Dook dook dook

[Unition]

Hey everyone, meet Creature, the latest member of our household!




She enjoys such activities as eating fingers and pushing newspaper out of her cage.  Her favorite clothing is jeans.




She lives the pimp lifestyle in her home with three floors and a loft, with 360 degree views, and she gets the newspaper delivered to her front door every morning  :birdy:




For the next little while she's going to be a little reclusive while she gets used to her new digs, but perhaps she'll get to know some of you soon!  :)

[Star Wonder]

Hon, you need to take out the newspaper unless you know it's vegetable food dyes. If you don't know for sure, take it out because it can be toxic for her!

Newspapers for any animal = Bad - Only a handful of news paper makers actually use products safe for animals.

[Fargo]

OMG!!!!SQUEEEEE!!!!!!FERRET!!!!!!

I do agree with Star though. The used newspapers should be removed. No cedar chips either, nice as it smells. That isn't good for the ferret's respiratory tracts and the oils secreted by the cedar are an irritant.

What does she have for toys, to keep herself amused when you're not around? *looks curious while letting fuzzy nibble on my fingers*

[Wishful]

OMG!  Its a bigger, hairier, RAT!!!!!

[Star Wonder]

OMG!!!!SQUEEEEE!!!!!!FERRET!!!!!!

I do agree with Star though. The used newspapers should be removed. No cedar chips either, nice as it smells. That isn't good for the ferret's respiratory tracts and the oils secreted by the cedar are an irritant.

What does she have for toys, to keep herself amused when you're not around? *looks curious while letting fuzzy nibble on my fingers*

-Used or not used, news papers are a no-no ^^

Ferrets are also highly allergic to pine and causes very bad respiratory problems. Corn cob litter is VERY cheap, and is awesome to use. Yesterdays Mews is good too.

[Kanan]

Aw she's cute. a little scary looking in the second photo though lol.
I miss my ferrets..

[Unition]

Your concern is appreciated, guys - I've done my research and rest assured she's well taken care of.  If you think there's a problem please link me an article - the issue should be well documented if it is so.  There are no wood shavings of any sort inside her cage.

As for toys for now she has me for entertainment, I'm going to pick up some ferret toys in the next few days, perhaps another ferret soon if I feel that I can't give her the proper attention she deserves.  But for now that's definitely not a problem - she's getting tired of me faster than I'm getting tired of her!

[Star Wonder]

lead, cadmium and other toxic heavy metals can used in paper inks - depending on the newspaper brand and type

Now, however, most(Not all) publishers use organic pigments. Most(Not all) of these pigments are the same as those used in tattoos, lipstick, hair coloring and other cosmetics. -However; some of the plants or organic pigments can cause allergies or can be toxic to certain animals-

You may have seen the "soy ink" symbol on a newspaper, which tells the reader that the newspaper company is using soy-based inks for printing. (However there aren't any "free papers" in the lower mainland that do that.)

My ex use to volunteer for Grey Haven (a place for unwanted parrots and birds) and they would never use news papers because they contained toxins. The papers you pay for yourself are usually alright when it comes to the ink. But if they are free, and you can get them anywhere, chances are they have toxic metals in them because they have to stay as cheap as possible to be distributed.

I don't know if the news papers like the Province or the Sun have toxin-free stuff, but the free stuff most likely is toxic and has metals in it. The whole issue was brought up when kids got sick from newspapers. I remember it when I was a kid ten years ago.

[Unition]

OMG!  Its a bigger, hairier, RAT!!!!!

Nope I disagree, Rat is much hairier than Creature  ;)

[Acco]

XD

And guys, I'm sure he did his research. You don't need to go posting stuff about toxic inks and stuff.

[librem]

Did you figure out a name for her yet? How has she been doing in the new habitat? OMG House WOozel! I should visit more often and play with the lil snow ferret.

[Unition]

Yes, her name is Creature!

I just bought a ton of toys for her to play with.  She's going to be really happy when I get home.

[Star Wonder]

XD

And guys, I'm sure he did his research. You don't need to go posting stuff about toxic inks and stuff.

I'd say about 70-% 90% of people, (long time animal owners included), don't actually do research when it comes to newspapers because people have been using newspapers for bedding for decades, and it's become more and more of a concern because of the toxins that are in them. I worked in a reputable pet store (privately owned and we turned away many customers who were not fit to take home an animal  :) ), and we all had to learn about the toxins in newspapers. And to never ever use them (unless we had done research to make sure the newspapers were non-toxic).

For something like a dog or a cat, the toxins are almost null and there's little to no damage but it makes an unnecessary mess. But for rodents, and smaller pets, such as birds, rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets, sugar gliders, reptiles (of all sorts), gerbils, and so on and so on, newspapers post a large threat. For non-bedding-chewers, like ferrets, if they say go potty on it, the ammonia mixed with the toxins can then become airborne and they inhale it instead of swallow or absorb through their skin. For animals like rats, mice, and other bedding-chewers, the toxins are swallowed and absorbed through their saliva - meaning they don't even have to swallow it, just chew it. Birds are known to be the worst because they are SUPER sensitive to a lot of things.

More and more newspapers are doing more organic inks, however; the highest producers of the ones that are not organic or non-toxic, are the free papers you can get anywhere. :o Even the 'organic' ones can be toxic. (Again, depending on the animal, and their allergies or tolerances. IE - Pine is organic, but ferrets are highly allergic to it.  :-X)There are ones that have soy ink, which is 100% toxin free. However; all of these newspapers that have soy in them also say so, all of them are printed with a label on the front of the paper that it is made with soy-based ink.

And whether or not Unition has done research on the newspapers, it is good reassurance that other people can help him - even if it's with something as small of a topic as newspapers. I was with him a full day and ranted about all my knowledge of ferrets, which I believe he was grateful for. And I also believe he is grateful for any help, from people like Fargo, or myself, or anyone for that matter. On top of that, other people reading might be interested to know as well - I got a private message asking about birds just because of the topic of toxic newspapers.   ;D

So it is for everyone's benefit when people give helping comments! ^_^  :birdy:

[Unition]

She's a noisy little weasel!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI6RYTdTaA4

She's been doing this for the past half hour....tons of energy.  Big things scare her, like the vacuum cleaner and my coat.

[Star Wonder]

omg her dooking is so cute! She will get use to things after a few weeks. Then she will go after...FEET! I love carpet sharks ^^