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Post by bedslug on Jun 20, 2021 8:04:08 GMT -5
Also, while it may be surprising I'm not actually in the US - I'm one of the few people in the UK to have ferrets (and not keep them in outdoor enclosures) so I got my ferrets from a private, very respectable lovely breeder. It can be hard due to Marshalls being in the US, and ferrets in general being more popular there - a lot of products have to be imported, or just have no alternative here.
I mean I've got ferretone, malt paste, raw food (and they're also imprinted on orijen kitten for if I ever can't give them raw). But other things, and supplies/toys in general aren't really available. I've got a friend on etsy who makes things for rats and does them much bigger for my ferrets, and I'm looking to eventually replace my current cage they're in with a ferret nation (but again sadly, they're twice the price here than in the US and there's no way to import them that I can find either, forcing you to pay double).
It also means not many vets have any specialist idea about ferrets, and given my own illnesses and disabilities it is quite limiting. There is thankfully a holistic vet in my village though, but I only recently moved here. Before that, I was having to resort to an rspca vet (due to my disabilities, I get help there) and they were always so excited about seeing ferrets they'd take pictures of them. Even local pet stores would take photos of my eldest for their facebook pages.
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Post by Charlie on Jun 20, 2021 12:35:13 GMT -5
Has the breeder offered any advice?
The only thing I can think of is to just avoid this ferret and if you interact with him then use a toy between you and the ferret. Another thing you can try to do is offer him salmon oil so he might associate food means good. Any time my ferret bit really hard I got up and left him in the room. He was in a room he couldn't get out but I could. He soon realized he had no one to play with. Another thing you can try is try to tire him out with cat wands and chasing you. Maybe tiring him out might be nicer to handle. lol Somehow you have to get the ferret to trust you more or he thinks you are a big toy.
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Post by bedslug on Jun 20, 2021 14:22:14 GMT -5
Has the breeder offered any advice? The only thing I can think of is to just avoid this ferret and if you interact with him then use a toy between you and the ferret. Another thing you can try to do is offer him salmon oil so he might associate food means good. Any time my ferret bit really hard I got up and left him in the room. He was in a room he couldn't get out but I could. He soon realized he had no one to play with. Another thing you can try is try to tire him out with cat wands and chasing you. Maybe tiring him out might be nicer to handle. lol Somehow you have to get the ferret to trust you more or he thinks you are a big toy. Yeah she's the one who was talking me through other things at first, and the one who suggested I try see if desexing would help. She's prepared to take him back if I choose, because as much as she wants him to be happy she stresses my happiness is also important but I just feel like even though he'd be in a good home with other ferrets, it's not the ferrets he's used to or the home he's used to and I don't want to separate them. (plus, I do love the guy, I just wish he'd let me love him rather than have sudden shifts of behaviour) I use ferretone which they love, but while the others lick it he sometimes tries to bite and drag away my hand that the oil is on. The boiled chicken is a hit so far, granted my eldest gets a whiff of treats and persistently stands there like a meerkat, expecting, wanting, not stopping. He's a goof. I got a few new cat toy rods with different attachments, which again - the biter ravages, whilst my eldest stands like a meerkat to gently grab the end of the rod and investigate it before letting it go, he's a gentle soul. So yeah, hopefully doing all these new additions along with some old will start to have more of an impact! A carrier is nearby to combine with time outs if need be, and I got a small squeaky toy squid with legs that rustle to have at hand at all times for when the biter comes up to me or tries to bite. (Which my eldest loves too!) The middle child is a bit dim, and spends all of his time jumping around with his mouth open, but he's a good boy.
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Post by Charlie on Jun 21, 2021 19:37:42 GMT -5
Awe, you are trying your best. Some ferrets are just not trusted not to bite, unfortunately. I hope this little guy comes around for you. For now love the little guy from a distance so you don't get shredded up all the time. He may need more time to trust. Something happened to him when he was little.
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Post by silentdook on Jun 22, 2021 12:10:58 GMT -5
So, it sounds like this *isn't* a Marshall's ferret. (There are other big breeders, just not as well known). We have Wyatt who came to me as a terrible biter, and I suspect he's one of the polecat hybrids spoken of, because even our vet, who has worked on ferrets for a couple of decades at least, says he hasn't seen a ferret as muscular as this guy.
The biter starts to try and bite my eldests back and chases him around trying to dominate him
I'd get him a DES implant, this really sounds like adrenal disease, and have his BG first checked due to the spacing out behavior, he may also have insulinoma. Ferrets can have all sorts of behavior issues when they aren't feeling well. Keep us updated on the rascal.
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Post by bedslug on Jun 23, 2021 11:56:27 GMT -5
So, it sounds like this *isn't* a Marshall's ferret. (There are other big breeders, just not as well known). We have Wyatt who came to me as a terrible biter, and I suspect he's one of the polecat hybrids spoken of, because even our vet, who has worked on ferrets for a couple of decades at least, says he hasn't seen a ferret as muscular as this guy. The biter starts to try and bite my eldests back and chases him around trying to dominate himI'd get him a DES implant, this really sounds like adrenal disease, and have his BG first checked due to the spacing out behavior, he may also have insulinoma. Ferrets can have all sorts of behavior issues when they aren't feeling well. Keep us updated on the rascal. Thanks, I'll try taking him to the holistic vet in my village - just this morning he put his mouth on me to bite then stopped and licked (something he does in the past too) so I know he understands he shouldn't bite, but is sort of fighting some kind of random instinct he gets. At the very least, there's been no accidents in the work place this week. I should get one of those signs.
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Post by lyles on Jun 24, 2021 9:14:01 GMT -5
Just have patience. My Sean now no longer bites. I let him lick me and he just stops, doesn't go through with the 'chomp' part.
He has gotten much sweeter too, always wants to be held.
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Post by unclejoe on Jun 24, 2021 21:01:25 GMT -5
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Post by lyles on Jun 25, 2021 1:52:37 GMT -5
You know, it's strange how much his personality changed recently. From 4 weeks he would run low to the ground, not bounce, and slink around and under furniture to stay hidden when not playing. He doesn't do that anymore and is a lot more lax, and acts more like Aron now. They aren't so rough with each other either, I've been seeing less scabs on his back.
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Post by unclejoe on Jun 25, 2021 18:04:38 GMT -5
Thanks, I'll try taking him to the holistic vet in my village - just this morning he put his mouth on me to bite then stopped and licked (something he does in the past too) so I know he understands he shouldn't bite, but is sort of fighting some kind of random instinct he gets. At the very least, there's been no accidents in the work place this week. I should get one of those signs. I hope he continues to make progress. Bonds with the difficult ones seem stronger over time. Eddie went from an ambush knee biter to a walk around the neighborhood off leash best bud.
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