Eddie,
 
Hi!  Don't worry about your new 6 week old not wanting to be held and just
attacking your hand.  He is normal and doesn't hate you.
 
Right now I am dealing with the very same thing with my 9 week old, Cloud.
He doesn't want to be held, he just wants to bite the tar out of my feet and
hands.  In my opinion there are a few reasons for this behavior:
 
1.  Youthful energy.  Baby ferrets are sort of like the energizer bunny.
When awake, they keep going and going and going...everything is so new to
them and they want to check it out NOW.
 
2.  Teething (spelling).  If you check your little ones mouth, you will
notice all of those new teeth coming in.  Let me tell you that it hurts like
mad to have them come in.  Putting pressure on the gums helps them to feel
better and helps the teeth to break the gums.  My Cloud bites everything and
I am just included in the things to chew on category.
 
3.  Socialization.  Most baby ferrets need to learn how to play with people.
For the most part, they have spent their lives surrounded byt other ferrets.
Since ferrets have such tough skin, they can play really rough and the other
ferrets don't mind.  Well, us humans, have fairly frail skin so when a
ferret comes up and chomps like he would other ferrets, it hurts.  So it
becomes the big-ferret's (aka human) responsiblity to teach proper means for
playing.
 
4.  Personality.  Every ferret has a different personality.  Some are not
cuddly and some are.  At 6 weeks, a ferrets personality is still developing
and he will start showing more characteristics as he gets older.  Watch for
these changes, and if you see a behavior develop that you like encourage
that behavior, but be sure to watch for not as acceptable behoviors and try
to discourage them.  They might be cute at first, but they could be a real
problem later.
 
5.  Age.  I have found that ferrets tend to mellow with age.  When I got my
Ian, he was a year old and still a little wild.  Now that he is coming up on
3 he has mellowed.  He like to be held and scratched more often then he did
when he was younger.
 
So don't worry.  Believe it or not ferrets, even the ones who are not
affectionate, come to love their big-ferret.  I never realized it was true
until someone pointed out to me how much my little ones perked up when I
entered the room.  Since I was never able to see the difference between when
I was there and when I was not, I didn't know that they acted any different.
It did my heart good to hear that.
 
Katie
--
Katie [log in to unmask]
Technology Information Coordinator/Lecturer
 
Carroll College
100 N. East Ave.
Waukesha, WI  53186
Phone:  (414) 524-7682
Fax:  (414) 524-7139
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                  "Now we start to get into the 80's.
                   Dangerous, dangerous ground..."
 
                                -John Taylor, Duran Duran
                                 MTV Unplugged, December 1993
 
   [For George (April 1995 - June 21, 1996).  He was a ferret for all
   times.  And would have loved the 80's.  Keep on dancing my little
   one...be it to Duran or Garth or the choir of angels from whom
   you just stole those bells ;-D.  Ian and I will see you soon.
 
   I promise to always check the dishwasher before starting a load...]
[Posted in FML issue 1634]