Apparently, the ether ate this one... Begin forwarded message: From: Sukie Crandall <[log in to unmask]> Date: August 9, 2007 12:47:21 PM EDT The first step, of course, is a vet's appointment to make sure that she is not in pain from any medical issue and doesn't have any fouled up dental eruptions. We had one whose dental arcade was too short who erupted a molar through his palate, and we took in one who had been thrown and beaten in a pet store due to biting. Her tail was badly broken. The reason she bit wasn't her tail, though. A baby canine had gotten turned on edge and trapped as the adult canines came in and she had one huge abscess. Right in the store we had them bring up forceps/tweezers and I got the baby tooth out which was followed by an eruption of puss. That sweet little kit looked at my with surprise and relief and immediately began kissing me. She never bit anyone again. The next step we made with her was an emergency vet appointment to prevent further damage and make sure the infection had not gone to the bone. Meeteetse lived out her life with us and was one of the most adoring ferrets we have had in our decades with them. Trust is key. People want to try hard to fashion their own behaviors into actions which build trust for their ferrets. Usually, even without people noticing, the animals in homes wind up adjusting their behaviors more to suit our human needs than humans modify theirs to suit the animal's needs, but sometimes there are individuals or circumstances which aren't quite that simple. If those don't help, then the second step is to read this wonderful resource: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083/probintro.html Although some links go to punishment approaches we found long ago that those tend to backfire, but the article itself is excellent for the constructive and gentle advice! If you have any trouble linking from the site to its parts. I RECOMMEND READING THE ENTIRE THING! 1. http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083/probintro.html 2. http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083/probindex.html 3. (ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL) http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083/probmed.html 4. (ALSO ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL) http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083/probhead.html 5. (ESSENTIAL) http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083/probyou.html 6. (SMILE) http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083/probstories.html If the ferret has a sensory handicap contributing to the problem then see my links page in the URLs in my sig lines and look in there for the section on handicapped ferrets for places to help you. Here is another resource: Ailigh and Joel Vanderbush are professional animal behaviorists, complete with the education and experience needed. http://www.animalia.us/staff.htm Have you considered that your soap or perfume could be causing the problem? Have you looked into how your own responses could continue the behavior? What do you know of the ferret's background? We wound up with one kit who came here having been abused by someone who returned her to the pet shop. She badly needed security and she needed to be able to beat the heck out of shoes and out of coats made of oil cloth, both of which would trigger fear behavior until she mastered them thoroughly. I think they triggered something similar to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome for her. Her abuser was a male so even in later years when she totally trusted Steve usually she would have to kiss him on the back or when he was asleep because face to face with an awake male was a bit too much often for her. She loved to have me bring her in to Steve when he was asleep so that she could express her love for him. When she was elderly she finally took to face to face kisses with him and accepted a male vet. Poor Warp must have been put through hell in that short time with the abuser. Finally, for what can be done at home this may sounds silly but we have had some who object to words that sound like hisses or growls, so perhaps Sugar may not be the best of names if this one is sensitive to "S" sounds. One of the ones with terribly bad deformations for whom we provided a family in past and Steve and I had to use nicknames instead each other's names because the "S" bothered Ruffle so badly. She was fine for percussive sounds like "T", purring sounds like "R" and also for "F" and "L". Should nothing work find someone in your area who has rehabbed ferrets and either get the ferret help or a new home through those people. The chances of needing to do that if you use the various wonderful resources mentioned here are extremely low. Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html [Posted in FML 5697]