Lipinski Doth Speaketh , , , ah, jost so that even an eighth grader can understand, unless situated on the far left side of the Bell Curve Average,, may I offer a thought or two on the subject of bloody sharp K9s, thick welding gloves, bloody noses at ferret pet shows. and multi-punctured tootsies. NOTE: About half of us are average, and the rest of us are other than average, yes? This other half are divided as above average and below average, yes? And so I submit to you, where am I on that Bell Curve? And where are you, at a different position? Ahhh, yes - bites to the bone and even through the thumbnail. No thanks, that ain't no fun, Pilgrim. And I don't cotten to it at all, no how, no way. The toleration of deep puncture penetration wounds of human flesh by filthy mouthed, stinky rug rats, at any age or reproductive state is ,,, is ... is the main reason why ferrets are not the number One pet for everybody, or even onebody. As you know, dogs and cats are preferred over ferrets at a ratio of 1,000 to 1 easily. Then there's the lack of trustworthiness involving interaction between a family pet ferret and the sudden presence of a stranger, even a child or infant, in the home. Not more than thirty miles from here, an infant was killed on the floor by an intact male ferret. The adult female owner of the ferret, a cocaine addict along with her significant other, lay abed, essentially unconscious while her ferret chewed the new born infant's scalp to shreds.. I took it upon myself at that time to become involved in this incident. I received authorization to pick up the killed ferret from the Seattle Public Health Department in downtown Seattle and deliver it in a sealed biohazard boxed bag to my vet at that time, a Doctorr S... N....., of Kirkland, WA.. Together we performed an autopsy on that ferret in an effort to perhaps discover the reason for the ferret's attack on the infant. Once evidence revealed the probable cause, our conclusions previously drawn were withdrawn and a new conclusion was made. The entire ferret autopsy was recorded and taped as the ferret was opened and explored. At this juncture I'd like to ask the reader to reflect on this ferret-to-infant interaction and to offer an explanation on this list..Your responses will be interesting, to be sure. I will the offer you my explanation for your consideration. Ohkay, may I say that I'm just flabbergasted at the turmoil my suggestions on ferret behavior modification has generated. There have been three kinds of responses. The first, my favorite, is the response that offers a critique and makes a suggestion. The second is a response that vilifies and makes very ill-defined ways of curbing ferret biting. The third response is one of character assassination, condemnation, and a revelation that the poster is possibly psychotic. As I open my mind it is good to think that a few of my simple words have touched a few of you to respond in your own way. Maybe, just maybe, your thinking may be a little different tomorrow, after you "sleep" on it. And, then again, maybe not. Here's a little history of Ferrets North West Foundation. As a ferret rescue/shelter/adoption facility I have sold in excess of 1,000 ferrets, 2 mink, 2 weasels, and one skunk. Currently I have 11 ferrets in our facility. I no longer sell or breed ferrets, because I'm sick and tired dealing with the public, especially those on the far left side of the bell shaped curve. My time no longer will be wasted by potential adopters who make appointments only to show up late or not at all. More often than not the introduction of a new person to a pet ferret takes more time and effort than it's worth, especially when I have two or three other customers waiting for me to bring in a pet ferret for them. As it turned out, I was living for the ferrets and not for other things, other joys, and never could take a vacation when I had all these ferrets here, a few times as many as 35. My greatest angst was the introduction of a newbie to a ferret, for the very first time. For the most part, using my customer training instructions, and the ferret's cooperation, I could get the introduction completed, the ferret well oiled, and the customer's money in about a half hour. The big problem was with surrendered ferrets that were biters. These could not be adopted under any circumstances, due to the liability their biting behavior presented and the medical payments I was required to pay to clear up one customer's infection, allegedly caused by their ferret's bite, a ferret they bought from me.. In my situation I had to find a means whereby I could alter a biter ferret's behavior in the least time possible. I found that method when handling suckling baby ferrets or kits. Kits were very popular and most folks wanted several at a time just as soon as they were weened. And at this time in their development they retain their needle like baby teeth. Handling kits is/can be extremely dangerous from the view of infection and blood slippery fingers. No fun, that. More often than not, not all of momma ferret's teats were working and the kits, just like a herd of kittens, had to really fight for a nipple that worked. One would think that the kits were never satiated. . . . always ravenously hungry. The answer was to feed the kits their ferret kibble, but in a form they could more readily eat, namely mixed with warm water and run through a high speed blender to change the form from solid to liquid. It worked beautifully, and now they could be handled without fear of bloody fingers. The next evolutionary step then was to soupify the adult biters. That worked, but it took too long and the subject ferret was not getting human scent..So to accelerate the process, fasting was employed and finger licking of thick soup answered the need for human scenting and warm souping simultaneously. You should know that my process of modifying an adult ferret's biting behavior was to accomplish Obamaism (read Change) as quickly as possible. If you're not in haste and want to take more time, then you can forgo the several days fasting. You are at higher risk of a bite. It'll take a lot longer, but if it makes that much difference to you, then fast less or not at all. Hey! most of you got enough sense to figure that out on your own, don't you? You to the right on that bell shaped curve. For your consideration, and I've said this before, what do you know about the wild ferret, specifically its eating and fasting process? Do you think the wild ferret has a bowl of ferret chow down in his burrow/warren and can eat at will?. Or, like other wilderness creatures, does he need to run down, kill, and eat his victim, all this as opportunity presents? What seems more likely to you? Is the wild ferret force fasted by circumstance? I happen to think, and rightly so, the latter is true. The wild ferret is force fasted by nasty momma Nature, that bad, bad girl. Next, consider how many days is the wild ferret force fasted? Bear in mind that the ferret, as with most other animals, will consume his own bodily nutrients, and will lose weight, and may even die when he is force fasted beyond his limits. Now, I ask you, Pilgrim, what are the limits? Do you know, and if so, hows about telling us, yes? And yes, I'm aware that your ferret may not be a wild one, but you can take this to the bank . . . you ferret will survive fasting. How long is up to you. Aller Anfang ist schwer. (German: Starting out can be a bit tough.) Edward Lipinski [Posted in FML 6214]