This weekend Petco was having major ferret sale, so I brought home a tiny baby boy - He is LITTLE. About 6 weeks old. As he's by far the youngest one I've dealt with, I have a couple behaviour questions - 

1) He's a nipper. Is this a phase like puppies go through, where it's almost like teething?

2) He's a little... whiny... I think that's the best word I can come up with. It's not dooking. It's sort of like a groan or a whimper. I'm taking a guess and thinking he's looking for his previous cagemates from the pet store. Is that a pretty accurate guess? It's not high pitched, it's sort of like a low groaning noise. Not one I've heard before. 

He's eating well, poop seems normal, and he's romping around with the two larger ones (he's a feisty little snot, going after Mishka who is easily twice his size) so I'm not concerned really about his health. It's really the second question about his whimpering that I'm more curious about.

Thanks!!

Nipping is definitely normal, just make sure to start reinforcing positive behavior with that early on. Our boy was a biter and was actually returned because of it. It took some months but now he's a lover. :)

Not sure about the noises. 

Grats on the new baby :D I really wanted to get another this weekend but husband wasn't ready :|

Hi.  He could be getting his adult teeth in, which should be done by about 9 weeks.  Yeah, they do a lot of exploring with their mouths.  He should grow out of it, but as was said, it may take some encouragement to fully drop the habit.
What color is the new one?  Is there any chance he's deaf?  Deafies seem to be more vocal.

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

Teeth:
 
http://www.dentalvet.com/vets/ferrets/ferret_dentistry.htm
 
http://trickytrixie.tripod.com/teeth/teeth.htm
 

He's not white - He's actually got a great dark little mask. 

I figured the mouthiness was normal, all I can think to compare it to is like a puppy. Nothing hard, but just nippy. I'm convinced his noises were more so looking for his cagemates, since it seems to have tapered off some today.

He's such a goober. I still can't get over how tiny he is!

Six weeks is unhealthily young to be taken away from mom. Bleep mills for doing this kind of thing,

Now onto the probs. They (under normal circumstances) wean at four to six weeks but mills do this much earlier often causing oral problems. He could possibly have an infection or other problem. Could be his teeth coming. That groaning noise is concerning. Petco does "sales" on ferrets when they know they're sick or something is wrong with them as a means of disposal but to still make money. You should see a vet immediately. 


(Edited for language)

He's already been seen, and was given a clean bill of health. The vet said The nipping is a lot like teething and that he'll likely grow out of it shortly.

I still can't figure out what makes him so vocal though. 

 Some of them go thru a nippy stage.  Here are some suggestions on nip training. 

1. Pick the ferret up gently but firmly by the scruff and say "NO" loudly each time the ferret tries to nip.

2.  Drag your ferret by the scruff for a short distance on a soft carpet or bed.  Ferrets do this to each other to show dominance.  You are teaching your pet that you are the alpha ferret.

3.Do not give up.

4.  Some people like to spray their hands with bitter apple extract to discourage nipping.  I find that this stuff upsets my ferret stomachs, causes some funky poop. So I don't use this stuff.

5.  Do not quit giving a nipping ferret attention.  They need more attention, not less.

6.  Cuddle your ferret and talk constantly in a gentle, soothing voice. 

7.  Never play using your hands, always use a toy.

8.  Time out cage -   I like to use a carrier, not their regular cage. 


Good luck!

leeandparker


 Petco does "sales" on ferrets when they know they're sick or something is wrong with them as a means of disposal but to still make money. You should see a vet immediately. 

This is a chain-wide sale, so it's doubtful that every ferret in their inventory is sick.  Also, the Marshall's ferrets they come with a health guarantee, so it's doubtful they want a ton of sick ferrets being returned, or to have to pay for vet bills.  I'm not defending Marshall's, or every Petco out there, but at least the one nearest us takes decent care of their ferrets. Both the manager and assistant manager have told me that any that appear sick are vet checked and kept in back until they are healthy.  I have never seen a sick ferret on the sales floor.

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD