Meet Cocoa
Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 11:37 pmAbout 6 months ago, I got a call from a guy who was referred to me from my vet. He needed a temporary home for his ferret, Cocoa, until he could get back on his feet with a new job and a place to live. I agreed to take him in.
Cocoa was a 5 year old large male that had a severe biting problem. He was also not litter box trained. He came with a large 3 level cage that he used as a huge litter box (on all levels!). He also a temper issue.
I worked with him right away on the biting issue. I figured out right away that he was nearly blind. That explained why he would bite when he was picked up. I started talking to him and saying his name before gently picking him up and when he would bite (and hang on!) I would just let him, and talk softly to him. After only two or three weeks, he finally started trusting me and stopped biting. I trained him to "play bite" gently. His owner was afraid of him and only handled him with thick gloves, so he wasn't used to being handled much. His owner came by once a week to see him and I trained him, too, on how to pick him up and hold him.
I also eventually got him housebroken which took a lot longer but he is now very good at using the litter box when I ask him to. He is also now living in Chelsea's smaller cage with her, so not as much room to have accidents.
He gets along with Chelsea and Lola fine. He has become a very sweet, gentle loving ferret. He gets a lot more attention and exercise and has calmed down a lot.
His owner has not gotten his act together yet and I doubt he will for quite awhile. So, I have decided to keep Cocoa as my own now, with his previous owner's blessing. I have put a lot of work into him and it has paid off. He is a good boy!
Chelsea on left, Cocoa on right:
You can see how much bigger Cocoa is than Chelsea:
Chelsea climbing up my PJ leg, Cocoa looking up at me:
Cocoa was a 5 year old large male that had a severe biting problem. He was also not litter box trained. He came with a large 3 level cage that he used as a huge litter box (on all levels!). He also a temper issue.
I worked with him right away on the biting issue. I figured out right away that he was nearly blind. That explained why he would bite when he was picked up. I started talking to him and saying his name before gently picking him up and when he would bite (and hang on!) I would just let him, and talk softly to him. After only two or three weeks, he finally started trusting me and stopped biting. I trained him to "play bite" gently. His owner was afraid of him and only handled him with thick gloves, so he wasn't used to being handled much. His owner came by once a week to see him and I trained him, too, on how to pick him up and hold him.
I also eventually got him housebroken which took a lot longer but he is now very good at using the litter box when I ask him to. He is also now living in Chelsea's smaller cage with her, so not as much room to have accidents.
He gets along with Chelsea and Lola fine. He has become a very sweet, gentle loving ferret. He gets a lot more attention and exercise and has calmed down a lot.
His owner has not gotten his act together yet and I doubt he will for quite awhile. So, I have decided to keep Cocoa as my own now, with his previous owner's blessing. I have put a lot of work into him and it has paid off. He is a good boy!
Chelsea on left, Cocoa on right:
You can see how much bigger Cocoa is than Chelsea:
Chelsea climbing up my PJ leg, Cocoa looking up at me:
.....they don't seem to have the time or patience to recognize what the needs and wants of a particular animal are.....and blame all behavior as the weakness or fault of the animal....