I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of a ferret hating people before?
I never had until I got Trapper.  We got him from a petstore when he was
already over 6 months old.  We got him because we felt very bad for him
living his life in that fishtank with a cover.  He was terrified of us at
first.  He was shaking and trying very hard to hide.  We thought that our
gal Sidney would help him out because she, although a few months younger,
loves to play and have attention.  But Trapper just won't warm up, and
we've had him for nearly two months.  He prefers to stay in his cage rather
than come out.  When he does come out, he immediately runs and hides under
things where he knows he can't be reached.  When we reach into the cage to
change the food or litter he runs up into the tubing in the upper cage.
 
It's not just people he doesn't like.  Poor Sidney, when he does come out
of the cage tries to play and he hides from her too.  Occassionally, he
will play with her, but it is short lived.  He will, more oftenly, play
with her in the tubing in the upper cage.  He shares the hammock with her
just fine, the food, the water bottle etc.  As long as he's in the cage he
does great with her.
 
Now do not misunderstand this message.  We are not trying to complain about
Trapper, we are just trying to give an over all picture in hopes that maybe
people have some ideas about how to make him enjoy life a little more.
We've tried everything we can think of.  We've gotten him treats and toys.
We've tried holding him and giving him lots of love until he calms down.
We've even just let him come in and out of his cage as he pleases without
bothering him at all.  Suffice it to say, we are at a loss.  Hopefully, you
have some ideas that may help us out.
 
Thanks.
Nicole & Mike
[Posted in FML issue 2814]