Lisette wrote: >I have taken in a deaf white fert with purple eyes. She is non stop >aggressive. She draws blood. She shakes the skin she digs into and >leaves rather painful gashes on my body. (snip) > ...Anyone have any ideas? Is there a good chance that this is how >she will always be? Do I scruff and breathe up her nose each time she >tries to bite me...which is non stop?? A neighbor of mine had a ferret they were all afraid of; the kids named him "Biter". They were expecting a new baby, so they asked me if I would take him. Since I had helped another biting ferret, who had been abused, I said "sure". "Biter" startled and bit when you brought a hand near him. He would also deliberately run at you and jump and bite. He had the typical Wartenburg markings, so I suspected he might be deaf. He was. I began slapping on the floor when I came near him, or flapping my hand if he was facing me, so I didn't surprise him. I made sure he saw me before I tried to pet him or pick him up. Turns out he wasn't vicious at all -- he would startle bite, that's all. And he *really really* wanted to play, and like an overgrown kit just didn't realize that people didn't consider biting to be play. So I played with him using a towel he could bite to his heart's content, and if he bit me instead I would just stop playing, and/or put him in his cage for a time out. Occasionally I would scruff him and sometimes lightly drag him on the floor to show my disapproval. He soon stopped, more or less. He is still prone to 'drive-by' biting, but he is not out for blood. It's just an invitation to play. And if he gets too excited, he can still bite deeply or do a 'kill-shake'. When this happens, I just scruff him, and he looks abashed. He's gentle at heart. Oh yes, and his new name is "Bud"- a big energetic boy, but essentially laid-back. Lilo (who had been abused) is a different story. Although she is usually quite sweet now, she still sometimes gets into a mood where she's looking to bite and hurt (usually a human, but ferrets aren't safe either when she's like that). The best I can do is to notice the mood coming on. She gets sort of distracted and relentless at the same time. Luckily, it doesn't happen very often. Sometimes I can stop her by offering a treat, which often short-circuits the mood. If it's too late for that I have to just put her into her cage for awhile. (I try to let her know it's OK to feel pissy, but it's not OK to take it out on me). Scruffing does no good; you can almost hear her going 'la-la-la you can't boss me la-la-la'. If I do scruff her in this mood, she's apt to take a quick nip when I put her down, as she dashes away. She believes in vengence, that one. But she is also the nearest any of my guys are to a lap ferret; she often just likes to be held. She seems to feel safe in my arms. But that's now; she used to be rather like you describe. Reaching into her cage used to be quite a risk; even just putting new food down was a two-handed procedure - one to ward her off (at first even with a glove), and the other to put down the food. But we worked with her. I would have her lick ferretone off of my finger when she was in the cage, and could reach my finger with her tongue but not with her teeth. I would play through towels with her, so she bit the towels not me. It helped that my other ferrets were used to riding towels around the floor and wresting through the cloth, so they would join in and be a good example. I would also go out of my way to pick her up and hold her several times a day, just for a few seconds, so she could learn that picking her up was not a prelude to abuse (or even to claw-clipping, ear-cleaning, or other things she seemed to consider abuse). Mostly, it's been a matter of always watching her very closely. And always, no matter what happens, not losing my temper. Hope this helps. Claire [Posted in FML 5952]