Suprise!

by Jess
(Melbourne)

Meet Kumar :)

Meet Kumar 🙂

I’m a first time ferret owner, long time ferret lover.

I was given my pet ferret as a Christmas present from a family friend who knew I’d always wanted a ferret (but had no idea how to raise them or anything) .

A couple days after Christmas, I get a phone call from my friend to come out the back yard and open a box that’s on the decking… I opened the box and much to my surprise, I had just become a ferret owner.. the look on my little 8 week old abino’s face was just to melt for!

I thought “Wow!…. now what do I do?!”, picked him up and he pooped on me… it was true love – hahaha!!

Firstly I gave him a bath cause he was covered in poop from his long 3 hour drive from the farm my friend got him from (my friend grew up on a farm and his brother in law breeds them, farm style lol). He took the bath really well but I freaked a little though when I saw him do his “weasel war dance” after his bath. I thought “Oh no, I’ve got an epileptic ferret” but then realized he just wanted to kill the towel … hahaha.

For the first few days he was really chilled, would wrap him in a towel and he’d just sleep, or he’d sleep in my jacket pocket. I thought to myself “Awesome! I’ve got a super chilled ferret”.

Little did I know I was somewhat wrong lol. I’ve only had him for about a week and a half and so far we have mastered litter training, so proud of my Kumar 🙂

He’s definately a mummy’s boy but now I’m in a bigger dilemma. Rather than where he’s going to the loo, is of the nipping!

I know kits are very adventurous and curious, excited if you will. He’s a mad man when he wakes up and wants to play, tears out of the bathroom like a bat out of hell and plays tug o war with my partner’s socks, “kill the pillow”, hide and seek between mum’s legs or under the mirror stand, tunnel fun or tag with my 2 cats, Buster and Ba’al.

I never knew a ferret wagged their tails but I thought that was the cutest thing – hahaha. I now can’t have a shower in peace any more because he’ll muscle the door open and chill on the shower floor ’til I’m done.

But my little Kumar has gotten pretty rough with the nipping side of things. Just now, as I type I’ve had to put him in time out because he bit my toe and chomped my cat’s tail (poor Buster).

I’ve tried the scruff and drag, saying a stern NO but he just lunges at me once I’ve stopped. I can sit there and do it for at least half an hour before I need to find the bucket of band aids. I do the time out mostly after a few butt drags because I just don’t think the butt dragging thing is working.

I know it takes time and patience to nip train, and sometimes he’ll just lightly nip after licking the first layer of skin off my hand but it’s the hard nips that I’m very worried about.

I’m hoping he does calm down and stop the hard biting because we are trying for a family and I don’t want a vicious ferret attacking everyone and everything.

Any help, advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

Comments for Suprise!
Jan 16, 2013 Re: Kumar the terror
by: Jess
Hi anon.
Oh if only things were that easy hahahaha.
Hes still nipping, now that im back home with him and cant let him freely roam the backyard, he’s still pretty nippy.. not much has changed since i replied to the last comment that i assume was you also.Im starting to run out of ideas on what to do because none of the training is helping or making any progress. Ive had to put a baracade up seperating the lounge and the dining room because 1) my mums visiting and hes been attacking her feet and her dog and 2) hes recently started chewing on electrical cord and last thing i want is singed kumar 🙁

Ive started taking him for walks around the block at mine to wear him out.

I will defiently be joining this forum as, like i said earlier, i need all the help i can get LOL

thanks again, Jess
Jan 12, 2013 Kumar
by: Anonymous
Hiya Jess
How are things going with Kumar. Hope he’s stopped nipping hard and has realised it’s better to be smoochy than bitey – LOL!!Cheers
Jan 09, 2013 Re: nippy ferrets by anonymus
by: Jess
Hi anonymus (lol),
Thank you so much for the reply on my thread..
He’s been really good lately as im at my mums house (who keeping in mind cant stand ferrets because of a childhood experience), but yeah he’s been much better behaved here than what he is at home suprisingly enough.He is a real sweetheart and i do adore him (as much as there’s some days where im stressing to the max too lol)

I started doing the light butt smack and saying “no biting” not long after i wrote this story and he’s been somewhat more responsive to that more so than the “time outs” as i put him in his cat cage (he lives in the bathroom because we’re still building his condo palace hahaha) and ive noticed when he has his “time outs” that he normally curls up and goes to sleep within the 5-10 mins that he’s in there..

The light nips dont worry me as much as the chomps do so really id prefer to get the hard bites under control mainly. i hope though that wouldnt be too confusing as i know the light ones are just out of fun.
I havnt really figured out what treats he likes as i havnt found a good ferret food treat but he does like prawns and smacko’s so i might give those a shot?

I tried looking for some bitter apple spray today but was unable to find any.. im not totally comfortable with putting it on buster and ba’al’s tails and legs though as thats where kumar normally nips. buster does sometimes gently whop him on the head when they’re playing hide and seek but theres no claws from buster and most of the time kumar doesnt savagly retaliate. i do seperate them both though if things do start to get a bit rough.

Over the last few days though of being at my mums, i am more comfortable with letting him explore outside in the backyard as we dont have 2 big dogs here unlike at home (i have 2 staffy X’s and i dont trust them at all even if i was to be crawling on the ground with kumar, plus they dig holes and im scared kumar could escape).
He very much enjoys the time outside exploring, doesnt attack buster, ba’al, the cats or my mums little dog, he Is so much less nippy and he gets the built up energy out of his system so hopefully this will help control the nipping. ive barely had to smack him for the nipping over the last few days of being here 🙂 fingers crossed!

I bought him a harness today so atleast if he sneaks out of sight i can still hear him and he’s pretty good on it. I took him for a walk tonight and he was defiently the centre of attention hahaha.

Once he wakes up in the morning and daily naps i am always with him to keep him entertained and make sure he doesnt get into any trouble, lost or anything else so he is almost always supervised.

So far i think that i mainly just need to take him for walks out the front of my house or to the park to get some energy out when we’re at home and let him explore the backyard when we’re at my mums.
Again, thank you for your help. i need all the help, luck and advice i can get hahaha 🙂
Jan 08, 2013 Nippy ferrets
by: Anonymous
Jess, your Kumar looks like an absolute sweetheart and I’m sure that once you train him to behave, you’ll be like the rest of us who’re owned by ferrets … totally under their spell – LOL! 🙂Kits are used to playing rough with their brothers and sisters and because their fur and skin is thick, they don’t realise how hard they’re chomping down on their humans’ skins.

You have to train him to understand that and I found the best way is to yell “No Biting” loudly when he is going to bite hard and if he doesn’t listen and latches onto your arm/hand or wherever, you smack his bottom and say “No Biting” again. He might do this a few times more but if you smack his bottom and make sure you say “No Biting” while doing that, he will understand he’s doing something wrong. The minute you see him hesitate when you shout “No Biting”, have something he likes to give him to eat, his favourite treat, to give him and also give him lots of praise and kisses, telling him he’s a good boy. It honestly will not take long for him to realise that it’s more fun to listen to you than not!

You could also get Bitter Apple and spray that on Buster or Ba’al if he’s trying to bite them. Just spray the stuff on their necks or tails or wherever you see Kumar latching onto them and if he gets that taste in mouth, he’ll stop doing that. Try to catch him in the act and shout “No Biting!” so that he twigs that he shouldn’t be doing that with your kittens either.

http://www.petland.com.au/prod116.htm

I know people say one shouldn’t smack ferrets when they bite but I know when I get a bitey kit, I only have to smack its bottom 2-3 times before the penny drops 😀 And of course you don’t smack them so hard that it hurts them but just enough to surprise them!

Here are some websites with good information for you to check out

http://www.ferret-fact.org/BehBite.htm

http://www.petplace.com/small-mammals/how-to-keep-your-ferret-from-biting/page1.aspx

Hope you find them helpful 🙂

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