Pogo and I had another bathroom battle, with my knee, left wrist and right
little finger suffering multiple bites. This is the third time he has
attacked, seemingly unprovoked, but there seems to be a common theme
emerging (even though the last time was over a year ago). Twice previously
he leaped on my left knee, attaching himself and biting savagely. Another
time he simply attached himself without biting. Two of those times I
snatched him from my knee, only to have my hands suffer the worst wounds in
what he seemed to consider a life/death struggle. This time he held onto my
little finger, refusing to release when I squeezed his jaw (which worked
when he latched onto his cagemate too hard). As the sink was handy he
finally let go with head held under the faucet.
Previous theories to explain Pogo's sudden attacks have been ruled out,
including:
1. He has elevated levels of testestosterone
2. His sackmate's adrenal problem and resulting simulated heat confused
him--she had the surgery over a year ago and is fine since.
3. He had some sort of unknown injury, causing him to feel aggressive.
All four times he leaped at my knee (never done anywhere else) I had just
finished a shower, had toweled off was was standing naked at the mirror. He
often comes into the bathroom while I shower and races around checking out
the action, so the location and situation are not unusual. The critical
common factor may be that I had just wiped off the fogged up mirror, which
makes a squeaking sound. To test this I watched him as I wiped the mirror,
and he reacted by turning around and coming toward me. I held him up so he
could watch while I finished.
One question for other ferreteers is has anyone else noticed unusually
aggressive behavior resulting from similar sounds? Both Pogo and Buttons
come to a lip-sucking sound I make and the squeek of a tweety bird toy; my
understanding is that these sounds simulate kit vocalizations, as Buttons
becomes very serious about taking Tweety away from me and putting her in a
safe hideyhole. There is the possibility Pogo reacts instinctively to what
he considers kit abuse and attacks my knee in a defensive maneuver. Why he
only does it ocassionally may not be understandable; it took me awhile to
reconstruct events and remember what I had been doing just before being
nailed.
Several other attacks by Pogo with similar ferosity seemed related to
protecting his territory, like when I reached into a hideyhole after a
rubber-handled tool he stole. A Canadian-bred badger, Pogo is quite
athletic, a hopper/jumper/climber, and possessive of space and toys. Since
the attacks a year ago, I worked with him intensely to the point that he had
not broken my skin for a number of months. My SO continues to be afraid of
handling him and keeps him out of the bathroom after he bit her behind while
she sat (watching the toilet is another of his passions. I swat him away if
he becomes too insistant with me.)
Another consideration: has anyone had a ferret's teeth filed down? His are
very long and sharp and his jaw powerful enough that he can hit the bone.
(Buttons' are not half the length of Pogo's and she cannot bite hard enough
to break the skin.) It would safer to handle him if his daggers were reduced
to table knives. Since he remains indoors except on a leash and eats no
meat (raisens occasionally get stuck on a fang, too) it would seem he has
little need for needle-sharp fangs which protrude from his lip, almost below
his lower jaw line. I got him a chew-toy when he was a kit, but he has not
shown inclination to knaw on anything (except bare flesh).
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Gary Robertson
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http://www.aspenmall.com/breakout/
http://www.rof.net/yp/herbal
[Posted in FML issue 2004]
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