For the sake of full info I think that I should point out that there
ARE good reasons why a number of pet stores keep ferrets in what seem
like extremely large aquaria, sometimes multilevel. These are designed
to be well ventilated, BTW.

Lessons learned from the past include those from a sadly lost set of
kits in a New Jersey store. If memory serves, you can even find the
info in past FMLs, though I don't know if it predates the archives.

Since it is so long ago I don't recall specific details. What I do
remember is that a parent with at least one child who insisted on
poking ferret kits between bars was in a pet store. The parent did not
stop the behavior. At some point a kit seems to have either decided
that this was play, or was tired of being hurt and the kit grabbed the
child's finger. Then the mother demanded that all of the kits, who were
too young to have had rabies vaccines, be destroyed because she and the
child could not tell the kits apart so could not tell which one bit or
nipped. This is going to turn your stomach, but that is ultimately what
happened.

Sometimes there are excellent reasons behind choices -- ones which
protect the ferrets -- which may not be readily apparent at first
glance.

BTW, I have heard privately today from a PetSmart rep that the IL
ferret with the nipping or biting past is being adopted out to someone
who can do rehab, so that perhaps just hasn't happened yet instead of
a miscommunication occurring among the PetSmart branches.

(I kind of hope that they change his name once he is in a safe home;
we have found that new names seem to help ferrets start off fresh when
rehabbing.)

BTW, even though I dislike and disagree with at least one of the links
(Can't recall if one or more that call for overt punishment.), this
primary resource is a good one for ferrets with behavioral
hurtles to jump:

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083/probintro.html

Always hoping for the best,
Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

[Posted in FML 5660]