Adventures in Babyland

Ah, the adventures of my first ever baby... Let's just start with, I used an entire bottle of Bitter Apple in three days! His first contact with the Bitter Apple, he bit my forearm, let go, bit a different spot and then took off running, pawing at his mouth and rubbing his face on the floor. As the breeders put it--liberal use of Bitter Apple is a good thing because the ferrets punish themselves when they bite! Amazing stuff, I just never really felt the need to use it until this recent experience with baby teeth.

The next few times, he came over, ready to bite and then you could see the little wheels turning in there as he thought better of it. Then he got smart and started smelling to determine which areas were covered with Bitter Apple and would figure out which areas were safe to bite. Or he'd quickly scale over the Bitter Apple covered feet, launch himself up inside the pant leg, to gnaw on the tasty unbitter human legs underneath. Oh, he is a smart little one! So yes, I basically began bathing in Bitter Apple before getting him out.

He screamed and cried his first few days here, leaping from ferret to ferret looking for his own family. Of course, this was too much for my maternally-inclined older girl, Link; she followed him everywhere trying to console him. But he really only showed interest in Cinnamon and finally established a bond with her. Most often the bond included him hopping around crying until he'd find her and then he'd drag her around as he calmed himself down. This also helped Cinnamon and I bond on greater levels since she now would run to me to swoop her up and save her...

He's still unnamed. He was going to be Sirius Black (since I won't be showing him, it's okay), but now I am not sure. Of course, I'm toying with Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows--with his razor sharp teeth, love for biting human flesh, and his dark coloring--it fits. Time will tell with that, I guess. Don't get me wrong, the biting has eased up significantly. In fact, he is now viewing me as the neck massager and comes over sometimes just for love (the Bitter Apple is still sprayed liberally upon me when I am down on the floor cleaning their cage--otherwise, I've had the new bottle almost two weeks and it is still pretty much full).

He is finally sleeping in the big cage with everyone else. I've caught him sleeping with the others a few times, but he still often prefers his birth family scented blanket that came home with him from the breeders. He's getting along well with the other weasels and is playing pretty well with me, too. He's knocked the bullying, cockiness out of Cinnamon and they are best of pals now. Overall, he's turning into that big, sweet baby that I was hoping for...

~Mustelid Mommy~