Ironic that this topic is currently on the FML, because we had a weird
experience yesterday.  We were cleaning; my husband was just starting to
vacuum in the other room, and I was in the room with the ferrets gathering
bedding materials to be washed.  In the process, I accidentally woke up
Falstaff, who suddenly became TERRIFIED of the sound of the vacuum!  His
eyes went wide and he frantically climbed to the top of the cage and huddled
there in terror!  I picked him up and cuddled him, gave him some linatone
and told him everything was ok, but when I put him down he did the same
thing again.  I picked him back up, and he stayed in my arms for *over an
hour* without ever wanting to get down (5 minutes is unheard of for him, so
this is really weird.  I think he eventually just got so exhausted from his
terror that he didn't want to move again, but still...)
 
The odd thing is that Falstaff has NEVER been scared of the vacuum before!
(and none of the other ferts in our house has ever been *that* frightened of
it; the only time I've seen that much fear in a fert was the first month one
of our rescues was here, when she still thought any approaching footstep
meant punishment).  We've had him for about 2 years, and this particular
vacuum a year, so he's certainly been around it an awful lot, and he's never
had a problem before.  Nothing strange happened, he hasn't ever had a bad
experience with it, and he's certainly not timid in general, or even the
most timid of our bunch.  The vacuum just went in for repair work, but it
wasn't on the motor, so I wouldn't think it should sound any different even
at the higher frequencies (and it doesn't sound different in the range I can
hear).  He isn't ill in any way - he's shown no abnormal behavior besides
this, his fur is looking wonderful (even his tail is starting to look good
again after a long bout of "ferret teenage acne"), he's playful and
energetic... Anyone else ever see such a sudden onset of fear before????  I
assume that being woken up was part of it, and I'll obviously work with him
on it, but the fact that it occurred so suddenly is really odd.
 
>If a lick-lick-bite is taking place, I just put my finger under the beasties
>nose (covering the holes) and push in and up.
 
Honestly, what seems to work here is rewarding the licking.  Usually, I can
guestimate when the chomp will come, or at least know that there'll be a
couple of licks first.  So, after a couple licks, I pick the fert up and
away from the spot and give her a bit of linatone as a reward.  After the
fert figures this part out I start stretching the amount of time before the
linatone; so at first, two licks linatone; then the fert needs to lick a bit
longer before she gets a treat; then longer yet.  Obviously, if I wait too
long and get bitten first, the fert gets no linatone, and instead gets
yelled at and ignored for awhile (loses her chance, so to speak).  Pretty
soon the fert figures out that the licking part is good - but biting no
linatone.  Ferrets are pretty good at figuring out when they get treats -
and what things cost them the treat they're "supposed" to get.  Soon you'll
have a fert licking your fingers anytime you let her smell them!
 
 
-Rochelle
[Posted in FML issue 1711]