...and not for the better.  Background:  We have two ferrets, a 15-month
old male light sable named Raphael and an 8-month old female silver mitt
named Bug.  We've had them for four months or so and thought we knew them
pretty well, but lately Raphael's behavior has taken an alarming turn.
He was fixed and descented long before we got him, and he has always been
the most gentle and affectionate boy.
 
We moved to a different (much bigger) apartment earlier this month, and
it seems that since then, he has become very aggressive.  He plays too
roughly with Bug and makes her cry frequently.  He has taken to *lightly*
biting my hand and grabbing it with his paws almost every time I get near
him, or attacking my feet.  Last night he bit my SO's hand very hard.  He
is getting a lot of shouting and scruffing and nose-tapping and Bitter
Apple and cage time, but this is not how we want him to live his life.
Also, he seems to be a bit more, well, "whiffy" these days, a little more
musky.  We know he has actually been neutered but we poked around Down
There a little anyway just to see if anything has grown back!
 
Can somebody help me understand what might cause such a radical behavior
change?  There was a lot of stress associated with the move -- could he
have been affected by that?  Is he just over-excited by having so much
room to play and so many new corners to explore?  Is he going through
some adolescent angst which is perfectly normal?  Might this be a symptom
of some medical problem?
 
I miss my gentle sweetie.  We used to be able to reassure people that
Raph would NOT bite them.  (Bug probably would, though.)  Now I'm leery
of letting people handle him.
 
Thanks for letting me ramble.  I would appreciate any insights you can
share.
 
-- Lisa, Gangsta Raph, and the persecuted Bug
[Posted in FML issue 1117]