Weekend Recap - Looking Ahead to a Crazy Week

First - the weekend recap....

Not really a whole bunch to report in critter land over the weekend.  Piglet and pup had lots of time outside as we had glorious weather.  The littles had their standard weekend of eat, sleep, play, poop, repeat. Everyone seems to be doing great and feeling fine.

This week is going to be hectic.  The humans have lots going on at work.  On Tuesday the little critters will have to go into their critter room for the evening and the bulk of Wednesday.  On Tuesday night we get to prep the area for the new floor to be installed which entails moving furniture and pulling carpet. Fun times!  I am super excited to have the new floor installed though so it will be worth it for sure.  Hopefully by Wednesday afternoon/evening the critters will have full run of critter land with their new critter proof floor.

Sadly the end of the week is equally as crazy at the start.  Hopefully next week will be calmer....doubtful since next week we have the vet coming to see Winston and the weasels.  That should be an adventure for sure!

That's all for now - Happy Monday!

General Updates

Things here are good - crazy but good.  As I type this its raining.  It's thundering so the dog has taken up residency in the hubs' closet.  I let Winston in our room for some cuddles - he didn't want me - he wanted to go in the closet with the dog.  He hates it when she is upset.  Ever since he was a piglet he has hated when she is upset.  Here is an old pic from 2014 when Winston was just a few months old:

Anyway - they are in the closet together - Emma crammed into a corner as deep into the closet as she can get and Winston happily snoozing in the laundry pile.

The new critter area flooring was delivered today.  It has to live here for at least 72 hours to get used to our "climate".  They come next week to do the installation.  Slow progress but progress none the less.









A couple of days ago I posted about Winston and how he can be a big pink turd with guests.  Hubs says he is mean - I disagree.  I think I have empirical evidence that shows that Winston is very in tune with the fear and apprehension that people feel when they are around him.  He is a somewhat intimidating critter and he knows it.  One of the guys who does work in the yard was raised around pigs and is totally comfortable around Winston.  He is not intimidated by him and for the most part he just ignores him and goes about his business.  The other day the guy and I were talking in the yard.  Winston came running over to him, rubbed on his leg like a cat and proceeded to flop on his side and request  belly rubs.  When belly rubs happened there were all sorts of happy little oinks and squeaks.  Amazing difference in Winston's behavior.  The old saying - they can smell fear - it just might be true.

The little ones - they are doing just great!  The kitties are mad at me - I ran out of canned cat food so they are on the verge of death because they never get a meal - whatever - drama queens!!!  I gave each of them a pile of kitty treats as a peace offering - seemed to work.  The weasels are all doing just fine - they were all full of energy this evening when I went down to do nightly chores and check in on everyone.

We have added a new outdoor critter to the list of residents.  Chipmunks - they are SO cute!!

Vet visit had to be rescheduled - he's coming to visit Winston and the weasels on the 25th....

I think that might catch us up....

Back In the Swing

Whew - after a crazy weekend we are back in the swing of things around here.  Winston had a good day - outside early, in for a couple of hours this morning, back out til about 2, in for a nap, back out at 4, in at 5:30 or so for dinner.  We did some maintenance which was good because I found 2 ticks on him.  His skin is so tough they don't get very far - not engorged with blood.  I used peroxide to make them let go and then pulled them with tweezers.  We also did eyes, ears and more futzing with his tusks - he is getting very used to me doing all sorts of things to those tusks.  Going to see how much he hates the noise of the Dremel soon.  Not ready to file them - want to consult with the vet when he comes out on the 18th.....

Emma had a pretty good day as well.  She has been pretty lazy today - I think having Quincy here wore her out a bit.  She did a good bit of outside time as well - which is great!  She has been thoroughly checked for ticks as well.... Kitties and weasels are all just fine.  Everyone seemed happy and healthy on my visits to critter land over the course of the day.  Tomorrow morning will entail a deep clean of their area - it was tidied over the weekend but it needs a good vacuum, mop and a load of critter laundry done....

All in all it was a good critter day - I like it when we are back on a schedule....

Crazy Weekend!!!

OMG - this was a crazy weekend!  My mom came up for  a visit on Friday, the hubs and I had tickets to the show Friday night.  We had friends over on Saturday and we hosted Mother's Day Brunch today.  Wowser - lots going on in the human world.

I feel like the critters were a bit neglected this weekend.  Don't get me wrong - they were cared for as always but I didn't get the face time with them that I generally do. The ferrets are doing well - Mom and I went in to critter land for a visit this evening.  Everyone was happy and playful.  Kai was a bit exuberant as always.  The kitties had some loves and play time as well - they were doing just fine as well.

Emma has had a good weekend - her old pal Quincy was here (my mom's golden).  They have had some good together time this weekend.  They are 9 months apart in age - Emma turned 13 in March and Quincy will be 13 in December.  They have grown up together and are great friends.

Winston probably felt the craziness of the weekend more than anyone.  He is doing better but is still not trustworthy with guests.  He feels the need to show his dominance.  Now that his tusks are growing out and are quite sharp its easy for him to accidentally scratch you when he moves his head in an effort to show you who's boss.  I wouldn't exactly call it a swipe - its not that same motion he used when he was younger.  But he does scratch/poke you with his tusk and it hurts and can easily draw blood.  I am working with Winston on getting accustomed to me playing with his teeth.  Every night at bedtime I try to mess with his mouth - I use a Q-tip to  clean his gums and teeth.  I use my fingers and my finger nails on his teeth and his tusks and I make him open his mouth so I can get a full view.  At some point I will introduce the Dremel and at some point I hope to be able to file down his tusks myself with no medication.  Not sure how successful I will be but we have been very lucky on maintenance so far - he loves eyes, ears, hoofs and so far his is happy with teeth - fingers crossed this will work.

We really tested him this weekend - I think he did fairly well - better than I had thought he would.  There is certainly room for improvement.  My husband, however, doesn't think things went well.  We disagree on whether Winston is a "mean pig" or not.  I say no - that he is being a pig and trying to show he is dominant.  Hubs thinks he is being mean.  All in all - we had one incident where he mini swiped one of the nephews.  Thankfully he didn't break the skin and he mostly just got him muddy from his dirty snout.  He was fed by a stranger multiple times and he had lots of strangers in his space.  All in all it went fairly well.  My mom is not a huge fan - he has her quite intimidated - so they didn't spend any time together this weekend.  Tomorrow we go back to the regular routine - that goodness.....

Hoping all of you have had a happy Mother's Day!!

Behavior Reminders

There are days with the crazy brood of ferrets need some reminders about the appropriate way to behave with the humans.  The little boys, Bash, Kai and Theo, in particular, need to be reminded that they can't be rambunctious, bitey and generally wild.

Bash is probably the easiest to remind.  He is such a tender hearted ferret that he hates being in trouble or reprimanded. He very quickly stops whatever behavior you are not happy about - usually its biting (not malicious biting at all - it's playing too rough) or scratching - he loves to scratch on my feet.

Theo is much the same - he is a bit older than the other two and tends to be more mellow overall.  He too, likes to bite occasionally and he sometimes scratches as well.  He usually stops fairly quickly once told NO - unless he is super excited and wound up.  Then it takes a bit for him to settle down.

Kai - well.... Kai is my wild child.  He is exuberant, rambunctious and just plain crazy.  First off - he is a leaper.  He will leap at your legs when you are walking - leap at your hands if you are playing and leap into your lap if you are sitting down.  He also likes to climb - your pantlegs if you are standing, your shirt if you are sitting.  He is wild - did I mention.  He is very much the biter - again it's not malicious like I am biting you to be mean or make you go away from me - its biting out of excitement and playfulness.  He loves to play and wrestle.  Kai takes quite a bit of corrective action before he ceases his crazy behavior.  Eventually he does stop and then interacting with his is quite enjoyable.  Even though he is my wild boy - he is one of the most affectionate of the ferrets.  It's not unusual for him to shower your face with kisses.

The little girls - Maddie, Fiona, Violet and Tabby - rarely have to be reminded.  None of them are particularly bitey.  Occasionally Fiona or Tabby will scratch at your feet - but you only have to ask them once and they both stop right away.  I have found that little girl ferrets are way more mellow and way more independent that little boy ferrets.

Ferrets are incredibly intelligent creatures.  They learn quickly.  They are also incredibly rough and tumble with each other which is why they play so rough with their humans.  They scratch on each other and bite and pull on each other's coat/skin (which is very tough by the way).  They just need those gentle reminders that they need to engage with people a bit gentler than with their ferret siblings.

Critter Land Updates

The first update I am quite happy to share is that the air conditioning that quit working last week is back to operational so critter land is not quite so warm today.

The bigger update is that we are getting rid of the carpet in their area - thank goodness.  Having 10 little critters in that space doing untoward things on the carpet is a cleanup nightmare.  No more carpet shampooing for me (that's not totally true - Emma and Winston make their share of messes on the living room and bedroom carpet - but....the little guys are way worse.

We had wanted to put in tile but unfortunately the subfloor we have will not support the weight so we went with a laminate instead.  So - hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will have a lovely new floor that is much easier to maintain!  Will share pictures when done...

Precautionary Measures

I belong to this great group on Facebook - a whole boat load of pig people who share stories and pictures, etc.  I have seen lots of posts floating around about  a bacteria that causes a disease in pigs called Erysipelas.  It's also known as Diamond Pig Disease because one of the symptoms is diamond shaped lesions.  From what I am gathering, early diagnosis and treatment is key.  If caught early this can evidently be treated with a course of penicillin.  Let's be honest - pigs are not the easiest critters to transport.  Winston hates the car, it's incredibly difficult to get him into a vehicle and the thought of doing this when he is sick, in the dead of night kinda freaks me out.

So - I headed over to Tractor Supply and bought a small bottle of penicillin to have on hand. Since critters rarely seem to get sick during vet business hours I wanted to put ourselves in the position of having it on hand should we need it.  If Winston were to show symptoms in the middle of the night or on the weekend we could contact the emergency vet and get advice as to whether we should begin treatment and not have a several hour/day delay waiting to get access to the drugs he needs.  Hopefully through the technology available - video call or texting of pictures the vet could do a preliminary assessment and determine where to start.  The small bottle of penicillin was $8.49 and it's shelf life is good until January 2018.  It's a small price to pay to have it on hand.  I also bought a box of syringes and needles so I can do the injection should I need to.

I hope I never have the need to use that penicillin - that in January of 2018 I can pull it out of the fridge and drop it off at the vet for proper disposal.  In the meantime it gives me piece of mind that it's here in the house and should an emergency come up and he need it for Erysipelas or something else, I have it and can start treatment immediately.  In addition - Winston is vaccinated for the more common strains of this disease so that helps as well.  Next time I visit the vet I will have them give me a quick tutorial on how to give the injection - how deep, location, etc - just in case....