I've had several ferrets in the past 10 years, but we've recently adopted
one who is proving to be quite a challenge.  I'd welcome any suggestions
from people who may have had similar problems.
 
Homer is about 2 years old, and a rescue from a shelter in a college town.
I don't know his history, but he came to us in January after 6 months in a
shelter.  At first he was scared of everything.  You moved, he ran and
hid.  Time has shown us that he is hard of hearing, although not completely
deaf--he can hear a squeeky toy.  He and his shelter brother have settled
in well, although they don't get along with the prior ferret resident, but
now that he's more comfortable with his environment, he's turned out to be
a terrible biter.
 
I've had ferrets before that came from abuse situations and bit out of
fear, and I've had ferrets that bit to get your attention or because they
forgot you were human and didn't have a thick pelt, but Homer is different.
He stalks and bites.  He waits until you aren't looking, and will come up
under a chair, for example, stand on his hind legs, and bite you behind
your knee or on your thigh.  If you are playing with him for a while, he
will come up and lie beside you in 'bored ferret' pose, and then jump up
and viciously bite you on your inner arm.  And these are not nips--they are
full force bites.  He also targets my husband about 4 times more often than
me--and repeatedly.  Scruffing doesn't work.  Bitter apple doesn't work.
Grabbing him and making him stay for a while doesn't work.  Time out
doesn't work.  We've had him for almost 6 months, and the biting really
started to get worse about 8 weeks ago.  I thought he might be sick, since
it seems to me to be unprovoked agression, but the vet gives him a clean
bill of health.  We're about at our wit's end.  My husband refuses to be in
the same room with him anymore.  We're contemplating only letting him out
to play while we're at work and putting him in the cage when we're at home.
 
If anyone has any suggestions, I definately would appreciate hearing them.
 
Thanks, Jennifer
[Posted in FML issue 2697]