Ear sucking

[Meraede]

My silly ferret, Melange, has taken to sucking on the ear of my newest guy, Crunch. It doesn't appear to be a dominance issue and they still get along great. Melange isn't doing any damage to the ear and it doesn't seem to bother Crunch enough for him to get up and sleep somewhere else. Does anyone have any tips on stopping this? Is there any reason to stop this, besides the squeaking waking me up in the middle of the night? Any ideas on why Melange would become so fixated on Crunch? I keep telling him it's because he's afraid of the dark and Crunch is now his security blanket.

Peggy
Owned by Usul, Muad'dib, Melange, Crash, Crunch
Merlin and Renfield (the cats)

[fstybrat]

Hmm :scratchchin: that is interesting! I have seen my 4 ferrets love on each other, licking each other and what looks like even often nibbling on each other. I believe this is just a show of affection. Have you tried bathing Crunch, maybe there is a "momma" scent lingering? How old are your babies?
I guess in my honest opinion if no damage is being cause and it isn't stressing Crunch out then leave them be. They may be just adjusting to each other. How long have they been together now?

Oh... & welcome to PT btw!

[Meraede]

The new boys, Crash and Crunch, are just under a year old, whereas Melange is over 2 years. They've been away from their momma ferret for many months now, so I don't think it's "momma smell" that's attracting Melange. And while he does sometimes suck on Crash's ears, 99% of the time it's Crunch. I haven't tried bathing them; I tend only to bathe when they absolutely need it. I'm going to keep an eye on it. As of right now, it doesn't seem to be causing a problem, besides waking me up every night. I think Melange just loves Crunch.

Thank you for the welcome. I've been reading the posts for the past several weeks and really like what I see. This looks to be a fantastic group and a great way to learn more about ferrets.

Peggy
Owned by Usul, Muad'dib, Melange, Crash and Crunch

[Tweak]

I have a ferret that sucks on my other ferrets' ears. He has done it since day one and still does it once a day. In the wild ferrets will suck/lick each others ears to clean them out. The only problem is when I use products for ear mite prevention I sepperate Tweak (the ear sucker) so he can't ingest any. Other than that there is nothing wrong with a ferret sucking on another ferret's ears.