Hi again,
 
Over the past few days, many people have posted about correcting bad biting
habits.  For me, biting is the only crime that an adult ferret can commit,
and needs to be responded to with swift and frightnening force.  I'm not
suggesting that you hurt the little ones (far from it!), just startle them
and get their attention.  What I have found particularly effective is the
technique that they use with each other when one of them gets out of had -
hold the ferret down by the scruff of the neck and growl and hiss (swearing
works, too, and tends to be theraputic).  From that position, the animal can
not bite or scratch you, if that is a concern.  This technique is
particularly useful if you actually take the ferret's scruff in your teeth
and hold it down that way while growling (my big male, Mo, uses this on the
females when they won't leave him alone).  Hold them there until they relax
completely (usually less than a minute).  If you release them at that point,
they are usually apologetic (mine lick faces).  The keys are to confine the
ferret completely (which they hate), and let them know you are unhappy.  I
used this technique on a ferret waif that wandered in one cold winter night
(short version: neighbors saw ferret in laundry room, assumed it was mine,
and came and got me).  She was the youngest of a 4 ferret household, and was
used to biting to get attention.  The first time I responded with the
scruff-of-the-neck-down-on-the-floor rountine, she looked really surprised!
By the time I found her people and returned her (3 days, I think), she had
stopped biting me.
 
On another subject, my big male has a new favorite plaything - a satin slip
that he found in my drawer!  He had dragged it out of the drawer and was
happily rolling around on it when I found him.  I ended up giving it to him
(didn't really fit anyway), and now he's a walking photo-op for Ferretricks
of Hollywood.  At least he doesn't steal floppy disks like my little female,
Winnie.  There's nothing quite so disconcerting as seeing a ferret bound
across the room with the disk containing the only copy of your dissertation
dangling from her mouth.  He also doesn't feel the need to disembowl things
like my other female, Lulu does.  Anything with leather or fur on the
outside, and some other substance on the inside (shoes, purses, ear muffs,
etc.), is fair game.
 
Gwen
[Posted in FML issue 1473]