1 year old Stitch takes a snooze. Oddly enough he prefers the cage floor to a hammock or sleepsack. He looks kind of like a ferret, eats ferret food, gets the same shots, and uses the litter box 100% of the time. Mink will kill small pets, even dogs and cats. They are only safe with big, tough dogs, and mink they are friends with. (My friend Jean's mink Trouble has drug their german Shepherd dog by the scruff...) We've proved that mink can be raised seperately, yet coexist in the same cage and have the same playtimes after very carefully supservised introductions. We got Stitch a minkie friend, baby Keelah, when Stitch was a year old.They love to swim (check out Stitch's webbed feet in the top pic)
and will get into everything. They are super intelligent, fast moving, have semi-retractible claws and can jump like cats. They must be taken from their mothers at 4wks old before their eyes open, stink like heck as babies, and have to have round the clock care until 8 weeks old. They make a horrible sound like a chirping/gagging bird, which is their way of calling for mommy. They do this until they are 16 weeks of age and it can be maddening. They have to be socialized to strangers early on to be social butterflies like Stitch here, and there is still no guarantee you'll have a nice adult mink. Stitch likes everyone, but only Mommy gets minkie kisses, anyone else trying is likely to get an unwanted pierced lip or nose. (Ask my friend Sarah, who he loves to play with hehehe) Oh yeah, and mink bite. Even Stitch. But, the trick is to teach them not to bite HARD. The word "EASY" is a mink owner's best friend. Stitch will mouth things like any mink, but he doesn't bite down. But even a well trained mink has the ability to bite you and break your finger, without breaking the skin. They have extremely powerful jaws. But a bite and shake will shred your skin like paper. You have to accept mink on their own terms and treat them with much respect. Please check out the PetMink list on Yahoo!Groups for more info. |
