food aggression in ferrets?

Question
hello, i have 5 ferrets at the moment, 3 boys (2 years, 18 months, and about 14 months) and 2 girls (4 1/2 years, and about 14 months). my problem is with my youngest male. i got him at a very young age and he had trouble walking, was not even teething yet (he started teething about 2 months later), cried a lot (he was too small to put with the others so he was lonely), could only eat food the consistency of applesauce, and only slept if i held him. i think the store received him too young. but because of all the attention he was given he acted like a little kitten and loved human interaction and was a insanely calm ferret. but yesterday out of nowhere he started getting aggressive with zavier (the 18 month old) over his NBONE chicken stick. he started pushing him and hissing and screaming at him. and he dropped it and i went to pick it up for him and he snapped at me. i have no problems with nipping and stuff but he snapped like angrily and i don't like that because then i have to worry about giving them treats and not being around. but this is the first time he has displayed such behavior. i punished him by taking him out and taking zavier's treat away and giving it back to zavier and holding him in a time out 'til everyone else was done (everyone was given a stick for themselves, he had just eaten his). but when i picked him up he was flailing and trying to bite me. it was very different from his normal personality. and i KNOW they have enough food and that they like it because they have a big dog dish filled with about 1 1/2 lbs. or more of food a day and they eat the food fine. they eat a mix of innova evo ferret dry and 8 in 1 ultimate crunchy. is there any reason you could think of as to why he's being aggressive (never with the food just with the treats and so far only the NBONE stick, not the cheweasels or foamy fries) or something to train him out of it?

Answer
It sounds like he is still figuring things out.  He may not have had time around his litter to learn the rules of living with and interacting with other ferrets, so he overreacts in some situations.  He is also probably a little used to getting his own way.    Often treat time, with any pet, can be a challenge as one finished first and tries to get something from another.  I would watch him and if he only acts this way with one treat, then don't worry when you feed them or give other treats. When you give them an NBONE, separate him until the other have eaten or hidden theirs so that no one loses out on the treat.  He was very unhappy at being picked up I am sure since he had this great treat and you were taking it away, not unlike toddlers!  My ferrets can fight like crazy over a mouse.  They each take an end and try to go in different directions.  As long as everyone is eating, I don't worry.