Hey You All,
 
Stress is a tough issue for any living creature.  It has been shown by
study after study that chronic (long term) stress, such as serious illness
or caretaking of a seriously ill person, can have a permanent affect on the
immune system.  Stress can also lead to trouble sleeping, lack of
concentration, personality changes, and misdirected anger.  Think of it this
way, you have tension and anxiety from situation(s) totally out of your
control, illness-accident-finances, this anxiety leads to anger because you
can't do anything, which then leads to anger directed at someone who has
nothing to do with the problem.
 
Now take this same type of situation and apply it to your ferrets.
Remember, they cannot reason out things like we can, so it can produce even
more anxiety.  So you have this cute little fuzzy, who is stressed out
beyond belief.  Say this little fuzzy is timid to start with.  He/she could
be shipped out from Mom at a young age, be an older fert who has travelled
from home to home with no one staying in its life or it could have been
abused and neglected.  Or all of these.  And once again it is put into a
strange situation, with people and smells and other ferts it can't trust
yet, and so he/she lashes out.  The fuzzy attacks the other fuzzies around,
bites the humans who try to help it, and is in constant fear at what will
happen next.  Remember, this wonderful little baby has already been let down
by life in general, and now has even more crap to deal with.
 
I have my share of fear biters, who have bitten my lips open, left holes in
my hands, and even drawn blood on my calfs.  They are all either extremely
timid and shy, been abused, not been handled or any combination of the
above.  And although they hurt me deeply with their lack of trust and their
misdirected anger, I always remind myself that there is a reason for their
behavior and it has very little to do with me.
 
How do I calm them?  Well, I guess the best way to describe it is swaddling.
This was a practice used by many people, including Native Americans.  It
consists of wrapping a child up snugly, to prevent any free movement.
Native Americans used boards to do this.  Now before you yell, think about
it.  You get mad, you get upset, what do you do?  Pace, rant, yell, etc?
And then you sit down and take some deep breaths and calm yourself.  The
lack of movement stills the raging mind.
 
I use a variety of techniques, everything from holding the ferret close and
snug after a bite, stroking it to reassure it and then talking in very quiet
calm tones to it.  It learns it can trust and I won't hurt it because it
hurt me.  I also use what I call a ferret burrito for giving meds to very
sick babies who tend to argue about it.  I wrap the ferret up tightly in a
tea towel with only the head sticking out (I also use a bath towel on cats
for this, saves you lots of scratches).
 
As I said, I have gotten pegged good by some of mine, and you have to remind
yourself it isn't you, it is their stress.  And let it go.
 
Not all ferrets react this badly of course.  And when I get a new baby in, I
often cage it a majority of the time, allowing only short time out of the
cage at a time (an hour or so).  I do this so they can explore and get the
smells in, check out the new arrangements and the other ferts and yet know
that they will have a safe place in a short time.  I gradually lengthen the
time outs as the ferret gets more comfortable with the new house.  You know
when they are settled in when you get the "hairy eyeball" look when you put
them up.
 
I also agree that caging a majority of the time, on a regular basis is not
the way to go.  You can see the effects in zoo animals, in horses stalled
all the time and in just about any other animal.  It will create anxiety
after a time, from boredom.  Think how damn restless you get in the doctor's
waiting room.  Because you can't do anything but wait.
 
My ferrets have their own dresser, and they sleep in the drawers.  I also
keep covered cages open for them, with hammocks and bedding.  My house is
also littered with fuzzy tubes, sacks, cardboard boxes, tents, and just
about anything else I think they might climb into.  I love the idea of the
custom wooden boxes, but alas, I am terrible with saws.
 
I also have several who will climb into my bed to sleep, under the covers.
And yes, they each have their own little spots staked out, and I can always
find them there.
 
But the main thing to reduce stress in their lives and in yours is
interaction, physical contact and lots of love.  I have to deal with these
issues on a daily basis for myself, and these are the key issues to stress.
 
Maggie Mae, yep still maudlin and lonesome
[Posted in FML issue 2245]