Howdy all!
 
I've been reading the list as often as I can but I've been having trouble
keeping up.  My apologies if this has been covered, but I haven't seen
mention of it in the FAQ either.
 
We have two males -- one (Arthur) is about 4 months, and the other (Merlin)
is about 6 months.  We had Merlin for a couple months before I took pity on
him and got a friend for him to play with.  So I'm new to ferrets, but I'm
really enjoying it.
 
Merlin is a light sable, about 3 pounds and starting to calm down a bit.
Arthur is a dark sable, about half Merlin's size and completely spastic.
 
Arthur seems to startle pretty easy. If you walk into the room and startle
him, he'll puff up his tail and hiss at you like a scared kitten until you
talk softly to him, then he calms down pretty quick.  Merlin never did that,
so I was pretty shocked the first time it happened.
 
Anyway, when we first brought Arthur home, Merlin was all over him.  Merlin
would throw Arthur from the bed, drag him around by the neck, and play
pretty rough.  I had to keep them in seperate rooms for a couple days, and
only let them play together while I could watch them.
 
After a couple days of that, the roles reversed. Arthur is now the dominant
one, even though he's much smaller.  He plays pretty rough and Merlin now
has some small bite marks on his back and neck.  I'm trying some Bitter
Apple rubbed into Merlin's fur (just a bit sprayed on a sock and rubbed on
him) to see if that will discourage Arthur.
 
The question I wanted to ask (whew) is about ear sucking.  When Merlin is
asleep, Arthur will curl up next to him and suck on his left ear.  It always
seems to be his left ear, and Merlin doesn't seem to wake up while it's
happening.  When I pick Merlin up, his ear is completely soaked and
plastered against his head from all the ear sucking.  It doesn't seem to be
bitten or damaged, just wet.
 
Has anyone else seen this?  Should I worry?  Will Arthur "grow out of it"?
 
Another thing...  This past Saturday I was at the local PetSmart (Preston
Road store in Dallas) and discussed this mailing list with one of the
employees.  I did not catch her name, but I would like to talk with her some
more.  If you are reading this and remember me and Merlin from Saturday,
please drop me a message.
 
--- Dave
[log in to unmask]
214-250-8120
KC5KJM
[Posted in FML issue 1305]