Hi Val,
 
Sorry to hear you're having so much trouble with the newbie.  I, too,
adopted a two-year-old female, and her runt baby, both who nearly chewed my
toes off the first morning.
 
They'd both been recently taken out of heat and one went back into heat,
while the other went through a false pregnancy and, after her false birth,
protected her "new" baby (so she thought) by biting me whenever I put my
hand in the cage, from which she did not want to emerge, as she was with her
"new" baby.
 
Though this isn't the case with you, Val, I've since come to believe that it
was the new home and new people which were frightening her, and Minnie.
This is why I don't advise harsh disciplining for a new ferret.  If they're
already afraid, it could only hurt.  A "no", accompanied by support, so they
know it's not okay would help.  I tried disciplining the girls with nose
flicks and even a nip now and then, but that didn't help.  Only when they
became comfortable with us and our home, and the other ferrets, did the
biting slow down.  Claudette, the mom, still nips now and then, but overall
she's a very cuddly ferret who loves to be petted.  Minnie is still a feisty
little gal who will lick, lick, nibble, chew, chew, like a little shark, but
she gives warning.  She nips a bit when I clean the cage or do anything with
which she doesn't wish me too.  But she's a little doll.  I just watch her a
little more closely when she gets close.
 
The bottom line, I guess, for me, is that I believe a new ferret will often
bite to assert their fear and/or anxiety over everything being new.  How
else could they asssert this?  Harsh discipline may only reinforce they're
anxiety.  I gave the girls lots of love while not letting them bite.
 
My Tarzan bit when I got him to, by the way.  He came from an abusive
environment, lacking food, cleanliness and love, so took to biting.  With
lots of love he soon quit biting and is now my most loving guy of seven.  At
first I held him so he couldn't bite, though.  I know this isn't always
possible.  There are other ways of loving them though, with treats and a
tender voice.  Good Luck.
 
Lynn
[Posted in FML issue 1403]