Hello. I'm fairly new to this particular list, but I've been a ferret owner for about six years. All of my ferrets have been males, purchased as weanlings from pet stores. For the first time, I am the proud adoptive mom of two girls, 2-1/2 year old sisters. Proud, but a bit concerned... since these ferrets were raised by someone else and didn't live in the best of circumstances, they have some "issues." Biting being the main problem. They ganged up on and attacked my 6 year old insulinomic darling, gentle boy, Roy, a few days ago in the playroom, tearing the skin open on the back of his neck. So, I've quit letting them "play" with him. I have observed no problems whatsoever inside their cage (a four-level Superpet). They sleep together and get along just fine. Still, I do keep the back of Roy's neck coated with Bitter Apple. 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. 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'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? Any ideas? I want this to work out, and I am willing to train them not to bite, but since there's no warning when they do it, and no discernable provocation, I'm not sure how to proceed. I've never had an ill behaved ferret before -- my boys have always been dolls. But then again, I raised them from youngsters. Is it too late when they are grown-up biters? Thank you! Staci [Posted in FML issue 3967]