Hi!  I brought home an adorable little baby girl ferret last night and I
think I'm going to have some trouble with one of my other ferrets.  I have
two females, Casey and LouLou.  They have both met the baby, and LouLou was
fine.  She stalked the baby with her head poised over the baby's neck but
she never once bit, scruffed, or dragged her.  It was odd, but OK.
 
Casey, on the other hand, wants the baby dead.  She puts a death grip on her
neck with her teeth and won't let go and the baby cries!  I have had to pry
her teeth from the baby a few times and punish Casey by scruffing her and
tucking her lip under her teeth which she hates.  She totally understands
that she's in trouble.  I also caged her.  I don't know what else to do.
 
Casey has always been a brat but I adore her.  She was a biter with people
and now she only bites people she doesn't know, and not that hard.  When we
got LouLou, Casey wanted to play with her and LouLou didn't want to but now
they are best friends.  They play all the time together.  I actually wanted
another ferret because Casey and LouLou are so attached to each other that
I was worried if anything happened to one of them, the other would be
devastated.  But now I don't know if it was such a good idea.
 
Will this get better over time?  Will Casey get used to the baby or will I
have to wait for the baby to grow up and defend herself (if she can)?
 
I would appreciate any advice you have.  E-mail me directly if possible.
 
Thanks everyone.  I am a much better ferret mom because of this mailing
list.
 
Adrienne (and Casey, LouLou, baby with no name)
[Posted in FML issue 2342]