On the subject of the dangers of wastepaper baskets; I also had an incident occur with my first ferret Hun-Hun involving the dreaded trash can that I had in the bathroom. I was always careful to never throw anything sharp into the basket like razor blades or something small enough that Hun-Hun could ingest. However I never thought that the basket itself could be harmful. One day I heard Hun-Hun screaming in agony and I ran to the bathroom and found Hun-Hun hanging upside down in the basket. The basket was made out of wicker and he had caught his foot in the top part of the basket, his foot wedged in the wicker. I was able to pry his foot free and there was no damage to his foot. I no longer used the wicker basket and I kept all trash cans from Hun-Hun's reach. There is just too many dangers found in the trash can and the contents for a curious ferret to encounter. So I encourage all ferret lovers to keep these items out of the reach of your babies. To Michelle and the Masketeers: Please send more of your fascinating story of Robin Furo Hood. I am on the edge of my seat wondering if Robin rescues Mhink Marion. I love a romantic story especially if it involves my favorite animals, ferrets! Also congrats on the new litter. You must be one very busy ferret lover. I know that when I raised my kitten from when he was a day old, I was up every two hours feeding him. His mother died the day after he was born from a C-section and the poor little tyke never had a drop of his mamas' milk or knew the warmth of her body. So even though the babies are receiving milk from mama ferret, it still must be very stressful and at the same time exciting for you to be a part of the new lives. Keep up the good work! To Dave Garvin: Regarding selective nipping, my two two year old male sables also seem to have this habit. When my roommate attempts to hold them they would like nothing better than to taste his wrist, yet they are completely docile with me. I believe it is because I am the one who plays, feeds, interacts with them and they know my scent and associate it with food and security. I have found this is true with my older ferrets also. When I first brought the fossil four home from the shelter, they fussed and squirmed in my arms when I held them. As they became familiar with my scent and with my routine of holding them and then treating them with special treats of Linatone and puffed wheat, they associated my scent with comfort and positive feelings. This was particularly evident in Sable, my blind female ferret. I found if I just reached for Sable she would be startled and struggle to free herself from my hold. However, if I let Sable sniff my hand before I pick her up, she would be calm as I held her and she would joyfully lick my face. To John and the ferret with an attitude: The above statement about a ferret who seems to struggle when being held could help answer some questions you had. Sometimes it takes awhile for a ferret to bond to the owner. Sometimes it seems to take forever. It can vary with each ferret. My first ferret Hun-Hun wasn't comfortable with being held for about a year. Then he started crawling up on my lap and sleeping. It was all on his own time. All you can do is reward your ferret with little treats when you hold her. Play with her as often as you can. Hold the ferret until she no longer desires it. It takes time and patience and eventually as the ferret matures she will become more tolerant of being held. This is my experience with ferrets that I have had the pleasure of loving. I have had ferrets as young as five months old to six year olds and it seems that as they mature and become accustomed to the environment and the scents within that habitat, which includes your scent, they become more compliant. However, it does depend on the individual ferret. My two two year olds are still a couple of wild men and are so full of energy that they still cannot tolerate being held for longer then a couple of minutes. Only when they get their Linatone treats do they let me hold them as they placidly lick my hand. So John, give Daphne a little more time and a lot of love like you are doing and she will become more tolerant as time passes. I am sure she accepts you now in her little ferret way, she just shows it differently then humans do. Also on the subject of finding the bag of food more appealing, I have had this happen to me. I always have a plain brown paper bag near my ferrets food since they love to grasp a piece of dry kitten food and run into the bag to eat it. Several of my ferrets have this habit, they love to play in bags. I place a handful of puffed wheat cereal in the bag and they have so much fun munching on the cereal and then poking their heads out for a drink of water. I do caution on the use of plastic bags however. I also let my ferrets play in big plastic bags while I supervise, then I remove the bags when I leave since there is always a danger of the ferrets eating the plastic or suffocating if they should become trapped inside. Good luck with Daphne, she is a very lucky ferret to have found a home with a concerned person as yourself. To Daisy Lyn: Please keep us posted on Nonni. I am thinking of you and hoping you find her very soon! Judy Gallipeau, and the six sweet ones, Weezul, Teebone, Fred, Sable, Boo & Faucett. [Posted in FML issue 0711]