Looking Out or Rubbing Neck?

One nice thing you can do for your ferret is to scratch the back of his or her neck.  You can tell they like it because they’ll push against your fingers, leaning into the rub.  But when you’re not around, they’re on their own.  It’s a good moment for a ferret when he finds something against which he can scratch his own neck.

For example, an empty cereal box thrown on the floor of the kitchen is a nice gesture for your pet ferret.  Not only is it a new cave to explore, possibly containing delicious bits of leftover cereal, but it’s also a neck rubbing station as well.  While inside the box, ferret will poke head out and then pull it back in, scraping his neck on the box top flap.  If this works, he’ll do it for several moments.  Our ferrets do this, and I know they love it because they close their eyes while moving head in and out against the box flap.

I took this picture of Bun poking his head through the slats of the venetian blinds on a rainy day.  I think the sound of the raindrops on the pavement drew him to the door, and he followed the sound through the slats.  But then he discovered that the slat made a good neck rubber, so he remained standing and moved his head in and out.  As you would imagine, this was incredibly silly looking, and just one more reason I love owning ferrets.

Taking Notes

An opportunist is someone or something that seeks out new environments and situations in case there’s a good chance of something good happening.  Ferrets are opportunists, which means they constantly have their eyes and (espicially) their ears open.  They take notes and store the info in their small brains for later use.

The main way I’ve observed my ferrets making use of their stored data is in remembering sounds.  The sound of the spoon scraping against the bowl is the sound of an upcoming snack of leftovers.  The sound of the closet door opening is possibility of entering the forbidden area.  The sound of the fridge opening is yet another chance to explore this mysterious place with so many wonderful smells.

What makes your pet ferret such a great pet is his attunement to your activities.  Ferrets will adjust their sleeping patterns so they’re awake when you are.  They’ll greet you every morning if they’ve observed that good treats are given out first thing of the day.  They’ll watch you intently to get your attention if the food bowl is low, or if the water needs changing.  Or sometimes they’re watching you for signs of a good play session about to begin.

This is bun, watching me.  He’s taking notes inside his head and will later use it against me!