it gets there in a week or less. The sent me a nice size bag which I just poured into my Nupro jar since I allready had some.  I am a free sample freak. www.nuprosupplements.com/ferret_info.html |
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Post by suds on Jul 31, 2008 5:04:46 GMT -5
I switched to Evo and Zupreem as soon as i got hershy and went on a shopping spree at ferret.com lol got nupro ,lax , ferretone and the duck soup mix as well as many toys and treats to see what they like, so i v figuered i use the duck suop mix to get hershy used to differnt texture foods as well every other day been dampening the kibble being very suttle . Worried about stress on them both been a hard few weeks for hershy . |
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Jul 31, 2008 7:02:31 GMT -5
Its nice to see that things are going well at your house. It sounds like everyone is getting along well and that you when you go to switch to raw are not going to have many problems. |
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Post by weloveourweasels on Aug 1, 2008 1:52:56 GMT -5
AHA. Like I said the Nupro and duck soup are basicly the same thing except the Nupro has no vitamins, byproducts or fish. That is better for me because the kibble allready has vitamins and I wouldn't want to cause a vitamin overdose. I myself and just weary about giving my babies stuff with fish because yuck.
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I am a free sample freak.