Gosh, I hate to send this anonymously, but I _am_ in
California and as you read a couple of issues back,
AB2497 did not pass the assembly, so CA is still a FFZ.
 
Anyway, I've been reading the FML with interest the
past few weeks, and thought I'd get off my butt and
introduce myself, as well as posting some info that
may be of help to some of you.
 
My name is Marti and my family includes Randy (SO),
Jessie (daughter), Hannah (technically a dog, but
more like a rodent), X (rat), Tex (iguana), Darwin
and his wives (African dwarf frogs), and of course,
Nero (guatemalan banana rat, a.k.a. ferret).
 
Nero (more commonly called "Weasel") migrated from
Arizona just under two years ago. He's a silver mitt and
he turns two in April. He's the best all-around pet I've
ever owned, and I can't wait to find a companion for him
(though I'm hesitant to compound our legal risk).
 
Nero was a chronic nipper, especially when he got excited
during play, and the following method cured him of his taste
for human flesh:
 
1. Go down to your local pet store and pick up a bottle
of BITTER APPLE. In case you're not familiar with it, it's
commonly used on show dogs to keep them from licking/
biting their fur. It tastes mildly bitter to humans -- ferrets
can't stand it.
 
2. Spray the Bitter Apple all over one hand, and play with
your ferret with the other hand. When he starts biting the
clean hand, give him a taste of the yucky one and say "No."
or "No biting."
 
Once in a while he forgets and gets ahold of my hand --
all I have to say is "No biting!" and he drops it like it was
on fire.
 
A couple of people have mentioned eating problems
(one with regard to getting a pet to eat while his/her
companion was not in the cage -- sorry, I can't locate
the actual posting), and someone mentioned using
Ferretone to get a sick weasel to drink water.
Ferretone seems to work very well when mixed with
food, too, especially canned stuff; it blends well and
Nero scarfs it.
 
I hope this stuff helps someone.
 
MMc
 
[Posted in FML issue 0776]