We took Charmaine to the vet today, his best guess is it is behavioral.  In
the last couple days Charmaine has started to nip at me as well.  Today at
the vets she even tried to take a chunk out of my wrist.  This is not usual
behavior for her.  Last night she deliberately ran up to where I was
sitting on the floor with our 3 month old daughter and scratched her,
looked at me and ran under the couch since she knew she would get a time
out for being naughty.
 
The vet checked her spleen and stomach by palpation and looked at her
stools and urine, said they looked fine.  Her eyes are clear and she isn't
dehydrated.  She gained .2 lbs since Aug.  12.  I see how it could be
related to behavior but has anybody else had this experience?
 
The vet suggested squirting her with a squirt gun or using a toy blow horn
to scare her when she bites or attacks the other ferrets when they try to
eat.  We have an extra 3 story cage so we plan to seperate her for parts
of the day so we can limit her food intake.  She will still be allowed to
sleep with her pals at night and run free during the day plus play in the
cage with her friends when we remove the food bowls.
 
Somebody suggested giving her pedialyte as a filler I'm assuming.  I was
also told that some ferrets gain extra weight for winter.  This is our
first winter with our female ferrets, so that could be.  How much weight do
they usually gain?  She now weighs 2.5 lbs, when we got her in June she
weighed 2.2 lbs.  I can't figure out why she has become aggressive...she is
almost 2 years old.  She was really sweet when we got her, laid in our laps
for attention and stuff.  The vet said maybe she has just began to feel
comfortable in her surroundings and is trying to show dominance.
 
Anyone have other opinions?
 
Thanks again,
Alicia, Skot, Tasia
and
Fidgit, Ferrial, and Charmaine
[Posted in FML issue 2418]