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Singing Songs to Your Ferrets ... Reaching the Epitome of Silliness Do you sing to your ferrets? If not, why don't you? Ask the Extreme Weezils if THEY enjoy being sung to and about, and they will answer with a look and silence, but what they are thinking is YES! But I don't know how to sing well, you lament. Take it from me, ferrets do not care if you sing out of tune, off key, or otherwise plain badly. They know they are being celebrated in song and revel in it. Don't know any ferret songs? Although my husband insists that I should sing all our favorite weezil songs into the computer and allow you to download them in order to listen to the words and the melody [or what is posing as a melody, anyway, as I am no singing diva...] HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN FERRET SONGS
1. Choose a song with a familiar melody, one that you know just how it goes ...
2. Run the song through your head to see if there is any word that can be replaced with one or more of the following words: dook ferret fuzzies ... or any other ferret related word you may use around your household 3. Sing the song outloud, improving as you go to make it a ferret song 4. Sing the song around your significant other or whomever you feel comfortable enough around to sing a silly song outloud Repeat steps 1 through 4 EXAMPLES Mister Bandito [sung to the tune of 'Ride of the Valkryies' ... I know there are no words, that is why I'm ADDING some...] Mister Ban-DI-to He's really NEAT-o He's got four-FEET-o Mister Bandito! Basil E. Dookenheimer Schmitt [sung to the tune of Jacob Jingleheimer Schmit] Basil E. Dook-en-hei-mer Schmitt He is a dooky dook Whenever he is out He plays and runs about Basil E. Dookenheimer Schmitt dook-dook-dook-dook-dook dook-dook [repeat] Mr. Beary [generic show tune theme melody] Oh Mister Bear-y With the cinnamon haiiirr-y Oh Mister Beary Boy We Love You So We're never gonna let you go Our Bear-y Our Bea-ar-y BOY! Raven Under the Fuzzy Moon: [sung to the tune of 'Daisy'] Rav-ey Rav-ey Under the Fuzzy Moon... We love our Ravey and she loves us TOOK! Sasha's Song - Sung to the tune of 'Volare': Oh Sashy Whoa- o - O - o Bo Bashy Whoa- o - O - o [repeat] The Ferret Morning Song - to be sung to the ferrets each morning while greeting them for the first time since you were out of bed...Sung to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas": Good Morning to You Good Morning to You Good Morning Little Ferrets ... Good Morning to You Most of the songs we both sing are general melodies that we know are familiar to us but cannot name the actual song. Some even come from much disliked songs that we ALL know all the words to, like Barry Manilow singing 'Lola' : His name was Blitz-y He was a show-fert [visions of Blitz as a show ferret dance in our head each time we sing this and we both laugh] Send us YOUR ferret songs and we will post them! Keep on singing! |
Walking Your Ferret : Thoughts from the Extreme Weezils' Dad
In response to a question on walking your ferret posted on the Extreme Weezils' Message Board : Given the choice, most ferrets would rather not wear their harness, but once you get it on they tend to do pretty well. They are far more distracted with all the new environment going ons rather than worrying about the troublesome harness on them. But a few will still figure out how to get out of them at the most inopportune times. So always check from time to time that their harness is securely in place. If you use a velcro harness like I do, you'll find that they can sometimes rip them loose by crawling over things and getting it snagged. So a quick check to make sure all is well is always a good idea every few minutes.
As far as taking them out for walks in the grass, I think it's a great idea as long as: 1) They are kept in an area where they will be safe. Parks are notorius for bike riders, children, dogs, etc. Don't walk them near busy roads, as it's always possible you could drop that leash for just a second - and that's all it takes. Inspect the area that you walk your fuzzy first. Make sure it's clear of broken glass, garbage or anything you don't want your fuzzy to put in his mouth. They love to put their noses in any hole they find, so make sure you know about it before they do. I learned the hard way when my ferret Bandit put his nose in a bee hive in a hole that I did not notice. Long story short, I had him tucked under one arm and ran a cool 3 minute mile!
2) Make sure that your fuzzy is up to date on his/her shots. This is not only to protect your fuzzy from the various things he/she can contract from outside exposure (distemper, etc), but also to protect you if your fuzzy were to say "bite" the passing admirer. People are strange, and being bitten by a weasle they might be expecting you to prove they've been vaccinated for rabies, etc.
3) Be prepared for fleas. Like it or not, those fuzzies can get them just like your cat or dog. All it takes is to walk through the grass. Unfortunately, ferrets are more susceptible to the ill effects of flea treatment. You'll probably need to consult with your vet if your fuzzy gets fleas. But, it can happen, and outside exposure just increases that risk.
4) Sun exposure. You got it right when you mentioned your concern with the sun. Especially if you live in Arizona, the temperatures can be extreme. So, evlauate the temperature. If it's hot, reconsider another "cool" activity with your weasle, rather than an outside one. One thing that works for me in the hot summer is to take our walk after the sun goes down but it is still light enough to see. Even more fun are the "night-time walks". I can get away with that because we have a completely fenced in yard to do it in and I have plenty of light outside to see. But they love the cool night air. If you do decide to go out in the day, consider sticking to shaded areas. It's likely that your ferret will want to stick to those areas anyways, as they provide the most interesting places to scratch and explore. My wife wanted me to remind you that heat tolerances for most ferrets are temperatures of 80 degress Fahrenheit are TOO hot. Also, their feet are VERY sensitive to hot pavement, etc - so consider WHERE you walk them. And last, on hot days, make sure your fuzzy has access to plenty of cool, fresh water as needed.
5) Keep that harness on! I learned my lesson the hard way when I thought I could get away with letting one of my ferrets run around without their harness. After all, we have a fenced in yard, and I was right there at all times to make sure everything was okay. I kept him confined to a small area by picking him up whenever he walked into an area I didn't want him going. That was until he discoverd the ONE small hole in the fence that I did not see. Under the fence he went - and into Matrix's (the german shephard next door) yard. As luck would have it, the barking was enough to scare him back under the fence before I could jump over it to save his little fuzzy butt. But, you get my point - keep that harness on. Just when you think they can't possibly find trouble in one small area, they prove you wrong. That leash and harness might be the only way you can pull your fuzzy out of a bad spot if they find it.
6) Bring a small carry bag or equivalent with you. You never know when that stray dog can come out of nowhere and spot your fuzzy. If he/she is tenacious enough, you holding them might not be enough. For your fuzzy's sake, keep a small carry bag with you that you can tuck them in and secure in a moments notice if you have to. If your fuzzy panics, you might have a hard time holding them. Your fuzzy will feel safer in the saftey of the bag and you'll feel better if the need arises.
As far as "how long" should you take them out? I think it's only an issue of monitoring whether or not the above conditons are met, and watching to see how your fuzzy is reacting. If they're having a blast and you're comfortable with the situation, I don't see why any length of time would be bad. If anything, they'll burn off some energy and you'll have fun watching them sniff and explore things that don't normally get to. NEVER take your eyes off of them while they are outside!!! I can't stress this enough. I've taken my fuzzies out for anywhere between 1 minute to 30 minutes or more. The only thing about "going outside" is - BEFORE they know what outside IS, they're a bit afraid of it at first. It's scary, full of noises and smells they are unfamiliar with. They don't know where to hide if they have to. It's instinctual for them to feel safe. AFTER they know what outside is, they want to go out again. It's exciting to them. I know this seems harmless now, but consider that if they ever spot a moment when that front door is open to your house, instead of hesitating going outside (if they're not familiar with outside) giving you that one moment to catch them - they might instead seize the oppertunity for the grand adventure of going outside on their own. I'm only saying, once they know what outside is, you have to be careful that you control HOW they get out there, as they will look for oppertunities to get outside as often as they can. James (Extreme Weezils dad) |
Living in a large house brings more rewards every day, one of which is a host of new games to play with our ferrets. The Ferret Train can be played with one or more humans, one or more ferrets, and an item to drag said ferrets along the floor with. We have been using: the large plastic bag, a super-sized extra thick kind, that our futon came inone of the various quilts or blankets we have on our couchestowelsan assortment of clothingSee this in real-time Weezilized ACTION via the Ferret Flix Movie Pages, HERE Bear loves this game! We procured an Oriental rug for our new living room. For some reason, all the fuzzies LOVE this rug, all six ferrets and two cats. So, whenever they are on the rug in the living room, they roll on it, sniff it, dance for joy over it, and other equally happy and fuzzy expressions of joy in celebration of the rug. 
Bear will run to the living room rug immediately when coming out for a romp around the house. He plops himself down on the rug and proceeds to spin. He twists and turns, spins and rolls, all with an expression of ferrety bliss painted on his face. Occasionally we will join him and throw ourselves down on the rug near him, taking turns rolling around and around. Bear will follow my lead, I will roll then he will roll, over and over again until he gets so excited that he will jump on my back and do a weezil war dance.
Sometimes the fuzzies are out when we are having our dinner, the one meal of the day where we both sit at the table together. Our new ritual consists of a ferret wandering up to the dinner table, looking up pitifully at us from the floor. We then pick them up and show them what we are having for dinner, allowing them to sniff everything from soup to bread to drinks. Then, seemingly satisfied, said ferret wanders away to engage in equally ferrety behavior. 
The placement of the ferret room is not neccessarily in the middle of the house, but it is close enough to cause a commotion every time we walk down the hallway. If the ferrets are awake, they will run to their door when we are in the hall in order to be let out. Sometimes they will still climb their cages, just like old times, and try to get our attention that way. The Stealth part becomes neccessary when we do NOT want them to wake up, as we are leaving the house momentarily, getting ready for work, or otherwise unable to free the weezils. We have to sneak by their room as quietly as possible, trying not to wake the weezils.
Our master bathroom has a shower stall only, built into the wall separating our bedroom from our bathroom. Of course, this means that the door is at ferret level. By now all six ferrets have figured out how to open the shower stall and enter, playing and drinking any leftover water from earlier use or just going in there to leave my husband a gift on the floor...Anyone who says that ferrets do not like water have not met the Extreme Weezils! Only Bandit does not enjoy parading around under a running shower, lapping up water and getting generally soaked. [see photo] This game is new for the Extreme Weezils and came into existence with the new house. In the master bedroom there is a throw rug that has just the right amount of stiffness to allow it to buckle, creating one or more ferret-sized rug-tunnels. The ferrets will play here for quite a while, which can be viewed in Weezilized Action on our Ferret Flix page |
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