I certainly shouldn't be the one giving advice, but a quick check of recent
FML issues showed light-handed treatment, and the FAQ (section 6.5) addresses
nipping but not biting.  Pam G., how 'bout a section on biters?
 
Pam Barber writes (1288):
 
<CHOMP!!  This isn't your standard chomp but he [Elmo] gets ahold of some
skin and WON'T let go.  Has anyone else experienced this (and actually know
what I'm trying to describe :) )?  >
 
Yes, Ms. Barber, I believe we are going through roughly the same ordeal
(issues 1235 and on).  It makes you really mad when they deliberately and
savagely lay into someone, particularly because the victims are being
downright nice.  Like yours, my biter's attacks are latent, coming after a
year or so of not biting.  Like you, I may have overreacted the first time.
I felt a little guilty about it until he gave several repeat performances.
Unlike yours, Woody will *not* bite me or my SO.  He still bites my folks
(some said soap or other smell), but seems *cured* of biting in general.  A
physical and CBC showed nothing.  Man ... it's been a long road.
 
You have an advantage in that Elmo bites you.  Sounds funny, I know, but
it'll probably be easier on you than friends and family.   One technique (not
for those with low pain thresholds) that seems to have worked on Woody the
biter, I call the "molar wedgie":
 
Once the CHOMP is in place (yes, a little pain for you -- or the previously
warned human -- watch like a hawk), forcefully push the thumb and forefinger
of a free hand into opposite sides of the ferret's mouth, right at the back.
If your thumb and finger tips meet, you're doing OK, but if you can't push
some ferret lip between your fingers and his molar surfaces, retry until you
do.  Now the ferret is also feeling some pain, half of which is his own
doing.  If he lets up on the bite, the pain goes away.  If he doesn't, the
pain stays.  If he bites harder, the pain gets worse.  My darling Woodrow
don't know much about pain, so sometimes he bit harder.  If Elmo continues to
smash down on himself and your digits, you may have to slide your index
finger down his gullet (Steve or Sukie Crandall's idea?).  At first, my guy
insisted that I abuse him in this manner, but has since improved. After a
dozen or so of these decreasingly unpleasant confrontations, it only took a
slight pressure on the sides of his mouth before he got the idea that biting
might hurt *him* too. Eventually, he stopped biting (except for my folks),
and was rewarded with a treat from the person he didn't bite.
 
Ms. Barber, this method is painful for all involved, and there may be better
ones; it's certain that there are more knowledgeable, experienced ferret
people (jab jab) out there.
 
Swampp
[Posted in FML issue 1291]