I think Ed must have gotten a little confused somewhere--staking is what you do when you have biting *vampires*, not biting ferrets. I've watched my Buffy and read my Dracula. A long time ago I had a terrible biter named Cully, who inspired me to write up the Problem Ferret FAQ that is often recommended here and at the Ferret Health List: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083/probintro.html Cully was afraid of everything, but he was notably afraid of having his food taken away and of being in wide exposed spaces. He was possessive with food, and while my other ferrets have enjoyed trips to the park, on our very few trips he lay on the ground and shivered and was the picture of abject misery. He was especially afraid of the shadows of birds, perhaps an instinctive fear of birds of prey. I hate to think of what it would have done to him if he had been subjected to any kind of food deprivation or being left outside alone or any other bronco-busting techniques. I am sure he would have been broken. Although that FAQ is a bit dated now, the methods listed therein are all tried and true by FML members and ferret owners all over the world. Cully did learn not to bite me, and with a lot of work and patience on the human's part, learned not to bite the man who became my husband when he came into our lives. He chose not to bite us because he knew he could trust us to treat him well. That means a lot to me. I am sad for all the ferrets out there who do not have the security of that knowledge. Regina (who has been on the FML long enough to know better, but is speaking up anyway) [Posted in FML 6214]