To the original pollster who commented on the women thinking she didn't
overreact and the men who did - remember we've got a highly self-selected
sample here.  They chose to own ferrets, then to join the FML (making them
have to be at least somewhat competent at computers), then to read your
post, and finally to respond.  Now if you went out and polled people on the
street or by phone (or even a database of ferret owners), that's different.
Still kind of interesting, though. :)
 
Our little Spunky (the biting kit we rescued from a pet store) is hardly the
same one we brought home!  He'll rarely nip, and he only leaves dents in the
skin when he does now.  He runs after our feet when he's playful, and will
jump up on our legs, but not bite.  Shows what patience can do, I suppose.
He's also getting big fast - he's only ~12 wks old, but he's gotten a LOT
bigger in this month.  I think the nipping, the crying in his cage, and the
bar-rattling (the latter two stopped when we moved him in with Rocko and
Randall), were related to previous neglect, perhaps?  I know I've read other
people talk about biters who you could tell did not want to be let go.
 
(On a side note, I find it sad that if a puppy or kitten nipped like Spunky
did, people would pass it off as "just a baby stage" - but if he nipped
someone, many areas would kill him and test him for rabies.  A similar
request for a puppy or kitten would probably bring weird looks and perhaps
protests about needless cruelty. *sigh*)
 
Happy ferreting,
Denise (zoologist/psychologist at large),
plus Rocko, Randall, and Spunky
--
/\\    ____  ,^-o, Denise Voskuil - [log in to unmask]
  ``-,'    `-';~~     Brain: "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
    .',-'~`../        Pinky: "I think so, Brain, but if we didn't have
     `^^    `^^         ears we'd look like weasels." ("Animaniacs")
"Ferrets are kittens with leather jackets and no fear!" - John Reed
Home Page = http://www.geopages.com/Colosseum/1242/
[Posted in FML issue 1268]