In response to [log in to unmask] (Alinda Privitt), who wrote:
 
> He seems to enjoy playing games like chase and tug of war just as
> long as we don't touch him anywhere on his body.  [...]
> Do ferrets in general not enjoy being touched and/or held or is
> Oscar a unique case? Is this a "stage" that he will eventually come
> out of or is it just his distinct personality?
 
It's not a general thing at all.  Of our two ferrets, one is only
happy to be held for a few minutes at a time, but the other will climb
into my lap to fall asleep.  As for Oscar, it could be an individual
personality trait, or it could be just a stage.  In either case, I'd
recommend that you continue trying to socialize him, playing while
he's down and trying to get him used to being picked up by giving him
a treat each time you do.  If he won't tolerate being held at first,
at least talk to him and put your hands (possibly holding treats :)
near him.  You can also wear gloves, or spray your hands with Bitter
Apple, if he nips too hard.  Although I don't have first-hand
experience training a ferret who completely detests being held, I'd be
surprised if he doesn't ever learn to tolerate it.
 
Chris Lewis appended to a note which mentioned ferrets exiting emacs:
> [I'll have to remember that.  Whenever I've accidentally gotten into
> emacs, I have to turn my terminal off ;-)]
 
If you don't have a ferret handy, try CTRL-X CTRL-C, or
ESC x kill-emacs <return> :-) But you don't want to know how long it
took me to figure out how to get out of vi when I started that up
accidentally.  Sure wish I'd had ferrets then!  :)
 
- Pam in Rochester, NY  ([log in to unmask])
friend to Pixxel and Rusty the shedding torpedoes
Ferret FAQ - rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/pet-ferret-faq/general
 
[Posted in FML issue 0802]