Post by bedslug on Jun 12, 2023 11:41:24 GMT -5
Hello! About 2 years ago I made a guest thread here about my "alpha" ferret (for lack of a better word, I don't really use that kind of terminology since to me he's just a bit of a d***.)
Old Thread: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/26061/ferrets-alpha
In the thread I explained the situation with one of my boys, at the time I had 3 ferrets. One being the eldest that I had for a year before getting two brothers to keep him company. Unfortunately, that first ferret I had who was absolutely my heart and soul died about 2 months ago. I ran myself into debt and did everything I could but he ended up dying to cancer. (Not really why I'm posting here, but I guess the loss of basically my soul animal isn't really helping with the trauma of the current situation.)
You all gave some great suggestions, and I wish they had worked (along with all of what I had already tried) but nothing did. I've also since tried other suggestions from the breeder as it has been 2 years but whether its toys, food, treats or medicine nothing works to prevent these random bouts of aggression.
He's never been abused, he lives a luxurious life in a ferret nation with custom beds and liners that are changed regularly (I've also bought a second FN to attach to the first once I move out of my currently really bad living situation). Free roam playtime daily, tunnels, toys and treats that take up most of my income. Full high quality frankenprey diet with meals planned out months in advance and different meat sources every day for variety etc.
My first ferret and his brother were/are both absolutely fine. My first ferret was a complete softie and I'll likely never encounter another animal with his nature again. The problem ferrets brother took a bit more effort and training to get past the nip stage but he very rarely bites you and if he does its because he just couldn't resist the urge to bite a nose. He's otherwise very sweet, just not the same sort of lap ferret that my first was.
The problem ferret though - like I said in the thread 2 years ago, there is no reason for his behaviour and nothing helps. He doesn't flare or hiss or anything before attacking, he just *does*. It's problematic because due to my investment into having my ferrets as indoor pets the only out of cage time they get to have is free roam, which is then a very dangerous situation due to his insistence and hyperfixation on attacking me. Toys to distract don't work, he straight up hones in on me and wants to attack me. Same goes for anything else.
Some days its not so bad and his biting will be "light" enough that it won't draw blood and I can remove him. Other times he goes full sink in shaking head shredding style. There's no way to predict it. I can't just walk away from him either, as he will actively chase me and follow me to bite me and attack me. If I go sit somewhere else while they're out he will repeatedly climb to where I am to bite me, he is ONLY interested in me. If I use toys to play with him without risking harm, it will briefly work with a cat wand (until he gets bored and is back to directly getting to me to bite me) and plush toys etc. don't work at all, they actually seem to aggravate him even more that he's being blocked from my skin and he will double down on his speed efforts to get to my flesh.
He is a perfectly happy and healthy ferret in every way, beautiful coat, teeth, etc. He's probably also plenty happy when he's attacking me.
I suffer from ASD, ADHD and Depression and with losing my soul ferret 2 months ago I'm understandably not having a great time. When my mood is better its a bit easier to dismiss his behaviour and appreciate his unrelenting dedication to being an a**hole, but when my mood is low it definitely doesn't help. I'm prone to autistic breakdowns so whenever he gets a particularly painful attack in unprovoked it can really trigger me to spiral and become overwhelmed with emotions I'm not equipped to deal with.
It's gotten so bad that his breeder, with a heavy heart (and definitely not an easy recommendation to come to) has suggested euthanization based on behavioural grounds. She thinks there is a neurological issue with him and that I wouldn't be able to rehome him and its not healthy for me to keep going the way that I have. I however absolutely am not willing to go that route, because while yes he's a menace toward me he coexists with his brother completely fine and is again - perfectly happy and healthy, and I love him (even though he won't let me love him).
He's about 4 years and a few months old now and he was neutered ASAP (due to the budding aggression showing). I'm at a complete loss of what to do, I feel like finding some kind of ferret rescue or sanctuary where he can stay with ferrets rather than be an indoor pet is maybe the best option but there aren't really many places like that. The breeder initially had offered to take him back but over time the more evidence there was of him absolutely being a menace with nothing working to stop him I don't think she wants to risk it, and doesn't think I could rehome him anywhere/that anyone could help him.
I feel like a complete failure, I love him to bits and I think it's my fault that he's like this and that I've obviously failed him somewhere but at the same time I don't know what else there is to do. My living situation is pretty dire because a very abusive man moved in above me and has been harassing me for the past 2 years, forcing me to move which I'm still waiting on. I can't really make any major adjustments until I move, and my current place is both very small and my garden is now unusable thanks to my neighbour above. (He's the sort of person where the police are here every day and night)
This means things like maybe making a ferret enclosure outside aren't possible, and I also don't have the finances anymore because I'm still working off a significant amount of debt from my (in vain) attempts to save my baby boy. I just don't know what to do, and being in the UK ferret ownership is already very rare compared to elsewhere so there's just nowhere I can really go, nobody I can talk to etc.
Any help or suggestions are appreciated and I'm really sorry for the long post (ASD habits).
Old Thread: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/26061/ferrets-alpha
In the thread I explained the situation with one of my boys, at the time I had 3 ferrets. One being the eldest that I had for a year before getting two brothers to keep him company. Unfortunately, that first ferret I had who was absolutely my heart and soul died about 2 months ago. I ran myself into debt and did everything I could but he ended up dying to cancer. (Not really why I'm posting here, but I guess the loss of basically my soul animal isn't really helping with the trauma of the current situation.)
You all gave some great suggestions, and I wish they had worked (along with all of what I had already tried) but nothing did. I've also since tried other suggestions from the breeder as it has been 2 years but whether its toys, food, treats or medicine nothing works to prevent these random bouts of aggression.
He's never been abused, he lives a luxurious life in a ferret nation with custom beds and liners that are changed regularly (I've also bought a second FN to attach to the first once I move out of my currently really bad living situation). Free roam playtime daily, tunnels, toys and treats that take up most of my income. Full high quality frankenprey diet with meals planned out months in advance and different meat sources every day for variety etc.
My first ferret and his brother were/are both absolutely fine. My first ferret was a complete softie and I'll likely never encounter another animal with his nature again. The problem ferrets brother took a bit more effort and training to get past the nip stage but he very rarely bites you and if he does its because he just couldn't resist the urge to bite a nose. He's otherwise very sweet, just not the same sort of lap ferret that my first was.
The problem ferret though - like I said in the thread 2 years ago, there is no reason for his behaviour and nothing helps. He doesn't flare or hiss or anything before attacking, he just *does*. It's problematic because due to my investment into having my ferrets as indoor pets the only out of cage time they get to have is free roam, which is then a very dangerous situation due to his insistence and hyperfixation on attacking me. Toys to distract don't work, he straight up hones in on me and wants to attack me. Same goes for anything else.
Some days its not so bad and his biting will be "light" enough that it won't draw blood and I can remove him. Other times he goes full sink in shaking head shredding style. There's no way to predict it. I can't just walk away from him either, as he will actively chase me and follow me to bite me and attack me. If I go sit somewhere else while they're out he will repeatedly climb to where I am to bite me, he is ONLY interested in me. If I use toys to play with him without risking harm, it will briefly work with a cat wand (until he gets bored and is back to directly getting to me to bite me) and plush toys etc. don't work at all, they actually seem to aggravate him even more that he's being blocked from my skin and he will double down on his speed efforts to get to my flesh.
He is a perfectly happy and healthy ferret in every way, beautiful coat, teeth, etc. He's probably also plenty happy when he's attacking me.
I suffer from ASD, ADHD and Depression and with losing my soul ferret 2 months ago I'm understandably not having a great time. When my mood is better its a bit easier to dismiss his behaviour and appreciate his unrelenting dedication to being an a**hole, but when my mood is low it definitely doesn't help. I'm prone to autistic breakdowns so whenever he gets a particularly painful attack in unprovoked it can really trigger me to spiral and become overwhelmed with emotions I'm not equipped to deal with.
It's gotten so bad that his breeder, with a heavy heart (and definitely not an easy recommendation to come to) has suggested euthanization based on behavioural grounds. She thinks there is a neurological issue with him and that I wouldn't be able to rehome him and its not healthy for me to keep going the way that I have. I however absolutely am not willing to go that route, because while yes he's a menace toward me he coexists with his brother completely fine and is again - perfectly happy and healthy, and I love him (even though he won't let me love him).
He's about 4 years and a few months old now and he was neutered ASAP (due to the budding aggression showing). I'm at a complete loss of what to do, I feel like finding some kind of ferret rescue or sanctuary where he can stay with ferrets rather than be an indoor pet is maybe the best option but there aren't really many places like that. The breeder initially had offered to take him back but over time the more evidence there was of him absolutely being a menace with nothing working to stop him I don't think she wants to risk it, and doesn't think I could rehome him anywhere/that anyone could help him.
I feel like a complete failure, I love him to bits and I think it's my fault that he's like this and that I've obviously failed him somewhere but at the same time I don't know what else there is to do. My living situation is pretty dire because a very abusive man moved in above me and has been harassing me for the past 2 years, forcing me to move which I'm still waiting on. I can't really make any major adjustments until I move, and my current place is both very small and my garden is now unusable thanks to my neighbour above. (He's the sort of person where the police are here every day and night)
This means things like maybe making a ferret enclosure outside aren't possible, and I also don't have the finances anymore because I'm still working off a significant amount of debt from my (in vain) attempts to save my baby boy. I just don't know what to do, and being in the UK ferret ownership is already very rare compared to elsewhere so there's just nowhere I can really go, nobody I can talk to etc.
Any help or suggestions are appreciated and I'm really sorry for the long post (ASD habits).
