A Day in the Life of a Zookeeper

A Day in the Life of a Zookeeper
Ever wonder what its like to share your world with a bunch of crazy critters? Tune in to find out!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Daily Interactions

I often get asked how I have time to spend with all the critters and if I spend time with each of them each day.  So here is a look at a typical day and the interactions we have:

Wake up time - I often get to spend some time with some of the critters in the morning when we first wake up.  Usually Ollie and Phoebe are on the bed.  Sometimes Clooney will come up and lay with us or the baby ferrets will come up to play.  Once the hubs gets up Emma takes over his spot on the bed.

Each of the ferrets is located and loved on.  Nigel gets a bed check to make sure he is good and that he has plenty of food and water to last him til the afternoon.  Downstairs we troop and Emma goes outside.  Typically Clooney goes down with us and enjoys his rawhide stick and his Ferretone.

Over the course of the day - usually Phoebe is with me no matter where I go, same for Emma.  Oliver comes up for visits throughout the day.  Aggie usually sleeps for part of the day next to me - but never on me.  Zoey pops in and out - much preferring to hang out in the kitchen.  The ferrets are woken several times a day - around 11, 3ish, 8ish and 11 or so.  We do this to spend time with them and to wear them out.  The babies get individual attention over the course of the day - 1:1 time playing and cuddles while sleeping.  Madison gets cuddle time each time she gets woken up.  Clooney gets the same.  Emma gets some sort of toy time - tug of war or fetch.

In the evenings everyone congregates in the bedroom.  Nigel usually gets moved from his cage to the bedroom around 5 and goes back into the cage around 11 or so.  When he gets tucked in he gets a water check and food refill if necessary.  He also gets his treat of worms and gets his blankets straightened.  Phoebe most nights brings up her ball and we play a game of fetch - she is good at this - better than the dog.

So - yes - I do engage each of them individually each day - it is lots of time but I so love them that I wouldn't change a thing.

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