My oldest (living) ferret, Ren, used to be a lick and biter.  He rarely
does it anymore.  I don t believe in his case it was a grooming tactic,
because he would grab a hunk of my arm flesh in his teeth and shake his
head.  I m sure he wasn t fear biting.  I think he was trying to show
dominance over me.  When he was about 3.5 he stopped doing it so
frequently.
 
Both of my females like to bite as well, but they don t bother to lick
first.  One is very stealthy about it.  She ll act very calm and nonchalant
and then chomp and run off.  The other is just a lunatic and grabs on with
her teeth and won t let go until you pry her off.
 
I think it s a dominance thing.
 
Jeannette
[Posted in FML issue 2615]