Dear Ferret's parents,
 
I'm quite sad tonight, because for the first time in five months, since I
adopted him, I was very hardly biten by Igor, that till today has always
been more than wonderful with me.
 
Here's the story.  In the month of May I bought at my pet shop Orietta, a
cute 2 months old female Siamese, and there began my ferret experience,
helped in that by my Vet, books and by all I was finding in the Web.  Don't
forget that ferrets are pretty unknowns as pets in Italy and in many
European countries.
 
In the very beginning she tended, as all the puppies, to bite, but never
very hardly and I understood that it was her way of playing that never
worried, or hurted, me.
 
Here I have to make a consideration on how it is dangerous :-) to have your
pet shop in the same block where you live, at less than 200 meters from
your door: you pay there a visit at least once a day, when not twice !
After one month the pet shop owners, from whom in the past I bought
gerbils, fishes for my little aquarium, and usually dog food for my female
German shepherd (believe me, she is the sweetest dog in the world, both
towards humans and animals) impressed by the enthusiasm and love I showed
for my new little girl asked me if I was willing to adopt a male that
another pet shop was going to give to them.  And they gave me for free
(note that Orietta costed me 200 US $).
 
I was really impressed by him, because he was only one month older than
Orietta but almost twice her siza; and he was really beautiful, sweet and
friendly, almost never trying to bite.  So I took him home, of course I
bought a bigger cage plus an additional hammock and so on.  He won his
place in my family and in my hearth.
 
No problems at all with Orietta, they started immediately playing and
sleeping together in the same hammock. Only my dog (by the way her name is
Brina) was staring at me as she was asking "So what, one foreigner was not
enough in this apartment ??!!"
 
Igor is actually 8 m.o. and 2 kilos while Orietta is 7 and 1,1 kilos, and
they look as very happy ferrets, very well cared and loved.
 
Tonight I decided it was time to clean the cage, so I tooked them out and
putted them in the previous Orietta's cage.  They always allow me with
enthusiam to take them and they walk out of the cage directly on my arm.
After the cleaning operations I putted them back on their cage, talking
with them and playing a bit as usual.
 
Half an hour later I checked them, they went near to me as they normally do
when I go close to the cage, so I opened the cage's door to give them some
caresses.
 
Much to my surprise Igor took my little finger in its mouth and started
biting very hard, I shouted him "No, no !" but he didn't left it and I had
to grab him with the other hand and squeeze his throat to have its mouth
open.  My finger was greatly bleeding from the two holes he made.  Holding
him by the neck in front of me I shouted several times "Why did you do that
?" while giving him some severe spanks on his back (anyway not hard enough
to hurt him ) and I received some shots of piss on the chest.  The I putted
him back in the cage and I ignored him for a couple of hours.  After that
time I opened the cage and I took him as usually do and he was as if
nothing had happened; I played with him a while and everything was normal.
 
I'm asking if you can give me an explanation of the fact, because I'm
absolutely dismayed: he has always been so nice,quiet, calm and lovely.  I
really didn't do nothing that could have worried or disturbed him, so I
will really appreciate if any of you could diagnose this strange, unusual
behavior of my boy.
 
I feel bad not for the pain he gave to me (and believe me, it was hard) but
because I am very disappointed for something I never could have expected
from him.
 
Many thanks.
Fulvio
[Posted in FML issue 2460]