Congrats on the new bundle of joy! Gotta love those kits, baby. Most
of what you have described can occur in healthy, well adjusted hearing
ferrets as well. The issue you have with a deaf ferret is that they can
be slow learners. Some, very slow. If your deaf ferret has only had
one home (basically you), is young, healthy, no trauma in the past, no
extreme external circumstances (teasing, lots of children poking at
him, scary dogs, etc), and has an even temperament (no extreme fears,
having to peel them off the ceiling from a strong startle reaction, no
unpredictable, aggressive or territorial biting) ... then you can treat
them as a normal, healthy animal. Much of what you should do will be
the same as a hearing ferret.

First, the animal should really never draw blood. It should never hang
on or shake and have to be "pried" off either. That is not normal and
needs to be addressed and stopped right away. Now here's the confusing
part ... there must be a dozen different tips and techniques on how to
accomplish that. So, I'm sure some people will step up to the plate
with advice. Make sure that which ever road you decide to take, you
make it consistent and give it enough time to tell if its working on
not. Do not jump from one tip to the other, or you will only confuse
the baby and make it worse.

Special considerations for the deaf are as my son, Sean, says ones of
consideration and manners. "Mom, don't be rude to the ferrets". That
goes for any deaf animal, or even deaf people as well! Always make
sure your pet knows you are entering the room and not abruptly. You
can do this by flicking lights, stomping a bit hard for vibration
and lastly by gently blowing on them from behind. Never just grab
from behind. Never jolt them from a sleep either. These things will
ensure that your pet feels safe, calm, and confident. Doing otherwise
can make the animals a nervous wreck, irritable, angry and even
defensive/aggressive. It's important to note that these animals are
vulnerable to abuse in that people accidentally over estimate what they
understand about the pet-owner relationship and even the world around
them. Teaching the consequences without beating them down can be tricky
sometimes. Make sure you give reinforcement, positive or otherwise,
robitcally consistent. It is part of your communication with them. Be
very patient with them. Try to have them see your face when you are
trying to communicate with them in any way as much as possible.

As far as the current situation with your baby that you have now. Since
he is acting a bit unpredictably, I'd tone things down in the home
right away. Act accordingly as I described up above. I'd not hand
wrestle him roughly, play chase, or rough house for a while. Keep the
play calm and teach him "gentle". Usually when I kit acts like this it
is because he's over stimulated and over excited. He can't control the
adrenaline rush and he can't hear you when you say nipping hurts too
much. The best defense is to not let it get to that level. He may need
extra energy relieved. Extra time out of the cage, as well as time to
sew his oats is recommended before you try to play with him. Let him
out for a while. Encourage him to chase balls, dash about the house and
dance without your one on one contact. Let him be for a good bit. Then
when you see him slowing down a bit, then make your moves. Keep it
toned down. When he nips too much or too hard, make a face, say no,
and then turn your back for a minute. You can take it a step further,
by scruffing him and dragging him for a foot or two, letting go and
then ignoring him for a minute instead. If he is biting and hanging
on a bit, you can push your finger/hand back towards the throat. I
know that's scary, but not as much as you will scare him lol. Its very
uncomfortable and unpleasant for them and most of the time makes them
release and also gives them pause for thought indeed. Also try holding
sessions when he's not wound up. Some people like their ferrets to be
spoiled and hyper like my hubby. Its a personal preference. My sons
like them to be cozy and calm. So my sons hold their wiggly worms for
long periods of time and don't put them down until they are not
spinning in their hands like Linda Blair from the Exorcist. Usually,
they wiggle for a much shorter period of time then you'd anticipate.
Then they give up, and realize that the petting and cuddling is nice.
You will have a much calmer ferret that loves to be held in this way.
But, as I said, many people love that playful spirit and don't care
if the furry snake wants down every two seconds.

I hope this helped a bit. It might interest you to go visit this
website as well:
www.wolfysluv.com/deaf.html

There is a yahoo egroup you can join there as well. The data and
documents in that group make for an interesting read and the people
are very helpful.

[Posted in FML 5950]