Congrats on the new bundle of joy! Gotta love those kits, baby. Most of what you have described can occur in healthy, well adjusted hearing ferrets as well. The issue you have with a deaf ferret is that they can be slow learners. Some, very slow. If your deaf ferret has only had one home (basically you), is young, healthy, no trauma in the past, no extreme external circumstances (teasing, lots of children poking at him, scary dogs, etc), and has an even temperament (no extreme fears, having to peel them off the ceiling from a strong startle reaction, no unpredictable, aggressive or territorial biting) ... then you can treat them as a normal, healthy animal. Much of what you should do will be the same as a hearing ferret. First, the animal should really never draw blood. It should never hang on or shake and have to be "pried" off either. That is not normal and needs to be addressed and stopped right away. Now here's the confusing part ... there must be a dozen different tips and techniques on how to accomplish that. So, I'm sure some people will step up to the plate with advice. Make sure that which ever road you decide to take, you make it consistent and give it enough time to tell if its working on not. Do not jump from one tip to the other, or you will only confuse the baby and make it worse. Special considerations for the deaf are as my son, Sean, says ones of consideration and manners. "Mom, don't be rude to the ferrets". That goes for any deaf animal, or even deaf people as well! Always make sure your pet knows you are entering the room and not abruptly. You can do this by flicking lights, stomping a bit hard for vibration and lastly by gently blowing on them from behind. Never just grab from behind. Never jolt them from a sleep either. These things will ensure that your pet feels safe, calm, and confident. Doing otherwise can make the animals a nervous wreck, irritable, angry and even defensive/aggressive. It's important to note that these animals are vulnerable to abuse in that people accidentally over estimate what they understand about the pet-owner relationship and even the world around them. Teaching the consequences without beating them down can be tricky sometimes. Make sure you give reinforcement, positive or otherwise, robitcally consistent. It is part of your communication with them. Be very patient with them. Try to have them see your face when you are trying to communicate with them in any way as much as possible. As far as the current situation with your baby that you have now. Since he is acting a bit unpredictably, I'd tone things down in the home right away. Act accordingly as I described up above. I'd not hand wrestle him roughly, play chase, or rough house for a while. Keep the play calm and teach him "gentle". Usually when I kit acts like this it is because he's over stimulated and over excited. He can't control the adrenaline rush and he can't hear you when you say nipping hurts too much. The best defense is to not let it get to that level. He may need extra energy relieved. Extra time out of the cage, as well as time to sew his oats is recommended before you try to play with him. Let him out for a while. Encourage him to chase balls, dash about the house and dance without your one on one contact. Let him be for a good bit. Then when you see him slowing down a bit, then make your moves. Keep it toned down. When he nips too much or too hard, make a face, say no, and then turn your back for a minute. You can take it a step further, by scruffing him and dragging him for a foot or two, letting go and then ignoring him for a minute instead. If he is biting and hanging on a bit, you can push your finger/hand back towards the throat. I know that's scary, but not as much as you will scare him lol. Its very uncomfortable and unpleasant for them and most of the time makes them release and also gives them pause for thought indeed. Also try holding sessions when he's not wound up. Some people like their ferrets to be spoiled and hyper like my hubby. Its a personal preference. My sons like them to be cozy and calm. So my sons hold their wiggly worms for long periods of time and don't put them down until they are not spinning in their hands like Linda Blair from the Exorcist. Usually, they wiggle for a much shorter period of time then you'd anticipate. Then they give up, and realize that the petting and cuddling is nice. You will have a much calmer ferret that loves to be held in this way. But, as I said, many people love that playful spirit and don't care if the furry snake wants down every two seconds. I hope this helped a bit. It might interest you to go visit this website as well: www.wolfysluv.com/deaf.html There is a yahoo egroup you can join there as well. The data and documents in that group make for an interesting read and the people are very helpful. [Posted in FML 5950]