I have flat ears. Is that normal?

Our new (younger) ferret keeps biting on our older ferret's ears while he eats, is this normal?

• The youngest one (3 months old) is new to our house, and keeps biting on the ears of our older ferret (about a year old), especially while the older one is trying to eat. While the younger one is biting on the older ones ears, he often makes a hissing noise (it almost sounds like someone gasping in a breath of air), and often claws at the older ones face. The older one doesn't yip out, or make any noise, but constantly tries to get away by turning around, going to the other side of the ledge, etc. The older one's ears are also very pink from this happening (there isn't any blood being drawn, I've been checking for that). I currently have them separated, but I've been reading that this is normal, is it? How do I tell that my ferrets are getting along? and how do I get the younger one to stop doing this (even if it's normal and not hurting the older one, it would put me more at ease for this habit to stop entirely)?

• Answer:

  The younger one is trying to be dominate over the older one. This will take time, as they have to establish a hierarchy. You'll see ear biting, mounting behavior, dragging each other by the neck...it's nothing to be alarmed by. It's how these guys establish dominance. There are a few things you can do. There's a spray called Bitter Apple for Ferrets, which you can get online. By spraying this on the older ferret, it will stop the younger one from biting his ears. You should also scruff the younger one when he does that and say firmly "NO". It's similar to nip training. I had the same problem, but with my older ferret. My older ferret is tiny, he's only 1 lb, but he's very dominant. My younger one was close to 3 lbs, huge, but very submissive and cuddly. The younger one's ears were getting bitten on a daily basis, bleeding and red. I tried everything! Finally, my vet told me that I could either keep them separated, find a new home for the younger one, or add a third ferret to my household. Keeping them separated didn't work, it made things worse, as they were now both depressed. So I adopted a third ferret. Now it's ferret harmony...but I have three.