Hi there.  Someone wrote concerned about their new little ferret when it was
jumping around with its mouth open and they didn't know if the fuzzy was
happy or mad..well, I have four ferrets and they all have their own rituals
regarding dancing around.  My one female use to literally throw tantrums at
me when she was a couple months old.  Usually when I was teaching her to
allow me to pick her up and carry her around without her struggling to get
down all the time she would get upset with me.  It was so funny to watch, I
would hold her for a few seconds while she wriggled in my hands and finally
she would stay still, once she was still i would let her down..well...thats
when all the action began!  She would cluck and jump around my feet
pretending to be all tough and grab anything near hear that she could pick
up in her teeth and shake it around (like a dog with a rag), then she would
pretend to attack my feet and carry on for several minutes.  eventually she
grew out of this ritual and now jumps around when she wants me to play with
her or wrestle with my hands.  I've found it to be a happy response and an
annoyed response.  Another ferret i have will run laps around the house and
jump sideways through the living room and then come back jumping the other
direction.  She likes to jump at me and get me in on all her little games.
Its always fun for her.
 
so, don't worry about it, its pretty normal for your ferret to be doing
these war dances!
 
signed, a new writer
[Posted in FML issue 1719]