PLEASE don't pull a ferret's whiskers or hit or flick it.  It will only
backfire on you.  Those who do learn to not nip this way will have a reduced
trust of your hands which will cause problems in emergencies or when they
are sick, as well as depriving you of your share of cuddles.  Those who are
stubborn will have a worse response because they will decide that you expect
and deal with rough discipline (What you give is what you take.) so will
express themselves roughly in return, and the ones which like to play rough
will also assume that you are indicating that you can take it, though
they'll think you are just playing rough.  We've had a LOT and LONG
experience with ferrets, including ones with difficult pasts and a wide
range of problems (including common ones such as teething problems like a
baby tooth jammed between adult teeth and digging into the gums or bone --
something to have your vet always check for at each of the multiple baby
distemper shots).
 
How can you get your ferret to not nip or bite you?  Each is different but
for most the process goes like this: let your ferret know that the nips or
bites hurt, say "No!", scruff the ferret, (maybe even hiss at the ferret or
carefully drag it on its back (so claws don't catch in floor) for a short
distance while scruffed to imitate a ferret mother) and put it in the cage
for (perhaps 5 to 10 minute) TIME OUT while you play with the others.
Ferrets LOVE attention so the punished one will STRONGLY mind this.  Repeat
CONSISTENTLY every time it is needed.  The ferret will get the hint
(especially if it has 3 or 4 of those times during one long group play
session.  When the ferret behaves PRAISE it royally!  Ferrets will do
ANYTHING for praise and approval!  Be patient.
 
One ferret book which has impressed Steve and me with it's training advice
(other tips,too) is Mary Schefferman's _The Ferret_ from "An Owner's Guide
to a Happy Healthy Pet" series of Howell Book House.  It's a great book in
general.
 
Warning: This is a funny story and not even too badly dressed-up.  Today I
discovered that a year of having a throw rug with double-sided rug
attachment tape below it can lift a most recalcitrant carpet stain.  What
was it and how did it get there?  Imagine a ferret who has discovered that
the long front door on the cage is missing it's side clip then slithering
out.  Now, after a while, think of said ferret deciding to save her humans
from terrible, horrible, reeking thing which sometimes gets in their mouths,
makes them stink like processed mint, and causes them to foam.  (Okay, maybe
I'm fudging the order.  Tough.) Resourceful ferret makes a daring, athletic
leap to the toilet lid (Where is a circus grand master when you need one?
Ahem...) followed by an incredible ascent to the very tip top, high above
your heads, ladies and gentlemen, of the bathroom sink.  There is the
offensive item.  Remove same.  Take it ferret room to hide safely.  Enroute
the tube begins fighting back, tossing aside it's head top and emitting that
fearful stink accompanied by an obnoxious gelatinous green movie moster
ooze.  Attack alert!  Bite its tail.  Ye gads, it can pass the taste through
any hole in its body!  Jump on it!  Drag it carefully!  Jump on it some
more, and more, and more, Knock it around the room.  Dance all over its
defeated still reeking body.  Now, fair readers, we got to discover that we
knew nothing which could get ground-in Aim gel toothpaste out of a carpet --
until this morning, when I pulled up the throw rug and its tape and found
that a year of having the walked-over tape on the stain caused most of it to
attach to the tape and come up!  Ahhh.  What a way to start a day!
[Posted in FML issue 1985]