Poop Detail

Every day after work, I stuff PD poop into vials and freeze them in a large ziplock bag labeled “Fresh Turds.”

Like a lot of rodents, PDs are major poopers. For this stress study, I have to homogenize each sample by mixing and squeezing the entire deposit together, which I then carry around my plot in little ziplocks. I collect up to eight bags of poop a day and keep a cooler in the truck to store them.

Once back in the trailer, the gloves come on, and I busy myself with compressing hefty loads into small petite plastic containers, which are then labeled and squirreled away in the freezer, next to the serving size portions of rendang, beef stew and lentil soup.

And then the fun begins. The soiled gloves are carefully placed in the filthy ziplocks and re-sealed. As long as the mess stays inside the bag, it’s fair game. Because here in Trailer #2, it’s the PD crew (of 2) vs. the ferret crew (of 1).

The game is simple: how many bags of poop can you hide within a very small living space? We each have about 30 square feet of semi-personal space, so the hiding places become more and more creative as the days go by. Pillows, boots, sleeping bag, field pack … almost anything goes. There are just two basic rules: nothing gets hidden with food items and laundry bags are strictly off limits (bummer!)

Being the poop collector though means having an endless cache that is restocked daily. So for now, I do have a slight edge and regular gleeful guffaws.