>Both of the girl ferrets have bitten me and my husband, but not hard
>enough to break the skin... until yesterday.  I was holding one of the
>sisters in my lap, just petting her.  She was fine, then after a few
>minutes, totally unprovoked, she viciously attacked me.  She latched
>onto my thumb, biting right through nail so hard that I got faint and
>nauseous.  I had no choice but to pry her mouth off, then she lunged
>at my other hand, biting through to the bone on my finger, and leaving
>several puncture wounds along the soft webbing between my thumb and index
>finger.  I scruffed her and put her back inside the cage, telling her
>loudly, "No!" She just looked at me like, "Go ahead.  Make my day."  Then
>she ran up the tube and attacked a completely innocent hammock.  She was
>shaking her head from side to side, hissing.  After awhile, when she
>calmed down and went to sleep, I gently woke her, picked her up again and
>petted her, let her have a little treat (NOT out of my hand), and put her
>away again.  I want her to know I am not a bad guy.
 
Firstly as an alternative to scruffing you could try pinning her down on
the ground.  She will squirm and squirm and try to twist and bite you
more but its just a matter of getting a firm (not to hard) hold around
you upper body.  Don't let her go until she has stopped squirming.  This
is the first strike.  If when you let her go she does it straight away
try it again.  Second strike.  If shes just being really naughty and
uncntrollable or does it again scruff her and put her in her travel cage
which shouldnt have anything in it so she gets really, really bored.
It's even better if you have other ferrets because she can watch them
having fun.
 
>This morning, I coated my hands with Bitter Apple and held her in my lap
>again, but the smell of the Bitter Apple really seemed to agitate her,
>and she didn't want me to hold her.  She kept trying to get away.  I
>want her to realize that being held and petted is a pleasant thing, but
>it's kind of a catch-22 -- I don't want to get bitten, and she doesn't
>want me to hold her when I've got Bitter Apple on my hands.  And
>actually, I don't know if the Bitter Apple would have stopped her last
>night -- she was just going totally ballistic and had >only one thought
>in her little mind: ATTACK!
 
It could be possible that her previous owner used Bitter Apple and she
connects it with not so nice memories.  An alternative to Bitter Apple is
Tabasco sauce.  Just dip a little bit on your fingers.  Its not nice to
munch on at all.
 
>It's puzzling to me, because she is friendly most of the time, and seems
>to like people.  She enjoys being held, and has even dozed off in my
>arms.  Then, she just went into attack-mode.  I'm concerned that her
>sister will do the same thing someday (she's bitten me before too but
>like I said, never hard enough to break the skin).  I don't want to be
>afraid to hold them, but I'm worried that since there seems to be no
>warning, they might just lunge at my face or something.  I'm also
>anxious for my oldster, Roy.  He would just lay there and do nothing to
>defend himself.  What if they bite him in the eye, or tear an ear off?
 
Jaffa is usually really calm, to the point where she relaxes on my lap
while I cut her nails but sometimes just out of nowhere she'll chuck a
spaz.  Mostly it's when she doesn't get her own way though.  Hopefully
her sister won't start getting too vicious and if she does *refer to
above*.  Try very hard not to be afraid of her biting when you pick her
up.  I try hard with Jaffa (just keep her face away from mine thank you
very much!) but the first time my mum touched her she bit her.  From then
on mum was afraid of handling her.  So now when she dares to pick her up
she bites her.  I think you have to trust her for her to begin to trust
you.  It's never to late to start training but don't expect miracles
overnight.  More like months.
 
Hope all goes well!
Dooks n Kisses
Roxi & Jaffa.
[Posted in FML issue 3969]