From:
kmc627@earthlink.net
Date: 2006-05-13 17:43:01 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] RE: Shivering
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Regarding the shivering, food, and sugary treats, the answers you've already gotten are excellent (and I also do the Ferretone trick when trimming claws -- works like a charm). With respect to the litter training, you didn't say whether you have a cage, so I don't know how much my experience will help, but here's how I trained mine. (It might work for you if you have a confined space for Milieu that you can cover in bedding, perhaps?)
Ferrets don't like to soil their bedding, so I'd section off one level of the cage for the baby, and completely cover the floor with soft bedding (fleece blankets, sweatshirts, etc.), slightly bunched up so they'd have to sort of climb over it to get around (this also gives them something to burrow under). And I mean cage floor was completely covered -- every inch. I'd also bunch up the bedding a little more in the corners, so the baby couldn't back up over the material.
In one corner I'd put the litter pan -- I used one of the square, high-backed ones, about 12"x12" or 12"x14" (sorry, I don't know the exact measurement), with the low entrance. Mine have never liked the smaller ones, or the triangular ones -- they like to be able to stand with all four feet comfortably in the box.
Because the rest of the cage floor was covered in soft material, the ferret had no choice but to use the litter box if he didn't want to soil his bedding. At that point, I'm 50% of the way there.
By getting them trained in the cage, they got used to the idea of going into a litter box, and it made it easier to get them to use the box outside. For a while I'd have to put soft material in the corners without boxes, and also put some around the boxes so they wouldn't just back up next to the boxes, but they really didn't fight it too much -- I might have to pick him up and put him in the box when he was outside, but he wouldn't mind it too much, and eventually I think it clicked in his head -- "Oh, I get it, it's the same out here as in the cage. Okay."
The first ferret I tried this with was trained in about a week. Each subsequent ferret (I trained 5 this way) learned faster -- the fifth one was trained the first day. (Of course, every ferret is different, and I may just have gotten lucky with mine.)
Also, I found that if I used treats, they'd actually fake using the box to get the treats -- I didn't really use them much. (Very smart little guys, aren't they?)
Sounds like little Milieu has an excellent home. :)
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