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]