>I have this little girl, she is about 10 weeks old ONLY and she has a
>horrendous biting problem.  She draws blood EVERY time and sinks her
>teeth in without letting go even when you scruff her.  She is in a
>two-storey cage and when you pass by her cage, she literally lunges to
>the cage bars and starts snapping.  I have to wear THICK leather gloves
>when I handle her because her biting is so hard that it makes the wound
>swell afterwards.
 
Poor you.  It is very difficult to deal with a problem biter.  Not to
mention painful.
 
Things to look for:
1. Was she the smallest in the bunch?  Some ferrets when they have to
   compete for food have a hard time losing that attack first and eat
   now and ask questions later thing.
 
2. Is she deaf?
 
There are other things to look for but for now those two are the most
obvious to me.
 
Things to do:
1. I know its hard but don't jump and scream.  This really excites them.
Try hold still and using your other hand scruff them tightly until they
let go.  This does not always work.  Sometimes you have to use something
like a butter knife or pencil to pry their mouth open.
 
2. Use bitter apple on your hands.  It tastes really foul.  Try the cream
and the spray to see which works better.
 
3. Don't put her down.  Try to hold her in a way that she CAN"T bite you.
After a few minutes of non-biting stroking and talking, feed her a small
treat and put her back in the cage.
 
4. Buy the Ferrets for Dummies by Kim Schilling.  I think all of this is
in there.  She can be reformed to a totally loving ferret.  It may take
weeks to months.  But it can happen.
 
I had a ferret 3 years old when it came to me.  Nothing I did made any
difference.  I was burnt out from biting ferrets and sick ferrets.  But
she was the most determined ferret by far I have ever come across to nail
someone.  I had to turn her over to a foster house, that Joanne and Shawn
run ( the whole shelter for now).  Shawn handles the biters excellently.
But he made a difference with the rabid ferret from hell.  She even gives
kisses now.  But to tell the truth, I am still hesitant to trust her near
my face.  LOL.
 
Good luck
Sharon Tucker
 
http://www.geocities.com/ferretcorneraz/index.html
Ferret Corner
[Posted in FML issue 3804]