Hello all.  I need some advice, options, and/or help.  After six months in
our house, Mithril has not improved in her biting behavior.  I have heard of
ferrets who bite out of playfulness, fear, pain, prior abuse, etc.  and have
heard inspiring stories of their reformation.  However, I am now forced to
admit that Mithril's biting is none of the above, it is meanness.  I have a
mean ferret and I don't know what to do with her.  I would welcome any input
on the situation.  First, let me explain...
 
Last night she was poking around by my feet.  My husband said, "Mithy wants
you to play with her." And she did, so I picked her up.  She started
wrestling with my right hand, but from prior experience, I could tell she
was about to overdo it.  Leaving my right hand motionless, I began to bring
my left hand up to scruff her before she could get too excited.  I was too
late, she chomped down firmly on the fleshy part between my thumb and my
wrist.  I scruffed her, but she would not let go and I was helpless to do
more because she "had" my right hand.  I called my husband over to help.  He
also scruffed her and began trying to pry her jaws open (swamp method).  The
entire time, Mithril was slowly readjusting her grip and clamping down
harder and harder and harder.  I was beginning to experience some serious
pain, but I sat patiently waiting for Brent to detach her.  He got her
loosened once, but she quickly chomped down again, harder.  At this point,
I felt my flesh give way, like a piece of meat under a fork.  She sank two
teeth all the way in to the gumline.  AND..STILL...WOULD...NOT...LET...GO.
Brent finally got her top tooth out of my hand.  It took another minute to
unhook the bottom tooth.  I am not happy.
 
What did I do wrong?  She KNEW that she was hurting me, and she kept doing
it.  She bit me harder than she would ever bite another ferret in play.  And
she is nip trained.  I have hand-wrestled with her hundreds of times without
a mark.  If she were a hundred pound dog instead of a ferret, this situation
would have resulted in a trip to the emergency room, and my husband would
have blown her head off before the ambulance arrived.  As it is, he admitted
he considered strangling her when normal methods could not persuade her to
detach from me.  He was not happy either.
 
So, in conclusion, she is not a suitable house pet.  She is far too
aggressive.  She behaves this way toward people and animals.  We keep our
ferrets in one room of the house where our TV also happens to be.  We cannot
fully relax in this room because we are always watching our ankles,
preparing for evasive maneuvers.  After this, I am, to be completely honest,
a little afraid of Mithril.  If I had been alone, I don't know how I would
have gotten her off.  I think I would have needed stitches.  Although this
is the worst she's done in months, I no longer have any hope that she'll get
over it.  She's part wild, or part crazed.  She's different from other
ferrets I've known.  She's bolder.  More aggressive.  Bigger than other
females.  A voracious eater.  She's more active and alert than other ferrets
her age.
 
The fact that she is sweet 90% of the time only makes it worse, because then
you are vulnerable when she finally has a "bad" day.  I'm looking for
options.  We can't keep her this way indefinitely.  She needs to live in a
situation where she can have other ferrets to socialize with, but she will
not be in a position to attack people.  I am looking for options, but I will
not consider adopting her out to anyone as a pet.  She is not a good pet.  I
treat my pets like children, and I have lavished her with a lot of love this
past half year, so I want her to be happy and comfortable.  However, I would
rather euthanize her now than take the chance of her hurting anyone, or
dying of internal injuries when she's thrown against the wall.
 
Here are some options I'm considering: permanent placement in a shelter
(with financial support), defanging (I never thought I'd even consider
this), euthanasia.  I will NOT give or sell her to anyone who thinks they
will keep her as a pet.  I will not consign her to a life of being dumped by
family after family.  I will keep her for a few months more, at least.  I
want to see if she goes into heat, and, if so, maybe a little surgery will
improve her temperament.  But, honestly, I think she is just unsuited to
living as a pet with people.
 
This is a very difficult thing for me, so no flames, please.  I have spent a
lot of time with this ferret, and I care for her very much.  I would like to
hear from others about mean ferrets and what can be done about them.  I
would also like to hear from vets on the defanging topic.  Although the idea
of it turns my stomach, if the only other alternative is euthanasia, I'll
consider it.
 
-Catherine (Finding excuses not to hang out in the ferret room)
[Posted in FML issue 1834]