>Alexandra, I have long admired your posts and unique sense of humour.
>However I am saddened by your last post about biting ferrets that bite
>you.
 
I have missed the original post and don't know what it said.
 
Ferrets that bite can be rehabbed to not biting at all, or some midly
grabbing behavior that may or may not disappear.  I currently have taken
in 10 biters in the last few years.  All of them have settled down and
can be handled without treats or gloves.  One vicious biter went to the
Ferret Buckeye Bash and didn't even bite a judge.  The previus year he
was dq'd for shredding the vet tech.
 
I've had ferrets for 12 years.  Even with my first ferrets, I took in a
biter a few months later.  She lived to be 11, and was with us for 9 yrs.
I believe she had been bounced between 3 or 4 homes and the shelter
before we got her.
 
In brief to rehab a ferret takes time and patience.  Working with a
ferrets natural treat driven behvior and time most ferrets will stop
biting from a few weeks to a few months.  with nippy babies scruff
and drag, the occassional time out are just fine.  with fear biters
or abused ferrets the following suggestions are best.
 
First and foremost use continuous treats like olive oil or Ferretvite.
Get the ferrets head focused on the treat and becomes very easy to move
the ferret from place to place and to pet it.  this gets the ferret used
to being petted and handled.  given time the ferret stops biting.  It
does take time and patience.
 
Another trick used for enrichment that I picked up from Bob Church also
works wonders.  I used makeup brush with biters.  You want to groom the
ferret to simulate the behavior of the mother ferret.  Brush the ferret
along the jaw line up to the ear.  If he wants to bite, he'll bite the
brush.  With your better behaved ferrets, use your fingers.
 
KG
[Posted in FML issue 5348]