|
Post by airy on Jul 6, 2009 12:38:39 GMT -4
Is it possible that ferrets can be territorial?? I ask this because I looked it up and a few sites the answer said no..This is my issue, When I first got Loki he had some aggression issues, Im sure that was caused by the life he had before my home(spending months alone in a small cage with no socialization or fun). Within a week of having him and gaining his trust Loki was happy and the biting(and I mean clamping on hard) stopped and he had become quite affectionate, here is the issue, My ferrets are free roamers unless I am not home to supervise or in bed, I recently had my bedroom completely ferret proofed so they had gained access to that room, there is a opening under the TV stand in there, like a boxed in area, Loki had takin a liking to that area, hoards all his favorite objects in there, socks, shoes and even a bunch of paperback books he somehow pulled out of the shelf, He sleeps in there and plays in there. Problem is if he takes something of mine in there and I go to take it out of there I will get bit before I even see him in there and he clamps right on and it hurts(drawing blood), If I go to pick him up when he is in there Im really going to get bit hard, I don't understand because he is a friendly guy(to those he knows) and that is the only time he bites me, so is he being territorial? Because he only displays this behavior when he is in there and nowhere else, Its at the point now where he had lost access to that room.
Also I think he is some sort of chameleon, When I got him(In January) he was a dark sable mitt, then he went to a grey(I swear he changed overnight to that color) then he eventually turned into a beautiful silver color and now he is brown and his fur is short and nolonger long and bushy like it used to be, He is a little over a year old and when I go through all his pictures documenting his life it looks like he is a different ferret in many because he is constantly changing his looks, I have heard of whites going dark and darks going white but is it normal that he changes his look so often?? As I said I only had him since January, that sounds like a little much, I want to take him to the vet but my mother and husband are both telling me that I am being paranoid and it is normal..If so why do my other ones remain the same colors unchanged??
|
|
|
Post by Johnny and Demon on Jul 8, 2009 8:07:11 GMT -4
haha don't you know all this stuff in his treasure chest all beslong to him ? lol Its normal, but its not okay that he bites you. You should scruff him every time he bites you. And YES ferrets (especialy male ferrets) ARE TERRIORIAL !! Usually its with other ferrets and animals. The fact that he bites you when you try to take back your stuff its because its "his" stuff lol Simply scruff him when he bites you and he will learn its not acceptable. Don't be scared because he can "feels" your fear and then think "oh well I'm the boss here I can do whatever I want to" .. its no good .. And ferrets usually change color during summer and winter. The coat is usually darker and shorter in summer and longer in winter.
|
|
|
Post by Tressie on Jul 8, 2009 18:37:49 GMT -4
Ferrets are territorial to a degree. Some more than others. However, when it comes to their personal stash that is whole other behaviour set. It is related to being territorial but takes on a slightly different spin.
Toys or other objects a particular ferret stashes take on the identity of 'family' - either babies or siblings. The animal behaviourists tell us that it is a behaviour one sees in ferrets who were separated too early in life from their mothers and siblings. Hence the objects become a pseudo family. Some ferrets will bring food to their 'babies.' Others will take them to the litterbox. Most tuck them safely into their nests or nestboxes, which is what breeding jills with kits are housed in. Sounds like the boxed-in area served the function of a nestbox.
Then as all parents, they become extremely protective of their pseudo babies. Never mind that the book or ball doesn't look or feel anything like a real ferret - for the ferret it is their baby or baby brother, etc. It is a displacement behaviour for having been abandoned too early in life, i.e., taken away from their biological ferret family.
Therefore, what at first seems like territoriality run amock is actually protective behaviour.
However, I agree that he should not be allowed to bite. Still the behaviour is firmly ingrained to be protective of the babies. It would be less stressful for him (and you) if you allowed him some babies to stash and respected his nest by not removing them.
I suspect there is something about that space in your bedroom that reminds him strongly of 'home' as in, home with mama and sibs.
With ferrets its always far easier to change our behaviours to accomodate them rather than expecting or demanding that they change their behaviours to accomodate our preferences.
In terms of colour changes. Some ferrets do change coat colours more frequently, generally with seasonal sheds but not always. Others will have the same colour for years and then suddenly change.
I have a chocolate sable who is 5 1/2, she's always had the same colour except for the first time, last winter she turned into a silver, now she's back to being a chocolate.
I have another black sable who has the bushiest, fluffiest coat with grey tones in her undercoat during winter - come summer she's a sleek black sable with an ivory undercoat.
I think the most remarkable colour change I witnessed was a black sable who turned into a DEW (dark-eyed white) and remained that way for the rest of his life.
Sometimes coat colours are related to diet and illness. For example, those with adrenal disease will take on a more orangey cast to their coat colours. If you ever see a whole hob in rut - they literally ooze orangey oil from oil glands in their faces. Their undersides develop a pronounced yellow stain from the urine marking behaviour they engage in and besides the overwhelming smell, they also turn orangey.
Albinos fed a poor diet will have more yellow in their coats - improve the quality of food and the snowy white coat appears.
Young ferrets, under a year-old, go through a series of colour changes more rapidly. Ask a breeder what colour the kit will turn out and they'll give you a best guess answer, but its a toss up until they mature as to what colour they end up with. Again some retain the same or similar colour patterns, while others change considerably.
Tressie
|
|
|
Post by airy on Jul 11, 2009 1:32:45 GMT -4
Thank you for your imput and advise ladies, Greatly appreciated and thanks for replying Johnny and Demon, I never tried the scruffing for Loki when it comes to him being territorial, but when I first got him he was a biter and what I would do was not just scruff him but lay him on his back and drag him two or three feet across the floor because apparently it is their instinct to do that with each other to display dominance, I believe that this is a big reason why he is nolonger a biter, Perhaps I can try this when he bites me from in there. On another note I just want to say that Loki is a very lovable and friendly little guy, I feel like I put him in a bad light so I just want to clarify that he really is a good ferret I will say that he sometimes bites people he don't know, I actually had to put up a Beware Of Ferret sign on the door so visitors would be warned of what they could be walking into, I normally put him in the cage when visitors arrive so they wont get bit, I hate doing that to him because he looks so sad in there, I just wish he would be friendlier to people who do not live in my home. Tressie, wow you really know your ferrets Regarding what you said about albinos and diets, I was feeding them Kaytees, until I found out about that feed companies past and how they have been recalled before, I did a switch and changed their feed to Ultimate 1-8 after researching "safe ferret foods" and my ferrets coats have never been better, Pandora's(my albino)coat was turning yellow on the neck and around the ears..now once again she is completely white sine the switch in feed. When it comes to color change regarding Loki, its kind of strange, the change of his look is constant, but I was mostly worried about his fur going short but you have cleared that up for me too , I wish I knew how to post pics because I would love to share some pics of his color changes
|
|