My husband started doing this a few years ago with Tinder before she got
sick with her lypoma disorder.  It appears that all of our ferrets love
this and so I thought I would pass this on so that all of you could try
this at home on your ferrets.
 
Flip your ferret onto its back placing him/her onto a soft, fluffy surface.
Starting with the side of the head and neck, using just the tips of your
fingers, start stroking in long, gentle movements, back and forth, up and
down.  Gradually work your way down so that you end up stroking down the
back, against the spine and ribs.  Continue doing this alternating from
long strokes near the head to lower down on the back.
 
The results: a ferret who starts out stretching his/her back legs out
and leaving them limp like.  The head will have the tendency to curl
back towards the finger massage and the front paws will usually cross
each other like a little old lady covering her purse on her lap.
 
All of our ferrets just love this, although it took more than a few tries
to get Ping to settle down enough to enjoy it.  You can tell they like it
because once you have the rhythm going, that pink little tongue comes out
and starts licking the air.  Older ferrets take to this a whole lot faster
than younger ones - the youngsters think you just want to play so I try to
get them when they are ready to bed down or when they have just woken up.
 
Have fun!
 
Betty and Her Blur O'Fur
To my ferts: I love it when those little paws come out and run down your
face... it brings tears to my eyes every time.
[Posted in FML issue 2705]