One of the ferrets, ol' Woody, has begun to scare my friends and family,
and I'm now convinced that they've got a reason to be scared.
 
Sometimes people exhibit an almost primordial distrust of the critters;
there's just no accounting for irrational fears.  I'd always assumed the
extreme caution stemmed from  lack of familiarity.  Ferret owners don't think
of their pets as anything less than the splendid buggers they are (most of
the time), but maybe the distant ancestors of M. furo *did* sneak into caves
and haul off a baby or two.  Who knows?
 
However...
...I was surprised when one of the little bast---s chomped Ma out of the
blue.  At 16 mos., Woody hadn't bitten _hard_ since being wizened as a kit.
When playing, he'll open his yap in feigned menace, (lives for the
rough-housing), but nothing close to the deliberate bloodletting he laid on
Mom.
 
My father, a gentle man, received the same treatment two minutes later.  He
asked if I used gloves when I held the ferrets.
  Appalling...
  Gloves?
  Since then, he's clamped down on the landlord, a friend, and a ferret
owning ferret-sitter.  Lately, I'm the only one he won't bite.
 
The first time seeing the allegedly "vicious" side of the buggers wakes you
up and forces questions: Are they really unsuitable as domestic pets?  Are
they single owner?  Can't they learn that biting humans will come to a bad
end?  Why is Arlo, the other ferret (and raised similarly) so gentle?  Did I
play too roughly with Woody, in the process teaching him that he can bite
others as hard as he bites me?  Is this biting *my* fault?  Who will he bite
next?  What to do?
 
I read the recent "biting ferrets" posts, but they dealt mostly with
"problem" ferrets -- abused or neglected.  This "problem" ferret's problem
is latent.  He's been handled enough, I think, and these are not the
put-me-down kind of bites that have been discussed here.  Again, I think.
On two of the four occasions I was close enough to thump and cage him, but
he just peers out from the hammock, waggin' his head and workin' his jaw
like he's trying to clear his ears.  Otherwise, the little ratfink is in
outwardly fantastic health.  No lumps, lesions, hair loss, weight loss,
drooling, tarry stools, hind leg dragging, etc.  nothing.  He climbs to the
top of the curtains, removes the pins from the rod one by one, and rides the
falling drapes to the ground.  He eats, drinks, poops and pees like a
madman.  Maybe he's an XYY chromosome type, or, God forbid, he likes the
taste of blood now.
 
If anyone knows a good ferret shrink please list or email me the name.
Money is no object.
 
Swampp
[Posted in FML issue 1235]