T and I took the kids (ferrets) out to the park today. This is their second time out. T put them in his tank bag and we headed down the street. I was hoping Frankie would be a little more daring on this trip. On her first outing, her tail was poofed out to three times its normal size, and she refused to stay down on the grass. As soon as I would set her down, she would run up to my legs and try to climb them.
How cute! She knows her mommy!
This time was just the same. Turd, being the big tough ferret, starts sniffing around, climbing trees, and trying to get into the squirrel holes. I would set Frankie down and then sit down a few feet away. She would run up to me and run up my back, inside my shirt. I began to feel really bad about trying to get her to explore. T said that Frankie is just lazy and she knows I will carry her around.
They also got to meet their first dog. Turd walked right up to the beagel and they started touching noses. The dog that started to actuall back away from Turd to go back to its owner. Frankie remained safely tucked away in the crook of my arm. She wasn't getting anywhere near that dog.
It’s fun to watch the difference between the two of them. Turd is much bigger, and is defiantly more active. He loves to play-fight your hand, and refuses to be held. He is smart too. He is the one who figured out how to open the gate on their cage once I unlock it, and he will eat anything. Frankie on the other hand is smaller, and likes to play in her tunnel. She usually likes to be held, and loves tuck her head under my hair behind my neck. The only thing she will eat is ferret food, and ferret vitamins. Frankie is also a little monkey! She loves to climb to the top of her cage, the bookshelf, or my dresser!
Here is a good example of their personalities. Their cage is about 5’ tall and 3’ x 2’ wide and long. They have three “floors” in their cage, the “basement” being the box that holds their bedding and the “bathroom”. 1st floor is essentially the “kitchen/dining room,” 2nd floor is just an empty “room” and 3rd floor is the “bedroom” with their hammock and igloo. They have a gate on the basement level and the 2nd floor. Usually I unlock the basement gate and try run out of the room before they get out. Turd will paw at the gate till it pops open and then they both jump out to play in the room.
The personality difference shows when I open the 2nd floor gate. This one I have to actually open because Turd can’t get the leverage needed to paw it open. Once it is open, Turd runs up to the opening, musters his courage, and jumps down to the floor. Frankie waits till Turd is out of the cage, then saunters up to the opening, and glances out. She will sit there for a few moments before deciding if she really wants to get out of the cage. Once she has decided, she contorts her body around the gate, and climbs out. She hangs for a few moments on the side of the cage, and then either carefully lowers herself down to the floor, or carefully climbs up to the top of the cage.
Like I said, a little monkey.
