This is by no means a scientific fact, but is a very strong observation about the strength of a ferret's jaw. Several years ago, (I think it was from the DMK rescue), we took in a very large breeder male. He weighed over 4 pounds, and he was as solid as a rock. He obviously had never been handled, other than to be shoved into a cage to take care of business. He was most definitely a biter. We named him Sauron, because he definitely seemed like an evil warlord. Gail and I were trying to clip his nails - I was scruffing and she was clipping. We got his front feet done, and then he thrashed so hard he pulled out of my scruff. Stupid us did not listen to what he was saying. He was clearly saying, "I am done with this for now", but we failed to heed that message. I scruffed him again and Gail started on his back feet. He thrashed again and somehow latched on to her little finger, right across the middle knuckle, all the way into the back of his mouth, and he didn't let go. I did the "thumb and pointer finger pinch" at the back of his jaw to get him to open his mouth. That has always worked for me (unfortunately, I have had to do it a number of times over the years), but this time, Sauron quickly opened his mouth, then snapped it shut again. He now not only had Gail's little finger in his mouth, but had also caught both my thumb and pointer finger in his teeth. By the time I finally was able to get him to release Gail's finger (and all of mine), I was bleeding from eight fingers! I put him in his cage, and he quickly settled down That episode taught me a lesson that I will never forget. When a ferret says he is done, listen to him. You can always finish clipping nails later. Eventually, Sauron learned to trust people, and became quite sweet. He never had any additional severe bites. We never adopted him out, because there was always that memory and the fear that something might trigger him again. It was very sad watching age wither that magnificent body. Eventually, we lost him. For those of you who don't know Gail, she is very thin, and her fingers are extremely slender, especially her little finger. It may have been broken, but she would not go to the emergency room, but it was clearly not torn off. I had a lot of punctures, but no torn flesh. I realize that an adult finger has got to be stronger than an infant's, but you also have to consider the scale of this ferret. This guy was huge, and he was solid muscle. His bites were defensive - he did not like what was being done to him, and he was not going to put up with it. He was not trying to eat her finger. We have two mink, and they eat chicks or mice. They have no problem at all crunching through those tiny bones. Sometimes, we give a chick or a mouse to some of the ferrets, and they either eat the whole thing or, as is the case for most of our ferrets, none of it at all. Even though I have watched ferrets crunch through a chick, I simply cannot imagine a ferret biting off and eating a baby's finger, let alone, seven of them. The blame for this tragedy clearly lies squarely on the parents. The latest piece of news where the lawyer is trying to blame Petco is simply ludicrous. In my opinion, lawyers are the scourge of our society. They will say or do anything to deflect blame from their clients. I wish there was some sort of penalty that they would have to pay when they come up with something so idiotic!. Back to the original topic, this is certainly not scientific evidence, but if a massive, extremely muscular ferret like Sauron does not tear off a finger, is it likely that a pet store ferret could do it? I don't think so. Larry Anderson Scales and Tails Rescue [Posted in FML 6947]