Lisette wrote:
>I have taken in a deaf white fert with purple eyes. She is non stop
>aggressive. She draws blood. She shakes the skin she digs into and
>leaves rather painful gashes on my body. (snip)
> ...Anyone have any ideas? Is there a good chance that this is how
>she will always be? Do I scruff and breathe up her nose each time she
>tries to bite me...which is non stop??

A neighbor of mine had a ferret they were all afraid of; the kids named
him "Biter". They were expecting a new baby, so they asked me if I
would take him. Since I had helped another biting ferret, who had been
abused, I said "sure".

"Biter" startled and bit when you brought a hand near him. He would
also deliberately run at you and jump and bite. He had the typical
Wartenburg markings, so I suspected he might be deaf. He was. I began
slapping on the floor when I came near him, or flapping my hand if he
was facing me, so I didn't surprise him. I made sure he saw me before
I tried to pet him or pick him up. Turns out he wasn't vicious at
all -- he would startle bite, that's all. And he *really really* wanted
to play, and like an overgrown kit just didn't realize that people
didn't consider biting to be play. So I played with him using a towel
he could bite to his heart's content, and if he bit me instead I
would just stop playing, and/or put him in his cage for a time out.
Occasionally I would scruff him and sometimes lightly drag him on the
floor to show my disapproval. He soon stopped, more or less. He is
still prone to 'drive-by' biting, but he is not out for blood. It's
just an invitation to play. And if he gets too excited, he can still
bite deeply or do a 'kill-shake'. When this happens, I just scruff him,
and he looks abashed. He's gentle at heart. Oh yes, and his new name is
"Bud"- a big energetic boy, but essentially laid-back.

Lilo (who had been abused) is a different story. Although she is
usually quite sweet now, she still sometimes gets into a mood where
she's looking to bite and hurt (usually a human, but ferrets aren't
safe either when she's like that). The best I can do is to notice the
mood coming on. She gets sort of distracted and relentless at the same
time. Luckily, it doesn't happen very often. Sometimes I can stop her
by offering a treat, which often short-circuits the mood. If it's too
late for that I have to just put her into her cage for awhile. (I try
to let her know it's OK to feel pissy, but it's not OK to take it out
on me). Scruffing does no good; you can almost hear her going 'la-la-la
you can't boss me la-la-la'. If I do scruff her in this mood, she's
apt to take a quick nip when I put her down, as she dashes away. She
believes in vengence, that one. But she is also the nearest any of my
guys are to a lap ferret; she often just likes to be held. She seems
to feel safe in my arms.

But that's now; she used to be rather like you describe. Reaching into
her cage used to be quite a risk; even just putting new food down was
a two-handed procedure - one to ward her off (at first even with a
glove), and the other to put down the food. But we worked with her.
I would have her lick ferretone off of my finger when she was in the
cage, and could reach my finger with her tongue but not with her teeth.
I would play through towels with her, so she bit the towels not me.
It helped that my other ferrets were used to riding towels around the
floor and wresting through the cloth, so they would join in and be a
good example. I would also go out of my way to pick her up and hold her
several times a day, just for a few seconds, so she could learn that
picking her up was not a prelude to abuse (or even to claw-clipping,
ear-cleaning, or other things she seemed to consider abuse). Mostly,
it's been a matter of always watching her very closely. And always, no
matter what happens, not losing my temper.

Hope this helps.
Claire 

[Posted in FML 5952]