Hi. My first ferret, Oz, is doing something strange lately. He's been biting the back of the neck of his cage-mate, Merlin. Oz is a neutered/descented male and Merlin is a spayed/descented female. There has never been a problem with this is the past. Oz doesn't drink a lot of water and isn't overly itchy. Nor is he losing any hair anywhere. So, the symptoms of adrenal seem to be ruled out. He doesn't act spacey and his last vet visit (Dec 98) gave him a exceptionally clean bill of health. Oz has been doing this neck biting whenever he and Merlin are in the cage together for the last 2 weeks. He bites her hard enough that she cries out. I've tried putting lemon juice on Merlin's neck and am going to try bitter apple (was going to try sooner but found out husband lent it out without letting me know :) ). Every time Oz bites Merlin on the neck til she cries, he goes in the "bad cage" with a stern scolding all the way there. Needless to say, Oz has been spending a lot of time in the "bad cage". Oz and Merlin still play well together outside of the cage. Has anyone seen this before? If anyone has any ideas about why or how to stop this behaviour, I'd really appreciate it. Nicole and Adam Oz: I was a vampire in my past life. Merlin: Oz, you're a real pain in the neck!! Ouzo: Unh. You guys woke me up again. Summer: Oz, you want someone to bite, I DARE you to try and bite me!! Xena: Sorry Mer, better you than me. [Posted in FML issue 2546]