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Post by Kel on Apr 13, 2016 15:55:49 GMT -5
I need some help! I have three ferret kits, two three month olds and one two month old (though my SO thinks he must be younger). The oldest two are a cinnamon gib named Tyrion and a sable mitt? sprite named Stella. The youngest is a marked white gib named Ghost. The problems: 1. Tyrion has bitten us hard enough to draw blood several times...He has bitten me twice over treats. I believe he just grabbed me thinking it was the treat. The other night, my SO was petting him while he was out not knowing he was chewing on a piece of hay and he turned around and grabbed his finger. 2. Ghost is extremely food possessive. He hasn't bitten yet but he hisses constantly and has attempted to nip me. He hisses at us and the other ferrets. Sometimes he won't even be eating but he'll block the other ferrets from getting to the food bowl. 3. In the past week or so, Ghost has started constantly sucking on the other ferrets' ears. I didn't mind at first because I had seen Tyrion groom Stella like that before we got Ghost but Ghost does it so much. He was doing it the other morning and I left for a few hours. When I came back they were in the exact same spot, Ghost still sucking...We've tried using a bitter spray type thing on the backs of their ears but it hasn't helped much. Thinking about trying lemon juice? Thanks for reading, any suggestions are appreciated  |
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Post by Heather on Apr 13, 2016 16:18:41 GMT -5
Kits.....right....brats. No manners, removed from mom too young to have learned any.
First don't put bitter apple on ferrets to stop sucking. Don't use bitter apple with ferrets. It doesn't work. It can have horrible, horrible consequences and it doesn't stop the behaviour. Lemon juice doesn't work either. This is unfortunately an issue that can give the sucked ferret a cauliflower ear if Ghost continues to use him as a soother. This is not highly recommended but in this case I'm going to because the repercussions of him continuing this is harmful to his friend. I suggest putting some sudocreme on the ears. See if that works
Hissing, biting, fighting off everyone from food...that's a ferret thing and even more so a kit thing. Let them work it out as long as everyone's getting food. The biggest problem is that farm kits (I'm guessing this is the case as they're already desexed) are never left with mom and sibs long enough to be taught manners. It's now up to you. Biting....treats...if he bites you he doesn't get the treat, walk away. Offer it again later. If he bites during play, get up and walk away. He's leaning on you to see if you react and do what he wants. He's in all purposes being a brat.
Ghost...is very probably deaf. He's got a whole different set of issues. He can't hear you scream, so when he bites you or his friends he cannot respond to verbal clues. His hissing is just a vocalization, ignore it. He could just as likely be dooking, he just chose hissing because it's easier. Deaf ferrets vocalizations are often inappropriate.
The one thing to remember is these are just babies and they've never been in a social position to learn anything, so now you're the teacher. Mom teaches babies to behave by ignoring them, siblings do the same. Ferrets hate to be ignored, they love to be the centre of attention and they love to play. Biting is always rewarded with no more playing. It only takes a few minutes each time it's done. Bite inhibition is hard for kits to learn but they do. Your wee ones are treating you just like you are a sibling, return the favour...walk away, ignore. Use verbal words, like no, hiss, stop it. Don't pull away, shriek in a high pitched voice, make sudden movement (I know it's hard when you've got a ferret attached to your hand, finger, foot). Don't react. No, remove offending ferret and walk away. Calmly. If you get the least bit excited they think it's a game and you're back to square one
Good luck :thumbsup:
ciao
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Post by Kel on Apr 13, 2016 23:13:08 GMT -5
Thank you!! I never thought about him being deaf...but we tested it and it seems so. How would that affect his behavior? He doesn't really play like the others at all...he'll kind of wrestle but that's it. I'm not sure what to do with him. I was holding him a little bit ago and he bit my arm somewhat hard. I put him back in the cage but it doesn't seem to affect him at all since he doesn't care about playing or being out...
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Post by Sherry on Apr 14, 2016 10:25:11 GMT -5
He will learn the same as the others Deafness doesn't mean much to ferrets as they rely more on scent anyway. He will startle easier, and take longer to learn some things like bite inhibition but that's about it. At his age ignore is definitely best. |
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Post by crazylady on Apr 14, 2016 12:14:07 GMT -5
Hi as sherry and heather have stated what is needed is a constant routine they soon learn bite you get put in time out behave you might get a treat ( I reward all of mine with a piece of meat at this age if they don't bite the issue with food is easy to remedy simply put in three food bowls spaced well apart ! ( remember kits are dustbins and need feeding four times a day to satisfy there growth and hunger ) they will also be pushing through adult teeth at this age so need something as a teething ring raw chicken wings work fine it will also give your ear sucker something to suckle on instead of an ear ! you may feel like this is never going to work but it will all it takes is time good luck take care bye for now
Bev
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2016 22:43:28 GMT -5
I made an account Thank you for the comments!!! We've started giving time outs for biting/chewing on something inappropriate and I've given them new toys for chewing so things should get better! I may post pictures of them soon |
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Post by raynebc on Apr 16, 2016 4:03:29 GMT -5
Be careful about any toys that get chewed on. Even ones that are labeled as safe for dogs may not be safe for ferrets because it wouldn't take much cloth, plastic, etc. to cause a blockage. Chewy food like gizzards or bone-in meat like chicken wings make for good chew treats.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2016 21:13:31 GMT -5
Yeah the first few didn't last long but we took them. I got a few more that are supposed to be more sturdy as well as stuffingless and they're being supervised. What about beef trachea or esophagus that are labeled for dogs?
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Apr 16, 2016 21:58:20 GMT -5
I gave trachea jerky to my dog and she got diarrhea.
I will let others comment on that, tho.
Kind of funny myself about stuff.
And for any jerky that you do buy, I would look up the name brand and recall. You can find out how if the brand has a lot of problems.
I like Raynebc's suggestion.
Gizzards are really cheap and nutritious. Wings r easy to find at grocery store.
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Post by raynebc on Apr 16, 2016 23:30:07 GMT -5
Check any of the dog treats you are considering and try to avoid any that have fruit or vegetable ingredients. In particular, be wary if they don't say where the meat comes from. Some pet treats come from overseas, and Chinese sourced meat/treats are often considered to be dangerous due to poor quality controls there.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2016 0:46:33 GMT -5
Okay thanks! The trachea/esophagus I'm looking at are just plain, it says "gently dried". I'm willing to try gizzards or legs but I highly doubt they will eat them  |
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Post by raynebc on Apr 17, 2016 19:05:52 GMT -5
It's worth a shot. If they don't seem interested in whole gizzards, try cutting them into smaller pieces or strips.
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Post by unclejoe on Apr 18, 2016 5:23:04 GMT -5
Why was Tyrion chewing on hay?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2016 13:20:20 GMT -5
My mom previously had a rabbit in here. I must've missed a few small pieces when vacuuming but I've gone over it several times since
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2016 22:48:49 GMT -5
So...I have more problems 1. Weird looking poops...I've only noticed it with Tyrion so far. First one was light colored and a little bit seedy looking and the second was completely liquid and yellow. is this just from the diet change? (added FDR and raw eggs) 2. Ghost had a very strange mood change tonight...All three of the ferrets were out and I heard him whimpering from Stella playing too rough with him so I redirected her to something else. About five minutes later, I was petting him while he was in the middle of the room and he started hissing at me and then made the angry noise they make when they have something (not sure if that makes sense), but he had nothing and wasn't near anything to protect. I picked him up and put him back in the cage for 2-3 minutes. Let him back out, tried to pet him again, same thing happened, put him back in time out. I did this three times. The fourth time, he bit me hard...We scruffed him and put him in the cage. We looked him over a little bit later to see if Stella hurt him while playing but he had no marks, just blood on him from my finger....I don't understand what happened. He had gotten so much better over food and was really starting to come around |
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