Condolences to those with lost, sick, or angeled keyboard caper creators...
 
(Alright--who switched my keycaps around?!?)
 
You young ferret might be suffering from "separation anxiety", where he's
exhibiting bad behavior because you left him alone for so many hours.
Remember, he's young and was always used to having someone around (be it
another fert, or a human) when he was very young.  Now, suddenly (well,
suddenly for *him* anyway!) he gets left alone for many, many hours (in
ferret time, it might seem like *days* do to us!) at a time.
 
Two options I can think of are:
 
Get another fert--possibly an older one who is already litter trained.
Not *too* much older, though--just old enough to serve as a good example,
and who might already be stabilized enough to tolerate long periods
without human activity nearby.  You want to be sure that the new fert is
young enough to play with the young fert, too.
 
Second option, is to try to reduce the amount of 'gone' time, by seeing if
one (or both) of you can come home during lunch.  Even though you may only
be able to spend 10 or 15 minutes with him, it does break up that LONG
period of aloneness.
 
Another (but less helpful) option might be to leave a radio on in another
room just loud enough so he can hear it clearly.  This will give him
a type of "human" contact, even though there are no humans around.  I
suggest putting it on a talk radio station, rather than a music one,
since the talking might serve as a good replacement for the time you are
away.  He hears you talk when you are home--I don't think he would equate
singing with your conversational voices.
 
As I said, that last one isn't really a solution, but its one you can try.
Most ferrets aren't fooled with the radio trick.  The other two options
are do-able, though.
 
Todd and the Fuzzbutt Rodeo Clowns
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[Posted in FML issue 3746]