From:
"Ulrike"
Date: 2003-11-24 22:24:30 UTC
Subject: Aggressive ferret!!!
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-Id: <3FC2851E.00000D.03000@Ferretlove1>
I got a rescue ferret tonight, I was told that he bites and thought it
wouldn't be a problem to "tame" him. I've had many biters, some bad ones,
all stopped biting within 1-2 weeks except for my Bella who stopped biting
after 3 months. But this new ferret is *BAD*. I took him out of his
carrier with my hands covered with the sleeves of my pullover and he seemed=
okay so I tried to hold him and put my hand behind his shoulders but his
head spun round so quickly and he just grabbed my hand and held onto it so =
I
stuck the little finger of my other hand into his mouth to make him release=
my hand and I eventually got free. He then had a run around the house and
behaved like he was on some drug and when I returned to put him into his
cage, he just attacked all of us. A friend of mine who brought him (not he=
r
ferret) was attacked first, then he came towards me and wanted to attack my=
legs, I ran down the stairs! Then my friend's husband got him to bite his
gloves so we were able to put him in his cage. I have never seen a ferret
like that. He is like a wild animal, worse even because he goes out of his=
way to attack. In his previous home he was kept in a 2ft or 3ft cage, he
was *never* let out, *never* handled and I know he was abused. All he was
fed was cheap cat biscuits, the ones with loads of cereal, artificial
colouring, flavouring, fillers, preservatives, But my friends said that 3
months ago, he didn't bite them so something major must have happened in th=
e
last 3 months. =
So what I want to know is: are there any drugs (tranquillisers???) that you=
can use to calm a ferret down? Would that work? I have to admit that I am=
*really* scared now. To the point where I would wear jeans and wellies
around him and only handle him with extremely thick gloves. I'm dreading
tomorrow when I have to let him out again. I don't know how to approach hi=
m
or try to start taming him. As I've said, I had some bad biters but he goe=
s
far beyond that...
Ulrike =
=
West Wales Ferret Welfare
E-mail: ulrike@ferretlove.co.uk
http://www.ferretlove.co.uk
Last update 26/04/03 =