>makes a squeaking sound.  To test this I watched him as I wiped the mirror,
>and he reacted by turning around and coming toward me. ...
>One question for other ferreteers is has anyone else noticed unusually
>aggressive behavior resulting from similar sounds? ...
 
This is an interesting question.  I've been bitten hard once by my MF sable,
Max, and more lightly a few more times.  He's normally very sweet and
gentle, so these bites were very out of character.  Every time a squeaky
mouse was involved.  I bought this squeaky toy specifically because it had a
piercing, high-pitched squeak.  I train my ferrets to come to that and give
them oil as a reward.  It's nice when you're trying to round them up and
just can't figure where the heck they fell asleep, or if (god forbid) they
get out.
 
The time I got really bit he was in the cage, standing at the open door,
while I squeaked it and gave ferrets oil (training).  He got agitated, leapt
out and snagged my hand at the back knuckle of the pointer finger.  Ouch!
He looked almost embarrassed afterwards, and I figured it was a fluke, that
he was trying to get the toy.
 
Since then, if I stand in the livingroom and squeak the toy, if I don't
*immediately* pick him up, he'll grab and bite my leg quite hard!  I think
the noise irritates him to the extreme.  My stepson RoyBob has been bitten
by several of the ferrets when he was "playing" with them by sqeaking the
toy without giving them oil.  We thought they were pissed at him or
something. :)
 
So mine do seem to show agitation at certain squeaks.
 
--Barb--
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Barbara Carlson                   Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA
[log in to unmask]           Work: (412) 268-1342 Home: (412) 481-5927
 http://www.gsia.cmu.edu/andrew/bcarlson/home.html (under construction)
Thought for the day:
    If "boring women have immaculate homes," I must be very interesting!
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[Posted in FML issue 2005]