Hi all,
 
A week or so ago I was here asking everyone for advice about getting a new
ferret.  I've been absent since just after that, since such a beastie has
taken ownership of me and my wife.  Tigger joined our household a week ago
Wednesday and he's been a riot almost from day one.  He's finally started
getting used to his surroundings, so he's done exploring his limited domain
and begun to take joy in playing with his humans.
 
So far, everything is going well.  He's getting the idea of what 'too hard'
is when it comes to biting, and he's remarkably good about at least doing
his 'business' in his cage.  However, he's not batting too high on the
litter box itself (at least not without some direct intervention).  No
matter what corner he seems to choose, if we put a litter box there, it
becomes off limits in his little ferret mind.  Can anyone give me an idea of
how long it takes (on average) to litter train a ferret?
 
Also, and be honest here, that 'ferretone on the belly' bit while trimming
nails is some kind of new ferret owner joke, right?  Tigger got downright
violent about having his nails cut (and I was very deliberate about _not_
going too far up).  He bit my wife in the neck and me in the nose, rather
hard.  That was over a week ago, and I can write it off to the stress of the
changes in his life, but is this likely to continue the next time?  I'd
almost rather get scratched.
 
Then there's treats.  He is just totally finicky.  I can convince him that
the Marshall treats are good from time to time, but he seems to be more
interested in everything else than his treats.  I don't want to go overboard
on the Ferretone and Petromalt, but I need something to train him for the
litter pan.
 
I don't mean to give the impression that nothing is going right here.
Tigger has been a joy to have around.  I'm just curious if these experiences
are typical of a 13-14 week old male in a new home.
 
Steve
[Posted in FML issue 1644]