Michelle,
 
From your post it is really hard to do much more than speculate the reasons
that your new ferret may be biting.  It could be an injury or fright from
the plane trip.  It could be that the breeder didn't take time to socialize
her.  It sound, though that you are approaching it the right way.  Lots of
human contact.  Small treats whenever you pick her up.  Rewards when she
behaves.  Sounds like you may be ready now to show her that biting is not
acceptable behavior.  For this one I would say that physical punishment is
not appropriate.  I'd suggest the scruff and yell "NO!" method.  Followed by
lots of love and cuddling.  Bandaids help during this process <G>.  Just be
consistant and give lots of love.  Sometimes it takes months.  We have two
three-year-olds that were raised by a breeder who was afraid of ferrets.
They were fed vegetables and never held.  When they first came into the
shelter, they'd attack everyone.  It's been a couple of months and one has
turned into a very sweet little ferret.  The other one has calmed down
significantly, although we're still very careful when we pick her up.  I
figure that she'll come around in a few more weeks.
 
Deafness is not that uncommon in ferrets.  Badgers and Pandas seem to be
very prone to the genetic defect.  You are doing the right thing by letting
her know that you are there before you attempt to pick her up.  I'd be
willing to bet that there are far more deaf ferrets out there than people
know of.  I've had people that have owned their ferret for years before they
finally notice.  It should not be a problem for her.  We've even seen more
than a few blind ferrets, and unless you knew what to look for you'd never
know it.  Ferrets generally get by with their keen sense of smell, and
remarkable memories.  Hearing and sight is not on the "important" list.
They can get along well without either and can give lots and lots of love.
 
A "black-eyed white" is really a "sterling silver" with little grey.  It's
common to have small areas of grey or a few guard hairs that are grey.  As
she gets older it is very probable that the gray will disappear.  We have
two silvers (one was a dark silver badger) that have turned nearly pure
white.  We have one "dark-eyed white" female with no grey, but here eyes are
more plumb colored than black.  We have one dark-eyed white male who is pure
white with no grey.  But his "white" almost looks yellow beside our albino
female.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that "white" means a lot of
different things when it comes to ferret colors.
 
If you have any questions, please just email: [log in to unmask]  I'd be glad
to try to help.
 
Dick B.
[Posted in FML issue 1399]