>From:    Kaycie Silver <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Spanky's acting agressive, what do you think?
 
>There was a little left over Roast Beef scraps so I went over to their
>cage and offered some to all 4.  The only one that took notice VERY
>QUICKLY was Spanky.  I was trying to offer some to Bandit and when I
>realized that she didn't want any, Spanky woke up out of nowhere and
>grabbed the Roast Beef.  So at first I didn't take notice until I offered
>him another piece and he bit into my finger like a PITBULL and would not
>let go.
>He was latched onto my middle finger for a good 3 minutes and the more I
>tried to open his jaw, the more pressure he put on my finger.  Spanky is
>about a year old and he has had a little problem like this before when I
>tried to take the wet cat food away from him.
 
It sounds to me that he thought your finger was food.  When you take food -
esp meat - from an animal they grip it even harder - as your finger was the
proof of that!  I am sure he didn't even know that it was your finger (and
remember that your finger probably smelled and tasted like Roast Beef after
handling it).
 
>I have also noticed that he has been fighting with Bandit (over food)
>these past couple of days.  The last time that he had somewhat of a problem
>(with the cat food) was when he had a tapeworm and I am thinking maybe he
>might have one again.  The only thing is is that he is too fat to have a
>worm.  Another thought was that maybe the smell of beef triggered his
>hunting instinct (while he was sleeping) and he just bugged out, the meat
>was kinda raw (I forgot to add that he was shaking during all of this.  )
 
Shaking like he was afraid or shaking like he was trying to rip free a
piece of meat?  This is normal behavior in carnivors eating meat!  If he is
fighting with your other ferrets, try adding another food dish in the cage
(maybe on a different level).  He MAY have a nutritional problem and if he
continues this behavior you might want to have him checked out by your vet.
 
>From:    "Melissa A. Durfee" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: nose flicking and ear pinching
 
Mel - excellent post.
 
Just wanted to add one more "trick" that works well for me.  With our
ferrets we rough house with them and LET them bite us.  When it gets too
hard we YELP - "Yipe" OUCH NO BITE!  This usually causes everybody to stop
all that they are doing and look very concerned.  (This wouldn't work well
in a fear bite or a "food" bite) If you ever watch kits or young ferrets
play they play hard and every once in a while one kit will yelp and all
play stops.  Same with puppies.  This way the ferret can figure out how
hard a "hooman" can be bit.  You teach them that.  If you want no teeth -
yelp when the teeth are on your hand, etc.
 
Ok - one more "trick".  If I am holding a kit and it is obsesed with my
hands or fingers I allow it to bite, and I insert my finger into it's
mouth.  I do not gag the ferret, I do not hurt the ferret.  I put a tiny
amount of pressure (it is REALLY hard to explain - would be better for me
to show you) on the bottome jaw.  This makes it harder for the ferret to
get leverage to bite.  The finger in the mouth is really annoying to the
ferret, they spit your finger out, and associate yor fingers in their mouth
as no fun.  If you do try this - be careful not to hurt the ferret!  You
also may get bit if you don't do it just right.
 
I know a gal that used the finger in the mouth trick on a 4 year old MF
that would run over & bite the heck out of you if you stuck your hand in
her cage to mess with her "stuff" (hammock, food, etc).  She would just let
the ferret come over & then she would put her finger in the ferrets mouth
if she went to bite (which she did).  She told me that she completely
stopped "attacking" her when she put her hand in the cage.  Instead she
would come over to see what was going on.  This doesn't interfere with the
ferret associating your hands with kindness (treats, pets, etc).
 
Amy Flemming
[log in to unmask]
 
Flemming Farms - Michigan, USA
Breeding for Quality Ferrets
American, Australian, German, and New Zealand bloodlines
Come see us at http://www.geocities.com/heartland/ranch/9521
 
Weasel Watchers Ferret Rescue - Michigan, USA
Helping Needy Weasels
 
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism"
[Posted in FML issue 2620]