Zorya showing people how minkies stay cool in the heat of the summer.
Zorya has been enjoying the fact that she has access to her swimming pools, both indoor and outdoors. Tonight, because it was raining outside, she was playing indoors. She's developed a new game, that I've not been witness to before. She lays on her back and chases her tail. She had a great time this evening playing with her toys and just creating mischief. She had to have emptied about 3 inches out of her pool and it's all over my floor lol.
Zorya has been having a lot of fun. She has a swimming pool outside and when it rains she still has her winter pool inside. Tonight it was chase her tail. She's never done this before so I was glad to witness this. I can't even imagine what it would be like for these wee creatures to have been denied water so man could steal her coat :'(
I have not been good at updating about Zorya. She's difficult to capture because play time is late at night and it's just difficult to video in the dark or in low level light. She has returned to the mustelids nature of hunting during the dusk and dawn. Now, because it's cold enough to freeze her outdoor pool, she's got to swim inside it's a bit easier to get pics and videos of her. I thought I would post a video of her playing in her "in house" pool which is much smaller than the one that is presently frozen outdoors. This one does allow her the enjoyment that all mink should have which is being allowed free access to water to play in. This is a pleasure that is denied to all farmed mink, except those who have been brave and risked all by escaping their captors. Most mink who escape their farms, die. They lack the ability or knowledge to survive in the wild. Some, like both Khaleesi and Zorya get captured and some of those escape the needle because they are then rescued and live out their lives in homes that try to make their lives better. She enjoys throwing her toys out of the pool and spends a lot of her time swimming on her back. This was something that Khaleesi didn't do but I don't know if swimming on her back is something that is common of mink and Khaleesi didn't swim on her back because she was unable to direct herself as she should because of her lack of tail?
This was the kits' set up but they'd so destroyed their play area...seems if you swim in the water bowl and then play in the litter box and then dance on your hammy, you can create total destruction in your play area. I decided to just let Zorya play and clean up everyone's mess all at once (she likes to swim in the water bowl too, even if there is a full sized swimming pool outside for her). Zorya was having a grand time with the chicken thigh.
Zorya, got a new filter in her pool. I think she's pleased with it. It's a bit stronger, moves the water better. She murdered her last one, she took it apart piece by piece. Her fur (she's shedding) also clogged up the motor and because of it's fine texture it became almost like cement. It didn't help that she removed all the filtering sponges, removed the pool plug and let the pool go dry (then really took apart the filter, right down to removing the fountain tube). Unlike Khaleesi, she enjoys playing in the bubbler spray, so we got a stronger motor, in hopes that the heavier unit will provide not only longer fun but stand up to minky play
Swimming is becoming smooth and she's truly enjoying herself and making use of the whole pool. Her swimming is becoming more relaxed. We turned on the filter and I was pleasantly surprised at her response.
Swimming is becoming smooth and she's truly enjoying herself and making use of the whole pool. Her swimming is becoming more relaxed. We turned on the filter and I was pleasantly surprised at her response.
And then we were swimming :) Still swimming the edges instead of through the center of the pool but really swimming. She has discovered that fat does create a buoyancy issue, she's a bit butt light and is going to require some thought to overcome this so she can swim along the bottom of the pool. She's having so much fun with this. She really has to swim now, instead of just sliding through the water using her entry to get her across the pool.
Today, we added water. Her other pool had a rim to sit on and look into it. This one has a rounded edge, a new concept. So, a new brain fart to work out. She did present some rather ungraceful minky moments when she falls off the rim. She doesn't want to fall into the filled pool because she doesn't know how deep it is but balancing on the rounded edges presents a conundrum that she must overcome before taking that risk of swimming within the unknown waters.
This weekend we added the larger swimming pool to Zorya's play space. We debated on adding the filter right away as this had terrified Khaleesi so badly that she refused to go outside and then when she did she refused to swim in the pool unless we turned it off. Zorya was very fascinated with the proceedings, becoming involved and was very interested, climbing onto Bert to get a better look....this is present issues as tripping over a wiggling mink while trying to wrestle a swimming pool into position did present some minor obstacles. It was interesting to watch how the different personalities were between introducing Zorya to the new pool vs Khaleesi. Zorya was hugely fascinated. She was cautious but not fearful. Yesterday the pool was added without water, to allow her time to become accustomed to the new addition to her enclosure. It took over a week before Khaleesi would come out and truly investigate the pool and then she avoided the area skirting around it refusing to look at it. As you can see Zorya had no such qualms.
Zorya was having a wonderful time this evening. I strung up a chicken for her to play and hunt. Unfortunately, it's quite dark outside but it gives an idea as to the pleasure she was having with the carcass
I mentioned awhile ago that Zorya actually played with her toys with her front paws. Manipulating her toys while swimming on her back. It has originally started with just the tiniest of her ducks, but I noticed tonight, her ducks (all sizes), her keys and the ping pong balls. Khaleesi never swam or manipulated her toys in this manner. She would grab the toys in her mouth. She could not use her front paws to manipulate her toys, because her front paws needed to make up for the lack of her tail
I had a hard time getting this to post. It may be the weather and my stupid internet. It's rather like minks, water should always be contained and not fall from the sky. Both minks are totally disgusted by the poor weather. It's ok to be wet, but it has to be the minks' choice. This wet sh*t falling from the sky is just wrong (in their opinion, minks have a very high set of opinions ;) )
I thought I'd update as we move slowly forward. Zorya is learning to move well between the large cage which allows her to play outdoors and her regular sleeping cage. She's learned to respond and come to her name and get into whichever cage she's supposed to go to. She still does not like to be touched except when distracted. She's still very edgy.
She learned about the outdoors and some of it's pitfalls. When she was offered the new cage and it's opportunity to go outside, she bolted and in her terror she hid in one of the tunnels and became so afraid that she couldn't figure out how to work the kitty flap door on the exit tunnel. When we finally figured out what the problem was, we trapped the door in the open position and she's been working to become more comfortable coming and going. She loves going outside and prowling her outdoor territory but her swimming pool is still her finest place. She spends most of her time swimming, chasing and removing her toys and sometimes just quietly floating, letting the water support her, her eyes partially closed. She will actually jump in the water before she even goes outside. I hope her coat will soon develop the proper balance of oils to offer better water proofing
It was a fascinating process, watching Zorya suddenly realize that her pool had expanded and just how much water was available. Watching her excitement about playing with her toys and afraid of falling into her new swimming pool. It was so much fun watching her. She was just vibrating with excitement. She danced and then she swam.
These are minky games. Games of stalk, chase and capture. For mink even games are serious and this is why when they're kept they must be kept safely apart. Stormy and Zorya are playing. I was concerned initially thinking that this might stress them, but Stormy plays this game when she's out and Zorya is locked away. These are minky games but don't for a second believe if those doors were opened that all hell would break out and someone would get seriously injured. This way the game is fun. I can stop the game with an offer of food and they usually do this for a few minutes and then go on their separate ways without me intervening. Zorya wanders off to play in the water, stash her babies, or teaches them to swim. Stormy curls up and goes to sleep in her nest. The verbal exchanges usually range from hahah's to hisses. Stormy hisses all the time. She's a wee steam teapot. She hisses when she gets her dinner, she hisses when she's getting wonderful minky skritches, she hisses when she's being snuggled (eyes closed and chin stretched up to get the itchy spots). For Stormy, hissing is happiness. Zorya generally hahas. She dooks when she chases her humans around and really likes bursting out of a tunnel to catch their knees (no shorts unless you want to be shredded) but if she's playing tassles on a stick, she hahas, just like she's doing here.
One of the first items on Zorya's agenda was access to water. She played, danced and tried to squish her head into her water bowl but this had no equal to real water. A small bath was given, it's temporary. The small play pool is outside and needs to be brought in and warmed so it doesn't split. This is the ferret's paddle pool. She didn't care that she had to share. She didn't care she was still very scared by all the noises, different smells. Water, a minks necessary lifeblood, something all farmed mink are denied became hers. To sink into, to have it run over her precious fur. That amazing liquid. This video shows that look of enjoying that luxurious sensation.
This is the second half of the video taken of Khaleesi's snuggle sessions
Khaleesi swimming in her pool
Khaleesi making sure that I've not tampered with her pool
