Many more people on this list have had ferrets much longer than me but
I have adopted several biters so I will try to help. You didn't say
the age of your ferret but if he is young and from a pet shop then he
probably didn't stay with his mother long enough for her to teach him a
few things. Ferret mothers will drag a baby to the litter box and toss
him in if he poops somewhere else. If he gets too rambunctious and
bites her too hard she lets him know by scruffing him on his neck and
dragging him across the floor. You can do the same thing and say "NO!"
loud. You can also scruff him with your mouth like his mom would have
done and hold on a few seconds until he calms down. Oh...warning about
this procedure...if there's people around, they will look at you funny.
I guess a person with a ferret in their mouth must look strange. I
don't know because I've done it for years now and people are used to
seeing me with a ferret hanging out of my mouth. If he is a baby then
you are the new mom and must gently, lovingly teach him a few things.
Never hit him, anywhere, ever. Ferrets, especially babies, are VERY
smart and it doesn't take much for them to learn something VERY
quickly.

If you have deaf ferret then he never heard the yelps of his cagemates
when he bit too hard nor does he hear your screaming or yelling "NO!".
Scruffing him will show him biting is not acceptable.

If he is older and a "fear biter" then you have a bigger problem. These
ones take time, anywhere from 2 weeks to months. They have been hurt by
someone either physically or mentally, they don't trust people to treat
them nicely and they BITE as hard as they can, wherever they can,
drawing blood and leaving scars. With these ones I also use the
scruffing method but mainly I spend a lot of time with them showing
them that people can be nice. It will take a lot of time on your part
to build the trust, but when you do these are the nicest ferrets ever!
My Sneaky was my biggest challenge and I cried when she gave me that
first kiss. I don't know what was done to this poor creature but she
would shake all over whenever people got close. She was also a "face
biter" which I consider the worst of all biters. She's the third one
I've had.

Good luck! Oh by the way....great name!!

Nancy in OR with her crew of 15 oldies, sickies, former biters and one
jet-propelled, HUGE, part angora, nutcase named Tyki who just had his
first birthday!

[Posted in FML 6362]