BAILEY UPDATE

Bailey spent the night in a medical cage in bed with me last night, so I could keep an eye on him. He did fine. He stayed alert and ate like a little piggy. Poos are normal, no blood from eye, ear or nose, so that's good. He was all about getting out and playing this morning, which I let him do (he is separated from Milo, of course). He loves playing with Misty and Angel, so I have them in the playroom and Milo and Ziggy are in the living room with me.

I stayed home from work today so I can keep an eye on Bailey and be able to get him to the vet if needed. He's got an open wound, which I'm cleaning with hydrogen peroxide and antibiotic ointment. He also has a big goose egg, which is the greater of my worries. Hopefully, he would have demonstrated having a more severe internal head injury by now, but I'll feel better after the 24-hour mark.

I really didn't see that the rumbles between Milo and Bailey were that bad. I'm praying it was an accident due too overzealousness on Milo's part. But I just don't know. Milo is going to be separated from Bailey for a while. After Bailey's head heals, I'll try reintroducing them under a CONTROLLED environment.

Woe is me.

BAILEY IS INJURED

Shit, crap. I wasn't watching close enough. Milo got ahold of Bailey and, I guess, bit him on top of the head, next to his right ear. He has two blood blisters and it looks awful. I found him hiding behind Keith's bookcase and he cried when I dragged him out. I cleaned it up, checked him over, fed him some duck soup and put him in his cage. He ate some kibble and is now sleeping. I'm jsut watching him now and praying we aren't gonna have an emergency vet visit.

It's my fault. Should've been paying closer attention. I feel awful.

:((((((

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ORNERY

VS.

Not a huge amount of improvement with Ziggy's dislike toward Snow. He will behave a little and not terrorize poor Snow too much, but then will turn around and drag him out of the hammock and get Snow squealing. Still puffy tails with an occasional poo.

The best I can do is scruff and drag Ziggy when he is being ornery and lay Snow on top of him, in a dominant position. I really can't say Zigs is being mean; he's being like a pesky little brother. Snow isn't wanting to dominate Zigs; he just wants to be left alone. So Snow won't back down. Much.

I'm going to hold out hope, but this may be the best I can ask for -- at least until Zigs gets bored with Snow. Actually, this morning I was very proud of Ziggy. Seems that the first thing he does when I open up the cages to let everyone out is to go up into Snow's cage and bug him. I always pull him out with a stern "NO!". This morning I watched Ziggy go into Snow's cage and I said, "Ziggy, no sir. Come out of there right now." And he did!!! He got a lick of Ferratone for that one.

So, we are just taking things one day at a time. Surely this little conflict can't last forever....can it????!

AS THE POO FLIES

Wow, time kind of got away from me and I haven't had a chance to catch up! Not a whole lot new on the Ferret Front. Ziggy and Snow are still unable to make friends. ;( I've been faked out a couple of times, thinking they were past their little squabbles, but, no....they are still at it. Zigs is the main instigator. He owns the house and everything in it, so poor Snow can't go anywhere without Ziggy trying to push him out. Snow has stopped trying to go into the Hidey Hole and often finds refuge in his own cage. But, numerous times I am having to pull Ziggy out of Snow's cage and tell him, "No, sir!"

The squabbles are still far away from any sign of play. Tails puff and sometimes there is a spray of very stinky poo. I tried letting them "fight it out", but it was obvious that isn't going to work. So now I have to step in and scruff Ziggy, tell him "no" and try sending him in another direction. Yesterday evening, we broke up a fight and I held Snow on top of Ziggy while K. held Ziggy. Needless to say, that hurt Zig's feelings. I'm hoping he will get bored soon and decide to at least tolerate Snow. UGH! It's just like having bickering two-year-olds...

And I hate being a bad guy and getting on to little Ziggy, who is really very sweet.

All my other guys are doing great and getting along with Snow fine. He's shy and pretty much still keeps to himself. He likes his cage and chooses to sleep there, even when I let him know it's OK for him to come out. Sometimes he sleeps in the hammock under the bed with George. Snow is also very sweet likes to be held. He's just had a rough time. He came to the rescue last July through another rescue agency that doesn't take ferrets. He was adopted in September and returned to the rescue in March, because the people couldn't afford to keep him. Poor little one. I think he's a bit uncertain and I don't blame him. Now he's with us and has a Wild Ziggy running after him!!

It's gonna be OK. It will just take some time.

In other news: I'm going to be inspected on Sunday to see if I am approved to do fostering for Dana. I have the cages set up, but need to gather a few more things. I'm very excited!!

WORLD WAR FERRET

NEWS REGARDING THE RESCUE EFFORT:

Arrrggghh! OK. This is what's going on today. I am not going to do my own rescue. Instead, I'm going to be a foster home/satellite rescue for my friend Dana (Forever Homes Wanted Ferret Rescue). This is much better for everyone: me, hubby, HAFA and the ferret-loving community. We only need to concentrate on fund-raising and other support for one rescue, instead of two. Help and funds are scant enough without the added stress. It actually makes me feel good that they were going to support me somehow, anyway, and that Dana is willing to let me be a serious foster home for her. I guess they like me, despite the fact that I am kind of loopy!

So, anyway, I bought home cages that I need to clean and set up. At first it didn't even look like this was going to happen. K. and I had a difficult discussion around the whole rescue issue. He has his thoughts and ideas -- I have mine. The sticking point was the problem of having enough space for the little guys (cages and free-roam space). Lack of communication, me getting upset and throwing my hands up in the air, saying, "Just forget it!" put a strain on the subject, to say the least. So I declared myself as being done.

Then hubby decided it's OK to sell the treadmill and rearrange some stuff in our workout room so I can have half of it for my cages and play space. So we are back on. There's lots to do and I think it's OK to be excited again....!

IN THE FERRET NEWS:

Well. It's been interesting. We've had Snow now for about 5 days now. He is getting along pretty well with everyone except Ziggy and Milo. Milo is my baby, only about 6 months old. He is Ziggy's ferret. Right now I think it's a pecking order issue between the baby and the new guy.

Ziggy is my one-year-old. He has made it his job to defend the Hidey Hole and his pet ferret, Milo. Not to mention his panda bear, his bubble wrap, his balls, his fish...etc. So he and Snow are not liking each other so much. They are fighting, with blood once (I believe it was an accident - Ziggy's foot got nicked) and poo more than once.

The poo is Snow's. At first, I though Ziggy was scaring the s**t out of Snow. But, I've figured out, that Snow is using it as a weapon!! I guess, since he can't spray, he poos! Here's hoping he gets past that little behavior....

Anyway, these two were at it again this morning. I decided I'm doing no one any favors by jumping in every time, so I stood close by and watched (just in case I saw an ear fly across the room or something). It was puff tail and scramble and rolling. Ziggy was dookdookdook-ing and Snow was screaming like a girl. They barely touched each other, really, just the neck holding that's normal. A little while later, I find Ziggy in Snow's cage, laying next to Snow and being nice (but dooking under his breath).

So there you go. Ferret behaviour 101. Fighting is normal. Perhaps even a bit of blood is normal. And poo. Our job is to make sure no body parts fall off and give lots of love, reassurance and Ferratone.