Eddie, Hi! Don't worry about your new 6 week old not wanting to be held and just attacking your hand. He is normal and doesn't hate you. Right now I am dealing with the very same thing with my 9 week old, Cloud. He doesn't want to be held, he just wants to bite the tar out of my feet and hands. In my opinion there are a few reasons for this behavior: 1. Youthful energy. Baby ferrets are sort of like the energizer bunny. When awake, they keep going and going and going...everything is so new to them and they want to check it out NOW. 2. Teething (spelling). If you check your little ones mouth, you will notice all of those new teeth coming in. Let me tell you that it hurts like mad to have them come in. Putting pressure on the gums helps them to feel better and helps the teeth to break the gums. My Cloud bites everything and I am just included in the things to chew on category. 3. Socialization. Most baby ferrets need to learn how to play with people. For the most part, they have spent their lives surrounded byt other ferrets. Since ferrets have such tough skin, they can play really rough and the other ferrets don't mind. Well, us humans, have fairly frail skin so when a ferret comes up and chomps like he would other ferrets, it hurts. So it becomes the big-ferret's (aka human) responsiblity to teach proper means for playing. 4. Personality. Every ferret has a different personality. Some are not cuddly and some are. At 6 weeks, a ferrets personality is still developing and he will start showing more characteristics as he gets older. Watch for these changes, and if you see a behavior develop that you like encourage that behavior, but be sure to watch for not as acceptable behoviors and try to discourage them. They might be cute at first, but they could be a real problem later. 5. Age. I have found that ferrets tend to mellow with age. When I got my Ian, he was a year old and still a little wild. Now that he is coming up on 3 he has mellowed. He like to be held and scratched more often then he did when he was younger. So don't worry. Believe it or not ferrets, even the ones who are not affectionate, come to love their big-ferret. I never realized it was true until someone pointed out to me how much my little ones perked up when I entered the room. Since I was never able to see the difference between when I was there and when I was not, I didn't know that they acted any different. It did my heart good to hear that. Katie -- Katie [log in to unmask] Technology Information Coordinator/Lecturer Carroll College 100 N. East Ave. Waukesha, WI 53186 Phone: (414) 524-7682 Fax: (414) 524-7139 ************************************************************************ ************************************************************************ "Now we start to get into the 80's. Dangerous, dangerous ground..." -John Taylor, Duran Duran MTV Unplugged, December 1993 [For George (April 1995 - June 21, 1996). He was a ferret for all times. And would have loved the 80's. Keep on dancing my little one...be it to Duran or Garth or the choir of angels from whom you just stole those bells ;-D. Ian and I will see you soon. I promise to always check the dishwasher before starting a load...] [Posted in FML issue 1634]