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Banjo:

He is the first ferret that I received as a gift from my daughter Sandi. He is a Marshall Farms ferret (two tattoos on his ear). There were several ferrets there at the pet store, but he stole my heart. He is a shy guy that does not like to be held. but he will follow me around and look at me with pleading eyes. That's when he wants some of my ice tea or a raisin.

He was an only ferret for seven months, and I finally convinced Roger that he needed a companion. We were at work all day and his only time of company was for a few hours each evening. Roger and I went back to the pet store and picked up a small female ferret for Banjo. She is also a MF ferret. They are both dark sables.

Well, Banjo didn't appreciate his new friend (Wendy) at all. He got all stressed out and as I didn't understand much about ferrets, he got real sick. The night before Thanksgiving 1996 I called the vet at his house and he met me at his clinic. Banjo was very dehydrated and he could hardly hold himself up to walk. Dr. Wood gave subqs and kept him overnight. I picked him up the next day and he was a mess. The water leaked out of the injection holes, wasn't eating or drinking much. He had an antibiotic to take. I spent part of the weekend giving him water by eyedropper. I've learned alot from several sources since then, and he wouldn't have gotten so sick if I had had that information before.

Just to prove that point, I went back to pick up a ferret that was all alone in a big locked cage at the same pet store. She was being very neglected, and we felt sorry for her (Suzy). She is a chocolate sable. Anyway, Banjo reacted much the same with her arrival. I did take him back to the vets for subq fluid and an antibiotic, but brought him right back home. Since then, new ones don't phase him at all.

He slept under my chair when he was so sick. I think he just wanted to be near me. He likes to be close sometimes, but does not like to be held or kissed. He does like to play, and will attack with a body slam on the back of my legs. That means play time. He also loves to play on the bed with me. I rough him up and he war dances and comes back for more. He also likes to help me take care of laundry. When I rough him up, he will nip very gently. Other than that, he never bites. He puts up with being held, but makes it obvious that he wants down.

He will also make it well known when he wants a drink of cold tea. Does not like ice cubes it it. They get in his way. He likes ferretone, ferretvite, laxatone, and raisins. I used the ferretvite last winter when he was losing weight. It worked as he put on some weight after a few days of the ferretvite. I now know about duck soup and even using heavy whipping cream as things to help a ferret that's sick or losing weight. When a ferret gets dehydrated, you should give them liquids such as pedialyte, gatorade or something similar. I keep such things on hand in case of emergency.

Banjo has an absolute fascination with the toilet. First off, he loves to watch the water going down when it's flushed. Second, he always tries to grab the brush when I'm cleaning it. Of course, that's dangerous so I try to do the cleaning when he's not around. Sometimes I think he sleeps with one ear open, because most of the time he shows up as soon as I start to clean the bathroom. He does seem to know that I do the cleaning after he's had his bath. So he just sticks around for the fun.

I don't have any idea what he'd do with the brush. He's not much for running off and hiding things.

Banjo should really have been called Thumper. He scratches and awfully lot and when he does, he sounds just like Thumper from the Bambi movie. You can hear him all over the house. He has gotten under the washer a few times and can't get out. I know when he's under there, because of his scratching.