Greetings from Eden in Seattle SS (anon poster) wrote about a personality change in his ferret when taking it to work >After telling my friends what a tough guy Phoenix was I took him to work to >show him off. All the way to work I hel him on my lap. He fell asleep >there -- never struggled once. He let my friends pet him and one even held >him! He never nipped anyone. He let me cuddle him, hold him in my arms >like a baby, kiss him. > >All the way home -- same thing -- but once we were back in the house he was >chomping and squirming again. It was truly Jeckyl and Hyde. Our Lemke is not a biter, but he definately does a personality change when we take him outside for walks and the like. Normally Lem wont let you hold him for more than 30 seconds unless he's sleepy (he's happy to cuddle with us then), but if we take him outside he suddenly becomes very clingy & is happy to sit in our arms & be carried all over the place for his "walks". catch that happening in the house during play time! I've wondered if this is because he's afraid of the great outdoors & we're like a security blankie - you dont need your blankie if you're at home where you know you're secure... Both our boys are sweethearts with strangers, they make great ambassadors for ferret kind. I've never had any concerns with letting strangers handle them (as long as we're watching to make sure the humans dont do anything stupid of course) even when they're all wound up & ready to wrassle and wardance if you pick them up they know that they have to be gentle while they're being held. Good luck with Phoenix - love and patience will eventually do the trick. My deepest sympathies to everyone who's lost a little one recently. Eden and her 3 guys: Misha, Lemke & Bill (the human one) [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1818]