Young ferret bites cage and will not sleep

Question
Hello,

I just bought a young ferret and he is a great pet. He only has one issue that I am worried about. Whenever I put him into his cage, he goes wild. He will bite the cage, hiss and scream as loud as he possible can. He is only in his cage while I sleep at night.

If I let him out he still acts in this same manner. When you pick him up he will stop the above behavior and act "normal." If he is alone in a room and hears someone he will  start biting anything in sight and wil yelp. Is there anything I can do to stop this? He will stay up all night and yell.

Answer
It sounds like you have a little ferret who is prone to temper tantrums!  Like puppies or even children, ferrets do not like to be left alone, and some verse their dislike of this more loudly than others.

The best method to approach this problem is to ignore him.  If you pay attention to him, it will only reinforce the bad behavior and make it worse. You might want to try to place the cage in a quiet, secluded part of the house where he will not be able to see or hear you moving around.  This way, he can calm down and realize things are on your terms and not his.  The key is not to give in, since then he will have won, and he will know that if he shows his dislike in that way you will give him attention/give in to him.    

Another thing to try is to reinforce good behavior with treats.  If you place him in the cage and he does not have a tantrum, give him a treat.  Then, gradually extend the training by leaving the room for a few minutes.  If he is good, reward him, but never ever give him attention for bad behavior.  Even negative attention is sometimes what they are looking for!!   

Just don't give in to the little guy!  You have to show him that you are the boss and that cage time is a requirement that he will have to learn to live with.  Don't worry, ferrets are smart and he will learn quickly that things are on your terms and not his.

Keep me posted with the progress!
Thanks.

-Cindy P.
E.R. Vet Tech