Ferret stories!

Cocoa's nail troubles
So, do ya'll remember a while ago I said that I was a horrible ferret mommy? Just a refresher, Cocoa got her nails stuck into her hammock and was stuck there for who knows how long before we realized she was firmly attached? She'd ended up pooping right in her hammock and was laying in it. We cut her out of the hammock and since then we haven't let her nails get that long again. (And I did throw away that hammock, in case anyone wondered.)

We'll apparently she learned from that experience...

Hal was looking at Cocoa the other day, and noticed that it looked like one of her claws was missing! (Ferrets have claws more like dogs than cats. Their nails aren't retractable and are always out there to get caught on stuff.) There is absolutely no nail in one of her little toes! And the hole where it should be looked like it had dried blood on it! I could have just cried! I was like when did that happen? Do you think it hurt? Did it bleed? How hard does a ferret have to struggle and pull to get a nail to come right out of the socket?

So I looked through her t-shirt bedding until I found a little (it really was little, so I don't think she bled much) brown spot. And firmly attached to the cloth was a ferret nail. Including the base of it! (With hairs, it's called a follicle, what's it called with nails?)

My poor baby got stuck... again! And instead of staying stuck and waiting for me to rescue her, she freed herself. By pulling on her foot until the nail came right out! Ouchy! I feel so incredibly awful!!! I'm feeling a little unfit for pet ownership! How can I let her get hurt like that? How does that happen?! I feel like I'm such a neglectful awful ferret owner! I leave her in her cage for hours while I'm at work and hours while I sleep. She only gets out for a little while a day, and to top it all off, she gets hurt while she's stuck in her cage!


And then, just to make myself feel slightly less awful, I'll think about how I was holding her and snuggling her just a couple of hours ago. And she bit my chin. That little snot!


Rubber chicken! Boo-yah!
On another, still ferrety, note. We were at Dollar General the other day, and they had this squawky rubber chicken. You squeeze the belly and the squeak comes out of the mouth a few inches away. Genius!

Rocket goes, well, a little nuts at a squeaky toy. We like to squeak it high enough off the floor that he can't get it and he jumps and jumps and jumps for it. It's too funny! And then we let him get it. And he runs off to his cage with it, where he proceeds to kill it. He shows that squeaker just who is in charge of this whole operation! He'll squeeze the squeaker until he gets sick of it. And then shake it a bit, just to make sure it's dead. And sets it down very gently in a corner. And runs away. At which point we reach in and take the toy back and squeak it again. Oh, the joys of squeaky toys...

Anyways, we HAD to get the rubber chicken. We can squeeze the squeaker and Rocket won't bite us in his frenzy to get it. (It must die, you know.) It totally rocks! The most awesomest part is that it's just the right pitch that it drives not only Rocket crazy but Garret and Cocoa, too. It's totally hilarious! One of these days maybe we can get a video. (If the stupid camera will work right! It keeps glitching and corrupting the videos we take. Grrr!!!! Not funny!)


Anyways, my ferret world is as entertaining as ever!

And Cindy, I too have heard of people walking their ferrets, but I can't figure out how they'd get their ferrets to actually walk somewhere! We've tried to take our ferrets for a walk on a leash. (Yes, we have leashes for our ferrets.) They don't... how shall we say it... walk correctly? It seems to be more about the journey than the destination, if you even reach the destination! They get distracted very easily, and don't ever go where you want them to go! Mine just go in circles & go here & then there & then run around my feet & tangle up the leash, etc.

Tag!

So, I've been tagged! And like always, I seem to like them to pile up before I do them! (We'll, I've gotten them both since the last time I posted...)

Michelle's tag (http://joshandmichellebell.blogspot.com):
Quirks:
The Rules:
Link the Person who Tagged you.
Mention rules on your blog.
Tell about 6 quirks of yours.
Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same.
Leave a comment to let them know.

1. I LOVE to collect animals. The more the merrier! Right now, I'm up to 3 ferrets, a frog, and a turtle. I'd love a kitten, but I'm really not up to scooping more poop! 3 ferrets make lots of poo! And I really want fish. I big ol' aquarium of them. (I want a snail, one of those sucker fish, maybe a nemo fish or a shark fish, maybe one of those crabs that go on the bottom, etc, etc, etc.) I've been thinking lately about hermit crabs. Anyone know if those are fun?

2. I'll usually be "in the middle" of several books at once. I start one and then forget I was reading that, or loose interest, and start another one. And then I finish them off one at a time, until I'm back to zero, then it all starts again! Note: This is NOT the same multiple books at once as Clyde Ricks (Maria's dad).

3. If I can't sleep (at night) I do some repetitive motion, over and over and over until I fall asleep, like: scratching the wall or my pillow or the sheet (that drives Hal crazy!), flicking things with my finger nail (tooth, wall, etc), petting my nose, or ... well, I'm out of examples.

4. I say "might could" in casual conversation, periodically. As in, "could we go to the store?" "We might could." I always have and I'm not sure where I picked it up at. Apparently I like it better than "maybe." I don't usually realize I'm saying it either. It just... slips out... But it fits right in here in Wichita Falls, TX! I hear it ALL THE TIME!

5. Since moving to Texas, I've learned to say a few words wrong... vowels are "pronunciated" different here, and it's a drawl. I'll, occasionally, say a word like "baseball" and it comes out sounding like "Bays-bull." I'm not sure WHY I speak funny now, but I do. Sadly, I suspect I'm not the only one who's noticed. I have NOT adapted "fixin' da" yet. (As in "I'm fixin'da bring you that.") And I hope I never hear it come out of my mouth.

6. I have a tendency to isolate myself from the rest of the world, just 'cause I'm like that. I'll just stop answering my phone, I don't call anyone back, I usually don't email people, or blog, or visit anyone, or go anywhere. I just don't deal with people. It's really kind of... pleasant... for a while. And then it gets boring and depressing. Ah, well, such is the life of the recluse!

I tag: anyone who wants to do it! Claim I tagged you and go with it! (Or you can just post some quirky things about yourself.)


Cindy's tag:
The Five
Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

10 years ago I:
1. Was just starting 8th grade.
2. Was helping take care of my adorable baby brother (he was 1 that September) and having a blast... mostly. (He was colicky that fall and winter, and when Mom was at work I would sit outside on the front porch with him. Forever! Until he'd stop crying!)
3. Was TRYING my hardest to irritate one of my teachers. (Mr. Gaylord) And I think I succeeded very well, if the number of times I got yelled at was ANY indication!
4. Was doing my best to befriend some boys. I was sick of the stupid girl fights all the time!
5. Had the biggest crush (again? still?) on Seth Woolstenhulme. He was totally the cutest goofiest boy ever.

5 things on my "to-do" list:
1. Make a Dr. appointment.
2. Work on Christmas presents! Buying, making, etc.
3. Change Archimedes' water.
4. Buy crickets for Froggy.
5. Find a stupid ferret cage for Cocoa! I need one that's in between giant, like the one that Rocket and Garret are in, and little, like the "big" travel cage that she's in now. She doesn't seem to be able to figure out that you poop in a litter box and not on a shelf. So, she's in "time out" somewhat permanently. Sad, but true!

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Chocolate!!!
2. Milkshakes! (Ok, not a snack, but... YUMMY!)
3. Frozen grapes.
4. Did I mentions chocolate?
5. Chips. Almost any variety.

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
(What did I do to earn that? and how do I really be a millionaire?!) Just a 1 million or like 100 million? 'cause that matters! But if it were unlimited and I could do anything...
I'd start by being smart and investing and stuff like that. And then...
1. I'd do whatever I want!
2. Travel. A lot.
3. Maybe buy a zoo. Or something.
4. I would have the most awesomest house in the world!
5. And have the most laziest most pleasant life I could possibly imagine!

5 places I've lived:
1. Victor, ID
2. Driggs, ID
3. Pocatello, ID
4. Wichita Falls, TX
5. ??? Something will come, I swear! I find it depressing that if I really reach for it I can only come up with 4 places I've lived! (Victor and Driggs? Come on!)

5 jobs I've had:
1. Babysitter & Nanny
2. Farm labor (move pipe, drive tractors, break stuff, etc.)
3. Front desk at hotel
4. Receptionist at gym
5. Receptionist at an oil company/royalty company/or something like that... is it important to know what exactly I do?

I tag: Anyone who wants to play this! Even if you don't type it, you should really consider some of these things! Some are very thought provoking! (Like my favorite snacks. Now I want a brownie. Thanks!)


That's it folks! That's all the tags I've gotten... unless I want to do some of Lacey Joy's... Maybe I'll work on that and post them later! Like next time I post! :)


Oh! And I've misplaced the questions that people sent me to answer! (Lacey and Nickie (I think, maybe?) both emailed me some ideas and I can't find them!) So, if ya'll would like to send me more questions, or post them as a comment, I'll try to answer them! (If I can. Sometimes I just don't know the answers!)
I'd probably blog more regularly if I felt I had anything to say!

And Cindy and Nickie: I didn't take pictures of Cocoa outside 'cause it was raining. Sorry. And once I came inside, she just wasn't being as cute! I'm really regretting that we didn't just brave the rain anyways, 'cause now I don't have any pictures of it! Bummer! :( Maybe another time...

Once again, I don't really have much to say again...
It's raining... again. No it does not always rain, but when it's not raining it's "hotter 'n hell" and that's not exciting!

Here's a fun thing! I took Cocoa outside to play (for the first time EVER in her short little life) yesterday in the rain. She loved it! Ferrets are adorable when they're discovering new things! She kept running her nose through the grass feeling/sniffing and just having fun! She was SOOO wet! She found a worm and mud and weeds and a giant puddle (that strangely enough she felt inclined to walk through. Whatever!) and lots of wet grass! It was too cute! She was so dirty when she was done.

And then, me being the meanie I am, I gave her a bath. AND didn't take Rocket and Garrett outside, too. I think they felt slighted.
I just hope she didn't "catch" chiggers! Whatever they are!
Later!