this is what they do all day. so serious.

I am in that state of constantly reminding myself, "I still have three, I still have three."  They need me, they do.  I think I need them more, though, and in a very specific way it's almost unfair to put that need on them.

I try hard to be a good ferrent.  I fail a lot.  I get so caught up in the day to day things, that the ferrets often take a backseat to everything else.  Work.  My nieces.  The other animals (having three juvenile American pits is a tough task, and one I didn't necessarily want, but have accepted and embraced).

But I still have Yogi, Sian and Anya, and they deserve the best life I can give them, not just the remnants of what's left over when I can spare to give it.  Ferrets are my passion, and they did not choose me, I chose them.  I will always choose them.

Over the weekend, I used some of my tax return to splurge, and I got Sian+Yogi and Anya some toys.  Anya LOVED them, and she lost her mind (though she hasn't even gotten all of them, yet, haha).  Sian and Yogi were not as excited about them, as about the act of strange new things being placed into their room.  I think I could have saved quite a bit by just buying Anya toys galore and letting Sian and Yogi play with the boxes and wrapping.  Better believe eyes are rolling over here.

For picture evidence, this is what their room looked like before:

This is what it looks like, now, with the added toys:

They have a ball pit, a tunnel activity set, a hidey hole alligator and count them THREE ferret trees (plus the big bed over to the right and the smaller round one are new too). 

With all that, this is what they choose to do (besides being in the cage, which in the above you can see them leaving since I'm there taking pictures):

Sorry it's blurry, my new camera is crap at taking pictures, really.  But yes, sit there.  Ignoring everything.  W. T. F.

Oh, ferrets.  They don't make a lick of sense.

(and they'd have more room for the toys, if half the room didn't need to be piddle-padded.  the sad thing is, they STILL don't use them all the time.  ugh.)

pointless, maybe, but definitely entertaining.

Yesterday, it was Hiko's turn to be off.  I guess they like to keep me on my feet, or something (PROTIP, babies,  YOU DON'T NEED TO DO THAT.  I'LL LOVE YOU ANYWAY).  But, he was splayed out on the ground, and honestly for a moment I thought he was dead. 

Luckily, nope, not the case.  His ataxia is getting worse, though, and from playing and fighting over food, they had messed the sheet up, so it was bunched and there was a lot of flexi tile showing.  Now, the flexi tile isn't what I'd call slippery, but for a fella who sometimes can't even stand without going arse over head, it's probably very tricky.

So I got him up, fed him some baby food (and while he was eating, there he went, rear end trying to climb right over his head) and helped support him while he ate, and then got him on the carpeted hallway so I could clean the room and straighten out the sheet again.

The thing with Hiko is, I've had him tested for every disease I could think of, and insulinoma was one that was tested for REPEATEDLY, because ever since I've gotten him (waaaaaaaay back in 2010, hahaha) he's had these wonky episodes, where his motor control just goes phhhhhhhhbt.  So far, he doesn't show anything but adrenal disease, and that at a very early stage.  So, I'm thinking that maybe this is purely neurological, or the result of physical trauma (I know he was initially rescued by a NC chinchilla rescue, housed with other ferrets that did not like him; was adopted by a couple where: he escaped the bathroom where he was housed and got into house venting; he was attacked by a dog, and "given" to a two year old as a pet, and the two year old, of course, did not handle him properly, which was the reason he was being rehomed when I got him) that's just amping up now that he's getting older.

As it's gotten worse, I've had the inevitable thoughts.  Thoughts about helping him cross the bridge, because I am stumped.  I've done the testing, and now I can't afford to continue it, if there's something there (cancer, etc) to find (and with ferrets that's a hard thing, getting a concrete diagnosis, believe you me).  So, yes, I've thought about it, and I realized that if he lives most of his days with a dull, distant look to him that the kindest thing will be to schedule that final appointment, and I will.  I was almost convinced last night, but (as they so far do) the moment passed, and he was busy tootling around (not at all gracefully, but happily) before he curled up to sleep.  That gave me enough incentive to stop crying, suck it up, and realize he DOESN'T want to go, yet.

So, I do what I can: feed him every couple of hours (in case it IS insulinoma and we can't see the tumors OR register it on the glucose meter), make damn sure he has textured flooring, keep his nails trimmed religiously, and keep an eye out for episodes.  Next time, when it happens, I think I will actually vid it, so I have physical proof of it, AND I won't have to rely on my memory to describe the incident, either.

So, that's Hiko news.

In OTHER news, Yogi attacked Hiko yesterday.  Yep, yesterday, when he was all wobbly.  I should have realized that feeding Hiko baby food in their room, while Yogi and Sian are out in the hallway, is not a good idea.  Yogi loves baby food as much as Hiko.  He would not leave Hiko alone (especially as Hiko, because of the aforementioned wobbliness, had stepped in the food as well):

 

 

 

See that?  When Yogi starts following Hiko around like that, and smelling his neck?  Not Good things are about to happen.  It's not really about maliciousness, more about Yogi getting frustrated and taking it out on the lowest on the totem pole.  I kept calling him off, but I turned around for a second to reach for something, and next thing you know Yogi was roughing Hiko up.  Got them separated, got Hiko calmed down, and took him with me to get more baby food so they could share a jar.  It worked, and then after that Yogi calmed down and they were friends again.  It wasn't like I wasn't going to give Yogi some, I was just going to wait until the room was done and they were back up to give it.  Apparently, that is not good enough. 

 

Lesson learned.

 

Also, in utterly adorable news, I gots me some lap time with all three.  Not as a group, but Hiko got in my lap and laid down for a bit (which is not unusual, he does love doing that).  Then he left to curl up in some empty trash bags they had scattered around the floor (don't knock it 'til you try it, apparently).  Then Yogi actually crawls into my lap, and curls up after some cute face cleaning.  I mean, seriously, they look like little beavers or something when they drag their paws down their face and all.  IT IS TOO CUTE, MY HEART CAN'T TAKE THAT KIND OF ABUSE. 

 

So, he's curled up, and I'm just about dying, because it's been a long time since he's done that.  

Meanwhile, Sian is running around like >:| >:| >:| because she can't believe she's not in my lap, even though she didn't want to be in my lap.  I think she believes she should have free access to cuddling, therefore NO ONE ELSE should take "her" space, just in the off chance she wants it.  As a result, she starts digging at my back and nipping me.  All that tantruming stuff she still has not grown out of.  Eventually, she curls up on top of Yogi (who slings his front leg over her, OMG BAYBEES, HOW SO ADORBS?) and naps, too.

Ugh, cuddle time FTW!  \o/  I've definitely missed it.  All three of them actually even cuddled together (before the laptime) braced against my leg.  That's right - Yogi, Sian and Hiko actually group snuggled.  WHAT.

In food news, they had mice the night before last:

Hiko heartily approved :)  Today, they had eggs and crushed eggshell (that pic is actually the header now, obvs), and will finish the night with pork heart.  YUMMERS :)



(you know, if there are people actually reading this, I am impressed.  This blog is not known for its coherence, or, you know, its relevance to anybody but me.  What it is known for is random badly taken pictures, CAPS, commas, parentheses, and poorly described stories.  So, yeah.  Here are my apologies.  Your eyes will stop bleeding in 6-12 hours after reading, ahahahaha. :/ )

there it was, hiding just around the corner

Sian got really sick a few days ago.  I went down to play and clean ferret rooms, and I always start with the big guys' room.  So I get them out, and they're exploring and playing just like usual.  No problem whatsoever.

I finish up, get the big guys in their room, and go get food (hairless mice and pork heart, plus supplemental baby food for Hiko).  Everybody is chowing down and loving the heart and whole prey (which they had not been able to have for awhile).  I go to clean up the girls' room, and get Rula fed and put up so Anya could come out.

That all done, I'm about to shut lights off and go upstairs, when I hear this long whimpering sound.  I pause, wait, and then I hear hacking, then the sound of vomiting coming from the big guys' room.

I get there, peek over the plexi glass and see Sian under the cage, alternating between splayed out and pacing and heaving.  She's trying to bury herself under piddle pads, twisting and turning - doing everything that lets me know something is hurting her.

I get in, try to persuade her to come out, and at first she won't.  So I keep talking, softly and calmly, all the while thinking she swallowed some part of the mouse she had been eating wrong, and it's either stuck in her mouth, throat or worse somewhere along the route to her stomach or IN her stomach.

Finally I get her to come out, but she's restless, trying to heave, breathing hard.  She then goes to the piddle pads, goes to the bathroom, and when she's done, I look - orange, watery stool.  Basically orange, mucus filled water, is a more apt description.

WTF.

I get ahold of her, and she's shaking.  My heart is just sinking to my toes at  this point, but I get her scruffed, pry her mouth open.  Clear.  I then stick a finger into her mouth, feeling as far back down her throat as possible.  Clear.  [and this is why I love my guys.  She just let me do this.  Not a bite, not a wiggle, not a scratch.  All while feeling horribly ill].

I massage her throat, her stomach.  Throat doesn't elicit a reaction.  But I get to her stomach?  It's tight and feels distended.    I start thinking oh my god, blockage, and when the food hit, she went downhill.  I let her down, and she just kind of lays there, shaking and spacing out.  Whatever is going on, I'm seeing my little girl actually in the beginning stages of shock. 

I go upstairs, get pumpkin into a large needle-less syringe and head back downstairs.  I scruff her and give her just a little bit.  Then, I hear this loud noise.  It's coming from her stomach.

Sounds like a lot of trapped gas.  So, then I start thinking, major GI upset.  I pick her up from where she's laying, hold her and just tell her "you're alright, you're alright," and every time I do, she presses her forehead against my cheek, and lays there shivering.

So my night went like that.  Every time she got up and used the bathroom, she'd get a little pumpkin and I'd hold her, or lay her in their plush bed on the floor and keep her covered.  By 5 am, she was feeling well enough to give me a kiss or two and even climb into the first floor of the cage.  By this time, too, her poos had changed from that watery mess to very small and loosely formed ones.  I gave her one more dose of pumpkin, and then let her settle in the cage with Hiko and Yogi for a few hours while I caught some sleep.

Got up around nine, and although she was still a little "quiet," she actually jumped out of the cage when she heard me coming and was waiting at the door.  She was stretching and moving, everything she couldn't do a few hours earlier (in fact, when she was bad, she'd shove her legs under her, get her torso into a scrunched loaf, and stick her hind end up in the air.  It was so sad.). 

I pick her up as I come into the room and she's smelling me and giving kisses.  When I lay down, I have her in the crook of my arm, and whenever I'm close enough she kisses and snuggles, and then splays out, upside down.  She was a pretty happy girl, then, and you could feel the relief pouring off of her.

Poos are still a bit small, but each day they get more normal.  A vet, back when Yogi had been sick with diarrhea, did tell me that it could take a few days to regain volume in the stool, and Sian seems to be keeping that notion alive.

She's eating well, too.  The night following the incident, I gave them goat meat and chicken necks.  She settled down right away and started eating.  She didn't eat a lot, but she did eat.  Last night, they had beef heart and chicken necks, and this time she ate a more normal meal.

About ten years have been shaved off my life with this stunt.  And it coming from Sian is a surprise, since in the almost 5 years I've had her, I've never had her have a sickness.  Not once.  Reaction to distemper?  Check.   Trauma to her nerves due to a misplaced shot of Benadryl given by a vet tech (to reduce another reaction)?  Check.  Just no sicknesses.

Well, it seems we've broken our streak.  Oh, well.  I'm just overjoyed my little girl is okay again <3 p="">

 

oh, capricious winds

So.  I totally fail at taking pictures.  Let's just start off with that.

But words are nice.  You can have some.

Got done taking care of ferts and letting them roam.  Since they've been having chicken necks a lot, I decided to change it up, and saved back some tilapia (we were having it for dinner).  Generally, my guys LOVE tilapia (and is really the only fish I feed them.  I've tried sardines, salmon and flounder.  All made for stinky, stinky ferrets.  ESPECIALLY the flounder), and they don't get it a lot, so it's always a treat.

Well, usually always.  Usually always, except for tonight, apparently.  Did I miss the memo saying this was off the menu?  Apparently, little miss Sian was completely miffed about having this in her bowl.  While Yogi and Hiko ate their baby food, Sian was flat out glaring at me, while I just ":/" back at her.

Of course, I couldn't even find my bottle of olive oil to entice her until I moved over to Rula and Anya's room to clean.  I must have knocked it off the pony wall some time between last night and tonight.  So, I get Rula up with her tilapia (and like the good little girl she is, starts chowing down immediately), and peek in on the big three.  I first notice Sian curled up in a cuddly up, head resting on the edge of it, on the second floor of their FN, just staring morosely at me.  I look down at the floor, Hiko is having the time of his life, nibbling and scattering pieces of tilapia everywhere.  Oh, my sweet boy.

...

....

.....

the end.

another post from the queen of miscellany

So, just some random pictures of the big guys (Yogi, Sian and Hiko) and Anya from the night before :)

I love it when Sian and Yogi start playing.  It always sounds so vicious - a lot of whimpering and yelping, but they absolutely dive into it.  Watching Sian beat the ever loving snot out of Yogi is always fascinating too - because she is so much smaller, and Yogi can wrap himself around her pretty good.  In fact, most of their tussling starts out with Yogi looking like the winner from the out-set, but you take your eyes off of them for a minute and then turn back?  Sian has him by the ear, neck or somewhere else and is dragging him all over the floor and back. 

It surprises me every time, until I remember the two as kits.  Yogi was over four pounds when I brought Sian home as the tiniest kit I've ever seen, and they were roughhousing the first day.  So she's learned to hold her own.  Very quickly.

Other than that, cleaned ferret rooms and fed them (boneless chicken thighs dusted with eggshell powder, and an added jar of baby food, for mister Hiko).

So, yep.  Still doing well <3 p="">

blargh

So!  I cleaned up the big guys' room today and clip nails, because Yogi and Hiko?  Freaking razorblades at the ends of their paws, yay.  They got to roam the downstairs.  Had a blast, too, though I managed not to take any pictures (:C I know, the internet ether likes pictures).  While I rounded up the boys and put them back in their room, I had a lot of commotion down the hallway.  Apparently, Sian was having the time of her life in the shower stall.  Dooking, chittering and wardancing like mad.  It was too cute to believe :D :D :D

Then Rula and Neera got out to run and get their nails clipped.  I made it upstairs in time to catch the fed-ex guy delivering the ferrets' whole prey (hairless large mice, super large rats).  He was redfaced and panting, and I was :/// ??? at him.  Turns out with all the snow, ice, rain and thawing we've been doing his truck couldn't make it up the hill.  You know, the mile-long hill that crests at 3000 ft. above sea level?  Almost a 1000 foot difference from the start of our driveway?  Yeah.  He had to carry a 3 foot long box weighing 44 lbs up that hill.  And here I was wondering why it wasn't delivered yesterday like it was supposed to be, hahaha.

Cradle that box full of critter corpses close to you, man.  It's IMPORTANT.

snowday '13

So we've been having winter weather for awhile now.  Ice, wind, snow, rain, thaw repeat.  Our yard looks like a muddy field where trees go to die (at the worst, we were out of power for a little over a week).

That being said,  because Anya's fur is beautiful and thick thanks to her treatments, and she was going crazy in the room, that she needed to get out.  Ice cold and little flurries falling down, but it was worth it.  She spent most of her time trying out different cubby holes that might serve as a warm(er) place to nap, but between her scurrying she managed to play in mud, water and the little bit of snow that had accumulated in this latest round.

It wasn't long that we were out there.  By ten minutes her little nose was red, and I had to fight her to get her back inside to warm up.  She might go out again later, as well :)

Beyond that, it's almost time for another nail clipping for her, hahahahaha.  Oh, how the time flies.  Also, the  conversion from Marshall's to Wysong is still ongoing, though she's eating the mix (which is mostly Wysong at this point) like a champ.

Hiko's looking like he's due for another des. implant.  His coat is getting distressingly orange again, and he seems a bit more irritable and cranky than he's been (plus Yogi's looking like he wants to start bullying him again, and that's always a sign Hiko's smell is changing and strengthening).

Everyone else is doing great, though!  Yay!

drama llama

Boogers. The big three are nothing but drama starting boogers.

The night before last I had cleaned up messes, and swiffered their floor.  I leave for the night and then before taking in Shade, one of our dogs, to the vets for an emergency visit, I let the big guys out.

I come home, go downstairs to say hi to the ferts, and when I enter the big guys' room, I see the swiffer lying on the floor and immediately get it out.  It's only when I'm putting them up last night that I notice it.  The handle of the swiffer is mangled, bitten and missing pieces.  Missing pieces.

The foam rubber handle is missing pieces.

I freak out, open their cage and get their food out, run upstairs and get out the pumpkin, goat's milk and coconut oil.  I dump half a 15 oz can into their bowl and mix in the oil, heat it up, and after add the milk.  The big guys, all of them love it, so I'm at least satisfied that there's hope whoever will pass the foam now.  Or just have a worse, more painful obstruction that much sooner.

Yay.

Before the night's over they finish the can.  This morning?  Poo everywhere.  Tired ferrets (up all night ... pooing, I guess) and no foam anywhere in all that poo.

Another half a can and eight chicks later, more poo, no foam, and I'm thinking that maybe I was lucky.  It looks like whoever ate it managed to pass it before I even was aware of the problem.  I didn't notice it when cleaning the litterboxes and piddle pads because the fur, feathers and bone in their meals hid it from me.

So, we'll see what happens in the next few days (nothingnothingnothing >:|).


_______________
Beyond that, it'll be my birthday in two days.  I'd love good wishes for Miss Shade.  Things don't look so great, physically, but mentally she's there, so aware and with us that we have to fight for her.  She's 14, the last of our original pack (her sister, Kelpie, passed at 11), but she still has some good time left, if we can get her over this.

So, yeah, if you've got the time and inclination, just wish her well.  It'd be much appreciated.

Miss Shade and Coda

the new definition of "cheap"

Hiko and Anya's vet trip!

Let's start with Anya; Hiko went first last time, I think :)

Managed to lose 80 grams, stubborn girl, so eek.  So tiny.  The vet didn't seem alarmed, would prefer the weight loss as we get her switched, rather than her gaining weight on crappy kibble, so.  And I told Dr. Paul all about her stubbornness.  He liked my idea, just mixing the bag of Marshall's in with the bag of Wysong in a tupperware container, so the smells mingle and maybe she'll eventually stop picking out just the Marshall's to eat.

She got her implant and her distemper shot.  Also got her nails clipped (for free!) while she was under.  The vet did hear her cough once, while under anesthetic.  Offered to run tests, but because the amount of cough is lessening and she's not suffering behavioral-wise with it, I said no (really couldn't afford it, either.  Dr. Paul did understand that, and said the cough wasn't a top worry of his, either).  Dr. Paul also retested her blood protein.  Up by 20 points, and since she wasn't dehydrated, the increase wasn't due to that :)

So, good news for her.  And now, unless symptoms break through, I just have to call monthly with updates.  The total for her stuff was $479.  $385 just for the implant, which - not to be a bother - but I'm going to call about (I didn't catch it on the invoice until I was home, and it was too late to call), since both Hiko and Pixie's had only been in the low 200s.  I want to know if it was in error, if the price just increased, or (and more importantly) if the make up of the implant's changed, and what that might mean, if that's the case.

Now for Mister Hiko.

First off, he gained some weight!  He's now 2.5 lbs :)  Still the smallest of the big guys, but he's getting up there, again!

He had to be fasted.  What the vet and techs don't get is that a whole prey diet is vastly different, of course, from kibble.  It's more difficult to "pull food" at a certain time with whole prey, than when it is just a bowl of processed food.

Instead of "pulling food," (which is more like "searching for body parts in any and all areas of the cage," - not as catchy, I know), I have to think of what food he'll want to eat, right away, and also what food he can finish quickly.  So, at around 1 am, I gave each of the big three 1 chick apiece.  I watched him settle down and start eating, and it was probably gone in ... oh, 30 minutes, if that.  After that, he didn't eat.

For the glucose curve testing, I fast him, bring him in and then about every hour they draw blood and run it in their glucometer, or whatever.  First one was 100; next one was mid-90s, the last one was 80.  So, Dr. Paul stamped Hiko's health card with a big, fat "not insulinomic."  YAY!

His stuff came to about $100 - so I was right, but not because they charged for a "medical problem."  But because the tech's estimate (she looked it up, online in the computer, so I'm a bit confused) for the glucose drawing was off.  Instead of $48, it was $72.  Which.  The latter looks nothing like the former, really.  Still, I had budgeted for $100, so that didn't hurt me :P

They fed Anya, because since they were keeping Hiko, they just kept Anya as well (which is good, since she's right under their eyes in case of any reactions to either the vaccine or the des.).  They apparently had on hand a little bit of Marshall's, and Dr. Paul made no bones about - he said she ate like a pig, hahahaha.

Poor Hiko didn't get fed, but I was smart, brought along a jar of Beechnut's turkey baby food, and let him eat some of that in the car before taking off for home.  Still, though, when we did eventually get home, I gave the big guys all a large rat apiece.  Hiko was the first to go for one, hissing and screaming at the other two to keep them away from the food.  Yogi and Sian stared at him, then me like, "you took him away and broke him!"

in which I'm fond of parentheses, pictures and rambling

So, a few things:

Instead of dealing with the flu, I'm now dealing with a cold.  Hurray.

This

so many little. frozen. critter corpses.

is my whole prey freezer, and yes - I have a whole freezer JUST for whole prey.  The side-by-side is a dedicated raw freezer, so >;D .  As you can see - stocking up.  Not quite there, but almost.  Left side is mice (all adults, some hairless, most furred); middle is rats (large and super jumbo) and right is chicks.  When I get the mice levels to where I'm happy, I'll go to RodentPro and start stocking up on guinea pigs.

For a raw/whole prey feeder, this is exciting stuff, guys.  Serious, so serious.

I also managed (while feeling icky on top of it.  that gets me extra brownie points, right?) to scrub the big three's room AND cage (I just failed to do laundry, oops).  The reason?

The big three had gotten excited hearing Anya first run the downstairs and then leash up for a walk later in the day.  So I decided to level the playing field somewhat and let them roam the downstairs for a bit:

I do this^ ...

... and this^ is the reaction I get. (but he absolutely loves having his scruff scratched. leans into it like a cat :*)

Opossum, my possum

more and more these days, I'm seeing these two together

Yogi Terror sniffing out dirty doggie mats.  Ferrets let you hide about zero shame.

It's a bomb!  It's a - !  It's actually carpet cleaner they knocked off my junk table. See? What'd I say about shame? Now the internet knows I have a junk.  table.  Stoopid.

Seeing as how they were out and not in their room, I had the brilliant thought of "zomg, I could cleannnnnnnnnnnnnnnn," so I did.  Scrubbed their nasty little flexi-tile floor with hot soapy water, then used my carpet broom (yes, that's right.  carpet broom.  even though the  big three don't have carpet) to brush up the debris (litter from when I tried litterbox training them in the room.  yeah, laugh it up).  Then after it dried (mostly) I put them back in and gave up all pretense that they would stick to the two piddle pad rule I have been trying to impose.  They have like six freaking piddle pads right in front of their plexiglass through-way, now, the devils.  Screw it.  Better than them dirtying up the floor even more, eh?

Then I scrubbed down the cage with more hot, soapy water, changed litter (they'll use it in the cage, some); found some unused shower curtains, the metal ones, and because the big three refuse to use the full 2nd floor of their FN as anything other than another potty-zone, but also refuse to the leave the damn piddle pad alone, I clipped the piddle pad to the sides of the cage.  I let them out this morning, and sure enough, the piddle pad (clipped) was able to survive the big three's renovation efforts!  Yay, less mess (and with Yogi, Sian, and Hiko that's all you can wish for).

Tonight, I'll sweep as needed, wash the floor with my Swiffer antibacterial and then vacuum when it dries.  Pray I can keep up this regimen, because 1) it's NECESSARY AND 2) I might be able to get a ~kind of~ respectable floor again if I keep it up.

Of course, when I let the big three out, Anya was still trying to wind down from her jaunt outside (she got to meet the UPS guy, delivering ferret food [whole prey].  That was a fun discussion once he realized the boxes he was lugging around was filled to the brim with dead critters.  He even asked, "Oh!  How did you get her on to kibble?" [as if ferrets these days come eating whole prey, *snerk*].  Oh, I just laughed and replied, "the better question to ask me is, 'how do you get her off of kibble?'"  Not very well, obviously, not very well).  So she saw these huge, healthy ferrets running around when she couldn't, and how did she respond?

This is how:

... NOT FAIR!!!! ...

what about meeeeeeeeee?

(also got a check in call from the vet for Hiko and Anya.  Apparently, Hiko's stuff is only going to cost $50?  But I have a feeling they're forgetting the "medical problem" fee they charge, which is in itself $50.  So probably $100 or there abouts.  Not bad.  Hopefully.)

Til tomorrow and said vet updates, then!

tubbies attack! (except not)

This morning I went to go let my dog out, and saw Anya was awake.  So, after Ben went outside, I decided to let Anya explore the rest of the downstairs (except the storage room, which has the chest freezer and fridge/freezer combo, which I don't want ferrets messing with).  She stayed out for about 30 minutes, and  behaved herself.

I also, one by one, brought out my big guys to see her.  I held on to them, but let Anya roam as she would.  Yogi - smelled Anya, Anya smelled him, neither one too interested, at that moment.  Sian - ignored Anya completely, Anya looked but didn't bother coming to sniff, either.  Hiko - Hiko was VASTLY interested in Anya, not unexpected.  What that means (whether friendly/dominant or too aggressive/dominant) we'll see in later sessions.  Anya, though, she was extremely interested in Hiko, too, which I wasn't expecting.  So, hmm.

But, even Hiko, is huge compared to Anya, oh my god, but especially Yogi and Sian; geez, they're like ... chubba wubba monsters or something.  They could, if they wanted, totally decimate that girl before she even knew what hit her (at least by looks).  I'm holding out hope that once I really introduce the babies to her, they'll eventually get along.  Seems more like a fair bet, since all three are roughly the same size.

We'll see, we'll see.