Hello everyone!
 
My 9 week old ferret, Fleur, is giving me a couple really difficult
problems.  I've had her for a week.  At first she was litter trained, but I
left her with a caring friend when I went to the cottage for four days and
on my return she was de- littered.  She now poops in the corner of her cage
beside the litter.  When she's out of her cage she smells areas of the
floor she has previously pooed on and will poo there.  I try to grab her
before she does her business and scold her and put her in her litter, but
then she just doesn't poo at all.  I tried putting bedding in the corner
where she poos in her cage, but she just poos on the edge of it.  I have no
idea what to do.  I've considered changing her litter (right now I use cat
litter).  It was suggested by my friend that during our terrible heat wave
here in Toronto she slept in her litter once because she found it cooler.
SInce then she has avoided it like the plague.  I think she has conditioned
herself to think it is a bed, and therefore won't dirty it, although she
never has slept in it again.
 
The next problem is her biting.  I've read the tips on ferret central, but
since I've had her a while I don't know how to proceed.  When I take her
out of her cage she gets very excited and hops over to me.  She smells me
and gets more excited, chuckling and running around.  But then she runs
straight for me, biting my arm or especially my feet.  I know she just
wants to play, but I would like her to stop biting me without having to
ignore her.  When she bites I have tried scolding her by picking her up and
tapping her nose, then putting her back in her cage.  When I scold her and
just put her down again she gets even more excited, thinking it's a game,
and goes straight back for my hands and feet.  Recently she's bit my face a
couple times too.  I'm very exasperated and upset by this.  My other family
members are even a bit scared of her because of her tendancy to attack your
foot like it's another ferret.  Another thing is that I know she's
teething.  She has two different bites; one where she's testing your finger
for a chew- toy, that doesn't hurt, and another where she clearly means to
bite you after she has smelt you and realized you are a person.  I don't
know how to treat her teething nips differently without confusing her.
Sorry for the all too- common nipping and pooing questions, but it's
exasperating me and coming in the way of getting closer to her.  Does
anyone have suggestions?
 
Britt
[Posted in FML issue 3507]