I work with severe biters and never use barbaric tortuous methods, no
matter how severe the behavior. Some of the ferrets I have now were
going to be euthanized because of bite aggression, ferrets that do not
hesitate to slash flesh if the mood strikes them. Instead, they found
safety with me.

What I've found works best is caution (making sure I don't put myself
in the position to be bitten), gentleness (for training and handling
and when bitten), melatonin, ferretone, and lots of warm yummy recipe.

Best results occur when one can determine the biting triggers, earn
the ferrets trust, then gently work on the biting issue.

One of Beezel's triggers is anything new in our home. This includes
ferret toys, beds, furniture (both mine or ferret), clothes, etc.
Beezel was a terror for 3 days after christmas, but he finally settled
down and allows the lady bug toy to reside in the living room. I know
that I need to monitor him very closely when I bring something new
into our home and give him melatonin to calm him till he adjusts.

Some will never be trustworthy with other people and I have to cage
them or warn visitors to be watchful, some can't be regularly cuddled
without caution, others have to always be handled with caution, but
these ferrets can live a relatively normal happy ferret life in our
home, which includes tolerating my affection from time to time.

Ferrets, by nature, are carefree, fun-loving little beings.

If a ferret has aggression issues, there is a reason, and from my
experience it has been either provoked by human treatment (which can
include inadequate feeding, handling, discipline) or bad genetics.
Sometimes we don't know why ferrets have issues, but in my experience,
90% are human caused.

Sabre was damaged as a kit (10-12 weeks old) when his femur bone was
broken and he was brain damaged by a human. Sabres reaction after the
abuse was shock, then severe aggression. Our vet believes Sabre was
purposely stamped on hard or thrown hard against a wall. We know the
time and where the abuse occurred, who the perpetrator was, but it was
in a different room and we couldn't get the person to tell us exactly
what he did. Sabre suffered a life-changing and life-long injury at
the hands of a human.

A friend has a ferret that she was told was a severe biter. When she
got Coco, Coco was starving to death, you could see every bone in her
little body. With lots of yummy warm recipe, gentle handling, and love,
Coco thrived and gives kisses regularly. To this day Coco has never
bitten her or anyone else, including the visiting neighbor children.

I firmly believe that Kindness, Understanding, Gentleness, and lots of
Yummy Foods are the best ways to deal with ferret behavior issues of
all types.

tle
www.ferretfamilyservices.org
Kansas

[Posted in FML 6213]