Krista,
 
My experience with biters has been with ferts who needed a bit of extra
love.  Our second Ferret, Mischief, liked to bite certain areas when we
adopted him.  (I'm reasonably sure that's why he ended up being returned
to Petco.) He would do this when he wanted to be returned to his cage.
If he was uneasy or tired, he used it as a method of returning to his
'safe' place.  He never drew blood, but often bit hard enough to leave
a mark.
 
I found that instead of punishing him (which didn't help), or retuning
him to the cage (which was what he wanted), that if I held him, told him
no bite, and cuddled him for two minutes he got the idea that biting
didn't work (and maybe people are nice after all).  You either need to
keep him on his back, or supported with his back to you, so that he
can't bite during his 'time out'.  It takes a bit of time, and a lot of
patience, but it's been well worth it.  Now the only time he nips us,
after licking us first, it to get our attention.  When he licks for our
attention, it's enough for us to reach down and pet/scratch his head.
He goes right back to playing ferret games.
 
Our third baby, Kaos, was adopted after spending an inordinate amount of
time alone in his cage at the store because he was too old to sell.  He
got the same treatment when he tried out biting, and it only needed to be
repeated a few times before he got the idea that two minutes is a long
time in ferret years.  Now, we verbally reprimand our boys when they
begin to play too roughly and they look contrite and watch their mouths
thereafter.
 
I know that positive reinforcement is very difficult with a fert who
bites, but it's the only way I've found to make them into "trained
ferrets" (my brother's awed term for my business of ferrets!) that can be
trusted around humans.
 
GEC @};~ and the Three Musteteers; Athos {Mischief}, Porthos {Kaos} and
Aramis {Trouble}
[Posted in FML issue 4680]