My husband and I purchased our first ferret about three weeks ago. Oscar was very young and small when we first got him and seemed to spend most of the first week asleep. He would cuddle in our laps and seemed to enjoy interacting with us and being held. Fast forward 2 weeks: The adorable little baby has turned into a juvenile delinquent ferret from hell. He seems to enjoy playing games like chase and tug of war just as long as we don't touch him anywhere on his body. He attacks hands and feet and responds to the thump on the nose and "NO!" by either biting again or running like he thinks we are going to kill him. We are at wits end because he will come running to us when we call his name (a good sign) and is always trying to get us to play with him (another good sign); we try talking calmly to him and being very gentle when we touch him but other than the times when he decides he wants to play, he wants nothing to do with us. We are wondering is this is natural ferret behavior? Up until now we have had only dogs. Do ferrets in general not enjoy being touched and/or held or is Oscar a unique case? Is this a "stage" that he will eventually come out of or is it just his distinct personality? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We have grown to love the little guy already and it is very difficult having a pet who seems to hate your guts. [Posted in FML issue 0801]