Hi,
        This is my first posting to this list so here goes .... I recently
adopted two ferrets, Slinky(female 1.5yrs old) and Monzy(male 2.5 yrs old).
        From the start, I have had problems with the female biting.
Recently, I have found that Slinky's biting comes in two flavors: the "I'm
annoyed and want to transfer my frustration to your foot" and "the just for
the hell of it" bite.  In both cases, she usually starts to sniff my feet,
scratch my foot or leg, and then bite. I seem to be able to avoid the first
by not using my printer with Slinky in the room and not running bath water
with her in the room. However, the other I have not been able to avoid.  I
have used bitter apple spray, 2 minute lockups, and forceful no's to their
face while holding their mouths closed with thumb and index finger. The good
news is that her bites have become less and less hard. I should also add
that she had a litter of kits before I adopted her. Is this behaviour
normal? Or is she just a very uptight little ferret?
        Recently, Monzy(male) has started to enjoy "digging" my arms and
hands while I am lying down and then biting me and trying to drag me off. He
sometimes hisses while doing this. He also at times licks my hand or foot
before digging or biting. His bite isn't really a bite however, it seems to
be more of a grab.  It doesn't hurt that much, but I'm worried about what
might happen to my ferrets if they bite a stranger. Up to date, Monzy has
been a very relaxed and playful ferret that has never bitten anyone. Well,
here are my questions. Why is it that my male digs and bites me? Is he
trying to get my attention? Is he upset? I'm more concerned with his
behaviout since it has started after I received him. I play with the ferrets
all the time, I have never as much as lifted a hand to him.  They have
around 4 hours of playtime a day and otherwise seem to be very content
ferrets. Anyway, my girlfriend and I love our ferrets very much and hope
that our ferrets can be hand\foot friendly once again.
        On a lighter note, I've noticed that while my ferrets a scurrying
around the apartment, if I put my hand on their rear, they start dooking
like crazy and start running around.
        I've also noticed that my cat, Taz, is trying to play with the
ferrets in her own way. She runs by them really fast to get them to chase
her and then jumps up on a chair so that she can swat at them from higher
ground. However, the ferrets have decided to chase ony when they feel like
it and so whenever my cat flies by, they look at each other kinda funny as
if to say "That cat don't know how to play ... she's wierd" and then go on
playing amongst themselves. It's kinda like a little girl asking two boys if
they wanna play Barbie ....
 
                        Thanks for listening,
 
                    Sean & Niki & Monzy & Slinky & Taz
[Posted in FML issue 1211]