aggressive over food...HELP

Question
QUESTION: I just got a 2.5 month old baby boy, Tomax.  I am feeding him a bag of food the family owned pet store gave me.  It is Gold Cup Natural Blend.  The ingredients say it is high in proteins at 41, fat 12, fiber 4, moisture 12.  I mix his food with water to soften.  When I give him Ferrivite, or a piece of my chicken, he is REALLY aggressive.  I'm scared when I give him ferrivite with my finger he's going to take my finger off. Along with the aggressiveness, is a mean sound like two fighting dogs.  What is going on with him?  How do I stop it? Need some insight.
Also, I take him out ALL the time and play with him for about 10-20 min while he's awake but he still seems so needy of me.  I'm pretty busy with homework (college) and sit at my desk while he runs my room.  No matter what, he still wants me to hold him, play with him.  He'll walk around the room and grunt. What does grunting mean? Is he ill or just spoiled?
Theresa

ANSWER: Hi Theresa:

I don't really understand when you say he is 'aggressive' with the food. Does he grab it from your fingers quickly?  You don't really say *what* it is that he does.  It would be very very unusual for a ferret to be aggressive over food - especially to a human! LOL (you haven't been sharing his food bowl, have you? ;-)  

Ferrets DO require DAILY one-on-one time with their humans - about 3 hours PER DAY, EVERY DAY - not 15 or 20 minutes. He hasn't even gotten started at 20 minutes. He needs someone to PLAY with him - one-on-one, get down on the floor with a blanket and pillow, roll around with some squeaky toys with him, play peekaboo under the blanket, etc kind of games. Ferrets do play rough. If he's not getting an outlet for this energy, maybe his 'happy' sounds are coming out with a little more 'vigor' than they usually would. That's the only thing I can imagine for the sound you are describing, unless he's just a 'talker'. Some ferrets do grunt somewhat - it's their way of communicating.  If you have a ferret who is grunting when he wants something and/or in response to you, then he's a very smart ferret and I truly hope you will spend time with him (you get back from a ferret exactly what you put into them) and develop his intelligence, his communication skills, etc.  Some ferrets are excellent at communicating and perhaps Tomax is a baby just waiting to blossom with just a little extra love.  

If you could see him with another ferret, you would understand. Sometimes people think ferrets are fighting when they are playing because they play so hard. We always tell ferret owners not to intervene two ferrets who appear to be 'fighting' unless they see blood, because they do play very hard, rough and tumble, over and under.  It sounds to me as if he *needs* for you to either play with him more actively, get him a little buddy to play with, or (if you don't see your schedule changing any time in the near future) consider the possibility of getting him to a family that already has ferrets so he has someone to play with.

Ferrets only live 6 to 8 years. The first couple years they are very energetic,teachable, just plain silly; the middle few they usually slow down some, often have surgeries or medical problems, become well-settled (learn the house rules, etc); the last couple they are old, slow, achey just like old people - good snugglers, and when old they hardly play at all. The problem I see is....your ferret is definitely in the PLAY PLAY PLAY mode - and he will be in that stage of his life for such a short period of time and when that part of his life is gone, he doesn't get another one.  Hopefully you can see where I'm going here. This is the *ONLY* life he's going to get - please, if you love him, help him to LIVE every possible minute.

Ferrets are SO SILLY! Once you really open your heart and your life to a ferret, you will find that the time you take to spend with your ferret is very well spent indeed. After all, having ferrets is considerably cheaper than counseling, much more effective than antidepressants in this life of ours, and the best reason I can think of to get out of bed every morning!  I just hope that *maybe* you can make more time for him in your schedule. He MUST be out of the cage and have INTERRACTION WITH HIS HUMAN AT LEAST 3 HOURS A DAY (for a baby ferret). If he were an older ferret, you could probably get by with a little less - maybe just some hugs and snuggles, but not with a kit that has so much energy; it's just not fair to him to ask that of him.

Hopefully you read up a lot on ferrets before you brought this little guy home.  If not, you may want to get a book called FERRETS FOR DUMMIES by Kim Schilling. There are also lots of websites online where you can get play ideas and other ferret information. Here are a few I like:

  http://www.everythingferret.com/toy_and_game_ideas.htm

  http://www.ferretfacts.com/taking-ferrets-outside.html


No doubt he's bouncing around with his mouth open and making  "hah hah heh heh heh hah" noises?  That is him inviting you to PLAY!  Try laying down on the floor in front of him when he does that and roll over on your back. Get down to his level and let him get a nice closeup look at your face at HIS level....something he doesn't usually get to do!  No doubt he will check over every square inch. One of my ferrets used to like to 'style' my hair whenever he could get near my head! LOL  Don't know why, but he loved to run his little paws thru my hair!

Take a break now and then - grab a bath towel or blanket and walk thru the house dragging it on the floor behind you and watch him jump on and play "magic carpet ride!" (my kids love the swirley turns best & will ride for as long as I can pull them). There are SO MANY WAYS you can work ferret interraction right into your daily activities if you just give it a little thought. Then, once you're used to it, you will automatically look for him and when you leave a room, you will drag a noisy toy behind you or toss a ball that has a bell in it, etc.  You can keep something going with him almost constantly once you're used to it, but you do have to put forth effort in the beginning, just as when you learn anything - you must *learn* how to integrate your ferret into your lifestyle and your schedule.  

A leash and harness for walks outside would be a great idea IF your ferret has had all his shots. Be sure to practice in the house first because they are experts at getting out of those harnesses. Be sure to get the "H" style harness with quick release plastic latches. And summer's coming - remember the sidewalk gets hot and their feet are tender - always check the ground before you put his little feet on it. Don't walk a ferret outside in over about 78 degrees Fahrenheit - they overheat too quickly.

Here are a bunch of ferret links that have all kinds of ferret information on them:
 
http://www.ferretcentral.org  & scroll down to topic necessary
 http://www.craftycreatures.com/forferretsonly/ferret_school/ferretschool_aboutfe

http://www.craftycreatures.com/forferretsonly/ask_angela/index.html


The more you learn about ferrets, the easier it will be to incorporate ferret activities into your already busy lifestyle.  It's something only you can decide - whether you really do have time to give him every day or not. If you really don't have the time, I hope and pray you will not wait to try to find him a good home with people who absolutely will spend more time with him every day (and make sure they read up on ferrets BEFORE they get the ferret, because most people don't know enough about a ferret to know if they could take care of one or not).  
Every ferret is a bit different than every other ferret - each one is unique, just like snowflakes and potato chips....and they are all wonderful!

As a college student, you are already an adult responsible for your own decisions.  I do wonder if getting a ferret was possibly not the best idea with your schedule being so busy (do I sound like a mom? LOL). I have to confess - when I got my first ferret, I knew NOTHING about them...not even what to feed them! LOL so, you're not alone there.  The important difference is - IF you can't adjust your life to *be* what Tomax needs, I just hope and pray you will find him a good home that has different circumstances (i.e.,someone with TIME) and keep the option open for yourself to have a ferret after your college years are behind you. Of all pets, a ferret is one of the most demanding to care for. I've heard that raising a ferret is most like having a 2-year-old child in the house and sometimes I have to agree.  I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, but I certainly would not have attempted it when I was young and in college either.  I just hope and pray you will do what is best for Tomax in the long run.  If I can help in any way, please don't hesitate to write again.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Jacquie,
I should have been more precise on the amount of time I spend with him.  Every time I get out of class I go straight home to him and spend time with him.  I sit at my desk and at times on the floor to do homework.  I do pick him up alot and hold him with tons of kisses.  I will however, start playing games with him.  I seem more caught up in watching him or training him not to play with my hands as though they were ferrets.  So, I use one of his many stuffed animals to wrestle with him.  Not to forget the contant eye on him that he's not pooping the floor.  
The snacks...I gave him a piece of chicken (small) to see if he liked it.  He smelled it, and acted as a hungry dog in a food dish that growls as he's eating and would bite if you came near his face.  That's the only sample I can give.  Tomax has not bitten me yet, but then again, I hope he never does.  I was wondering what is he thinking with this reaction to the snacks.  By the way, he always has fresh food and water in his bowl and eats very well.  Thanks for the input.  
I will give him more play attention and of course if I am unable to provide a good home for him, I will find him a good family.  I think he'll be with me for the rest of his life.  Too much love between us.  We are just trying to learn about each other.  I've only had him for less than a week.  Thought with all of the research I did do, he'd be a text book ferret.  But he had a lot more personality and is better than the books.
Theresa

Answer
Thanks so much for taking time to write back, Theresa.  It sounds like your little guy has a great home!  I'm so glad you did clarify a few things and yes, there is obviously a LOT of love there.  I was only concerned when you had said you were letting him out for l5 or 20 minutes. You have to understand that we deal with all kinds here, so can't take anything for granted. I'm SO relieved that you came back and replied as you did! :-)

Of all the ferrets I've ever had, not one has been 'textbook'! And no two have ever been alike either! Every ferret has his/her own little personality. I guess they are like snowflakes, each one unique, beautiful and one of a kind.

That's so odd that he made a growling sound when you gave him the chicken! I've never heard of a ferret making a sound like that over food. From your letter, I get the feeling you actually felt threatened and that is so very unlike anything a ferret would usually do.  The really good news, though, is that you have one of the very very few ferrets I've ever heard of who will eat chicken without being strongly *encouraged* - makes me think maybe he had some before he came to you.  Usually ferrets only recognize what they have previously had as a kit for food (which doesn't usually include meat in the U.S., unfortunately).  So we get ferrets who are a few months old and we offer them chicken (either raw OR cooked) and...they gag!  LOL  At least my kids do.   So, just know that it's a good thing if yours will eat chicken.  I'd put mine on a meat diet if he would eat it - it's very very healthy!!  Lucky you.  I definitely would feed lots of meat - raw and cooked - however he will eat it.  The dry kibble we all buy is a "convenient" substitute for "real" food for our kids. We'd probably all feed meat if the kids would eat it. I know I would. It would definitely be healthier for them and most likely they would live longer. It would certainly be interesting to raise a ferret on meat and see how much longer he did live (I suspect there might be quite a difference without all the chemicals and preservatives they put into the kibbled dry foods).

I wish you the best of luck with your little guy.  Again, I really hope I didn't hurt your feelings - that certainly was NOT my intention.  I can see from your second letter that he is in a wonderful home and you are giving him much more than 15 to 20 minutes of playtime a day.  If it gets too much to keep up with, you might want to consider getting a second ferret so he has someone to play with - actually two ferrets are a bit less work than one, as they tend to entertain themselves at least a little bit. They still require supervision and of course both will be "look at ME, mommy!!" (LOL), but it gives them a buddy to wrestle around with and chase, which is a great way for them to get their daily exercise.  What you're doing with the stuffed animals is the second best thing next to a real live furry friend tho, and there is no poop to clean up either.  What a deal!  :-)

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers