Hi.
 
My name is Nicole.  I am currently fostering Summer, on behalf of the
Ferret Aid Society of Toronto.  I have reason to believe that she is deaf
and has been abused by a male at some time in her life.  The lady that
surrendered her to our shelter said the ferret was her son's, but since
he's gone to college and has no interest in the ferret any longer, Summer
was given to us.  Summer came in with another ferret, Coco (the fatest
ferret I have ever seen!) but it was very easy to tell that they didn't get
along at all.
 
The first night Summer stayed with me, she bit my husband's finger quite
badly.  I had never seen a ferret in attack mode until this day.  And all
he did was reach out his hands to let her sniff them.  Since this time,
Summer plays with me only.  In fact, I am one of the only people she will
allow to touch her.
 
So, I think she's deaf because she doesn't respond to the mad jingling bell
test that woke up all my other ferrets.  She also gets really skittish if
you sneak up on her.
 
So, as i have never had a deaf ferret before, I need to know what to do to
get her to stop biting so much.  I still have to wear gloves when I take
her out of her cage or when I play with her as when she gets over-excited,
she bites (hard!).  Summer is the most beautiful sterling silver ferret
I've ever seen.  I know she'll eventually make someone a great pet one day,
but as things look now, she might be my foster for years.
 
We have come a long way together though.  At first she bit toes and the
arch of my foot if it was unprotected by a shoe.  She would automatically
bite my hand whenever I reached in to take her out to play.  Now, when
she's tired, she rests her head on my foot (shoeless) wherever I am
standing.  If she wants to play, Summer lightly swats my leg with one of
her paws.  Seeing her war dance with me for the first time was one of the
best ferret moments I've had.  She'll let me kiss her head and tickle her
tummy without too much fuss now.  She's learned some basic signs for "no"
and "follow me".  When we've been playing for a while and Summer's too
excited, she still bites, so this is where I've been working the most with
her.
 
If anyone has any sign language signs to teach her other things I'd love to
know them.  Summer is very smart and has mellowed this much in the last
month.  I'm just worried about her attachment issues and her overwhelming
fear of other animals or males.
 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks,
 
Nicole and Summer
[Posted in FML issue 2475]