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Post by sombercarousel on Oct 24, 2008 14:28:29 GMT -5
I just wanted to share a few products I use and feel they are WELL WORTH the $$ I spend on them! Most favorite Get Rid of Ferret Smell product - Simple Solution Stain and Odor Remover The above product will get rid of ferrety smell on ANYTHING! All you have to do is spray it on the smelly item and let it dry. It really really works, esp on wire cages!! It also works for any messes from any animal! I always have this is my cleaning area! Bio odor remover - Marshall Bio-Odor The above is expensive when you have quite a few ferrets but it still gets rid of ferret pooh odor! All you have to do is add a few pumps of the stuff to their water and BAM no ferret pooh odor in about a week. I don't like the fact that Marshall Farms makes it. I try not to promote them in ANY way but, the product I first started using has been discontinued. The above products can be found at Petsmart. My house wouldn't be complete (or clean smelling) if I didn't have them!
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Post by Jen on Oct 24, 2008 18:12:28 GMT -5
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Post by sombercarousel on Oct 25, 2008 12:02:26 GMT -5
Ah harnesses, I know all about that topic! IMO the H style harness is BY FAR the easiest to use. I have used both the harnesses you linked to. I LOVE the Velcro harness from Marshall (yet again don’t want to promote Marshall Farms). It is much easier to get a squirmy ferret into as opposed to the harness with the clasps. Also, there is no real adjustment required, just strap it on! The only downside is they only make it in one size. If you have a rather good sized ferret it is fine, I’ll say 2lbs and up. Most females do not get this big. When you try to put it on them there is so much excess that they get stuck to the carpet or trip over it. Hehe yeah it is funny to watch them, I can not lie, but they aren’t having any fun. So, the one with the clasps works best for tiny ferrets BUT you actually have to train them to hold still long enough for you to put it on them. I was able to do this with both Neutron and Deafo. The easiest way to start out is to set your bottle of FerreTone on a table, set the ferret on the table, and let them lick the lid while you put the harness on. If you have no FerreTone, or that doesn’t work the only other way I was able to do it was to hold the ferret up in the air, one hand under their ribcage with their little feet hanging out between your fingers. Then do your best to try and clasp the harness with one hand. The ferret will kind of go limp for a min, that’s when you work your magic! Deafo sporting his Pink Clasp Harness Here are my little tricks or hints to make this a little easier – 1. Have a separate harness for every furbaby you own. This way you don’t have to fuss with size adjustment every time you put it on. It also helps to color coat the harnesses so you know whose is whose. 2. Adjust the neck portion only once and never undo it. This works for the Velcro and the clasp harness. The ferret’s head is tapered and this part will slip on and off without undoing it. Just for the record, I only recommend one other ferret harness, the one that looks like a little black mesh jacket. They also advertise them for bunnies. This was the only harness my friend could get her tiny, mean, evil ferret into! Other harnesses are just a pain in the bum to try to put on a ferret or are just dangerous! There is a harness advertised on www.theferretstore.com that has a detachable collar. I bought this for Deafo and I HATED it. The collar is detachable with a clip but the clip is enormous! It weighed Deafo down and he couldn’t walk! Deafo in Action with his Pink Clasp Harness As far as the Simple Solution Spray, I have only seen it at Petsmart. There are many similar products, and I have tried most of them. None of them work like the Simple Solution! It is worth the trip to Petsmart, or worth ordering online. There is a gallon jug you can buy. It is rather cheap, but I don’t remember the cost. Just make sure you get the one with the WHITE label. The other solutions just don’t work as good. Wow, sorry to go on so, but I just love being able to talk about ferrets!
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Post by Jen on Oct 26, 2008 16:40:19 GMT -5
Cool! Thanks! I guess I'll go with a velcro H-harness then. Weasel is maybe about 2 1/2 lbs by now. He has the mesh harness with velcro and plastic clasps. It works ok but sometimes he rubs his belly on the ground, like it's uncomfortable or doesn't fit right. He's getting too big for it though and the velcro messes up the mesh if they get stuck together. Here's pics: Again, thanks a bunch for the tips. I wondered what other ferrents were using P.S. Deafo is extremely cute too! Boy or girl?
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Post by sombercarousel on Oct 27, 2008 11:11:40 GMT -5
That is the harness my friend used for her tiny, evil, mean, devil ferret! ;D All my ferrets rub their bellies on the floor after I put their harness on. After a few moments, normally they stop. Weasel is extremely cute to! I love the way his mask looks! Is he a Marshall Farms ferret? I only ask because he doesn't look like one! Deafo is a boy ferret. He was stuck with the pink harness... you can't find many different colors at the store. hehe Somebody at Petco pawned him off on me a long long time ago. She told me her mother was going to have him euthanized unless he found another home asap. Then she asked if I knew how they Euthanized ferrets. I said "is it any different than how they do a dog?" She told me, and I quote, "they stick a needle in its heart and let it bleed to death." Anyhow, to make a long story short, I was young and dumb, believed her, and Neutron and Snafu had a new Best Buddy! ;D I wouldn't change it for the world! I love my Fo! Also, Deafo is deaf, the chick who had him before me named him, I guess it fits him. LOL Anyhow, most Blaze ferrets are, they also have a larger space between their ears. This contributes to the deafness. There are a few pages online that go in to the genetics of Blaze Ferret Deafness. I don't know them, lol, but they are interesting. What I am trying to say is, Don't turn a ferret away because he is Deaf! Deafo behaves like a normal furbaby, it was just a little harder to train him not to bite. Oh, and you know how occasionally you will try to wake your ferret up, and they wont wake up, scaring you half to death because you think they are dead, then they wake up all the sudden like "what happened", and you are balling your eyes out?!?!?!? Yeah, that happens a lot more often with Deafo!! ;D ;D ;D Deafo saying "Waz up?"
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Post by Jen on Oct 27, 2008 20:10:20 GMT -5
LOL! Your friend must have a pretty bad-mannered ferret for you to speak of her/him that way. hehe.. I don't know if he's a MF ferret; I got him from a lady who had to rehome him. He does have two blue dots tattooed on his right ear, but they're not identical (one dot is bigger than the other). Deafo looks so sweet. God, that's so horrible that people can be that way about animals.. I'd take in another ferret any day- deaf, bald, whatever.. as long as I felt I could give him a good life. I always check craigslist, but can't really make the one-hour drive up to Dallas. Dad could meet them (that's how I got Weasel) but everyone wants $100+ (to recover cage costs, what the ferret/food/supplies cost them, etc). Do you make Deafo wear a bell collar so you can hear him around the house? I checked Weasel for deafness, maybe clapped right next to him when he was asleep.. definitely not deaf, but acts like he is when I call him. Silly fuzzy. HAHA!! Just saw your sig pic. Cute!!
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Post by sombercarousel on Oct 28, 2008 13:50:58 GMT -5
My friends ferrets name was Lynk. She was a little girl, she barley made it to 1.5pounds at her winter weight! I was with my friend when she bought Lynk because at the petstore we got a ferrets from you had to be 18. I was 18 and my friend was not. So I "purchased" Lynk. Anyhow, while we were at the register, I'm holding tiny Lynk and she latches on to my cheek..... would... not....let....go...... I was brand new to ferrets, only had Neutron for a few months, I'm freaking out, my friend is freaking out, cash register person is freaking out... so Lynk lets go when she feels like. We ask for a box to take her home in. I am not joking, she had the box ripped wide open before we even made it back to the house. Now, my friend tryed to work with Lynk, tried teach Lynk not to bite, but Lynk did what Lynk wanted. She played with Neutron well, and often, but Lynk never really liked people... or to be touched...My friend loved Lynk and I loved Lynk (she was at my house A LOT) Last I knew Lynk was doing well, but my friend and I live across the US and she deleted her myspace for what seems like no reason. Last I knew she had 6 ferrets. :-D I found some ancient scanned photos of Lynk and Neutron!!!!! Lynk is the dark dark sable with the dark mask, Neutron has white knee patches Lynk Yawning!!! Yup, Weasel is a Marshall Farms ferret! Thats what the two dots mean. I have only had ONE ferret that wasn't Marshall's. That was my Dandy. *sniffle* Dandy had a lot of health problems for that reason. I really hate the way I see some people treat ferrets. I also hate how I see some people take care of their Ferrets. I *HATE* it when I see a ferret in a cage with wire floors and no bedding, or when I see them housed on Wood Chips, I honestly hated to see people use Water Bottle for them!! Unfortunately I had to start using one because Neutron thought it was fun to put kibble in the water dish, this lead to a nasty smell that took me forever to find out what it was!! lol I know what you mean about adopting another ferret! Every time I go to a petstore in Longview they have a ferret some one surrendered and it is living in horrible conditions. You can tell it is unhappy.... But, I keep telling myself I can not have more. I just rehommed 3 of my young ferrets because I didn't have the time to give them ( i was working 11-13 hours aday, I also have 4dogs). Also, the three young ones were killing Neutron and Deafo. They are so old they can't take all that hopping and Dookin.. *sniffle* I am just glad that my three when to a very good home. The nice person that took them is on this group now!! KAT THANKS FOR GIVING THEM A GREAT HOME!!!! <-- Just incase she is reading... So, I'm laid off now and thinking "oooh just one more ferret because I have time".... LMAO Anyhow, I do put a bell collar on every one of my ferrets when they run free. I trained all my ferrets to come to me when I squeak a toy, however; Deafo could never hear it. He would come running when the rest of them came running! I did loose Deafo for 3 days. I thought he was gone for good. He managed to get his collar off and get inside the dryer. I ended up hearing him rustling around late one night! Haha, Weasel doesn't come when you call him!? Neutron is the ONLY ferret I have ever known to come when called. I can yell, "mon pretty girl", and she will come running! - woah that was a long post *sigh*
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Post by Jen on Oct 28, 2008 16:05:22 GMT -5
That's cool that you and Kat are connected Small world of ferret lovers I read online somewhere that deaf ferrets could feel vibrations so you could try to get his attention by knocking or thumping the floor as u approach him. I've thought about getting Weasel a collar so I could hear him when he's throughout the house but worry about it catching since he goes under the fridge and in the lower cabinets. I got the Velcro H-harness on eBay (new) for under $10; good deal: cgi.ebay.com/Sheppard-Greene-Ferret-Harness-with-Bell-and-72-Lead_W0QQitemZ280117011045QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116Here's Weasel digging in a sand pile with his new harness and lead: The velcro works good, just need to wear it in more. The metal is heavier than on the net vest, so I'll probably take the tags off. Leash is long though. Overall, good deal (under $10, including shipping and arrived in 3 days)
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Kat
Junior Member
Posts: 24
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Post by Kat on Nov 4, 2008 10:32:59 GMT -5
Thats the Harness I use for my babies. WE love it. I don't use Bi-odor because to me it makes them smell like burnt rubber. If you feed high protein food you don't have to use the Bi-odor. Plus there is information out there, that the Bi-odor changes the pH balance in ferrets. So it could be harmful to ferrets in the long run. Don't take my word for it, because I am not a Vet, so I don't know if that is true or not. I love to use vinegar and baking soda to clean my cage. Its cheap and it works great. I just wanted to add my 2 cents, lol ;D
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