Now I don't know how many ferts can be hypnotized and that may not even be
the right term.  When I was a kid I used to have lizards that I could
"hypnotize" by laying them on their backs and lightly rubbing their
unsdersides.  What I have discovered is just about as close to that as
anything I've ever seen with any of my pets.
 
Ocassionally Missy & Bilbo, my new ferts, that are about 10 weeks old, get a
bit out of hand.  Maybe what they are doing is just play, but it is
'rougher' play than I would like them to be involved in.  When this happens,
the normal 'time-out' is administered by snatching one of them up by the
back of the neck, gently scruffing them, saying "no" a couple of times, then
holding the one I'm scolding close to me in a way that they can't escape
while I cuddle & pet them.
 
I discovered that if it is Bilbo that I am trying to calm down this way, he
will actually go to sleep if I gently pet him with the tip of my finger from
his nose back to behind his ears.  In a matter of seconds, he starts closing
his eyes and yawning.  It's obvious he loses all control.  He wants to get
away to play, but this petting technique evidently sends him to a level of
consciousness that he can't resist.
 
After he has calmed down a bit, if I gently rub his ears with my thumb and
index finger, he is a out for good.  No matter how rowdy he had been a few
minutes ago, these two techniques will have him sound asleep in my arms in a
minute or two.  It is a riot to watch him start yawning, with his curled
tongue, and just not be able to keep his eyes open.
 
I've tried this with Missy, but she is not suseptible to it.  She just
squirms around, but does seem to play 'nicer' after I've confined her in my
arms for a few minutes.
 
I'm a fairly new fert person and have a couple of serious questions:
 
    1) Has anyone else ever experienced this with their ferrets?
       Remember, Bilbo is the one that was afraid of the motorized ferret
       ball, so maybe he's just a ferret woos (sp?)
 
    2) If he actually likes this kind of treatment, am I teaching him to
       get rough if it is what happens whenever he gets too rough.  I cuddle
       this way with him often, not just when he has played too rough.
 
I'd appreciate feedback from more experienced ferret people.
 
just us crazies,
Ken & Bilbo & Missy
[Posted in FML issue 1512]