albino ferret scratching problems

Question
HI!

My albino ferret, Spiffy loves to play, all the time! (when he isn't sleeping of course) He has a tendancy to scratch the skin. I don't know what to do to make him stop! He has MANY toys... probably more than one ferret could possibly play with in an entire life-span..

what i am asking is; What can I do to get Spiffy to stop scratching? As I have a 2 month old and I am scared he might end up being hurt by Spiffy.

Thank You!

-Kristen

Answer
You should of course check him for fleas, simply hold back his fur to reveal the skin and watch to see if there are any fleas crawling around. He probably doesn't have fleas, what may be likely is that his fur is too dry from excessive bathing. If it's not that, then simply the fact that ferrets can be scratchy animals. Don't ask me why, ferrets just end up scratching a lot sometimes. Doesn't necessarily mean anything, it's just what they do sometimes. If you are still worried you may want to take him to a vet.

As for him hurting your baby, I'd be more concerned about the baby hurting the ferret; ferrets are very small animals, and small children don't always know how to gently handle small things. As a precaution I would keep the ferret and the baby separate, at least until the child is older and you know for sure how tame your ferret is. All of my ferrets would absolutely never ever bite anyone, I know this because they've met many different people and pets, and I've had them for years. So I suggest you do the same, culture your ferret and handle and play with him often to the point where you're comfortable with his tameness. Ferrets are not violent creatures, but if they are hurt unwittingly by a child, you never know how they might react. Better to be safe than sorry, for now.