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]