>Well, the two of them bite really hard, and no matter how many times we >flick their noses...they keep biting, I haven't been on this list long enough to know how everyone feels about corporal punishment, but I'm again' it. I've had some extremely 'ferocious' biters turned into our shelter and have only used love and positive re-inforcement to change their behavior. I would think that if I flicked anyone reading this on their nose, that they'd get really angry with me and would likely try to flick me back (or worse). ;-) Although I *thought* I was prepared, little Tabitha literally leapt from the middle of her cage out the door and attached to my hand before I could blink. From then on, I would offer her feretone (try whatever might work with individual ferrets) before I would open the door. Since she was distracted by the feretone, I could then pick her up and give her another small lick of feretone before wrapping her securely (just her head poking out) in a blanket and carrying her around like a little baby for a few minutes to an hour (depending up whether or not anyone came into the shop). I could play with her face in a controlled way. By the end of the week she would lick the feretone from my fingers and look forward to her journal wrapped inside the blanket. It was a month before I felt comfortable putting her in with the other ferrets to be adopted. There's now absolutely no hint of her past behavior, and when I tell prospective adopters of her background, it's obvious that they don't quite believe that this sweet little girl could ever have been a vicious attack ferret. It's worked over and over for numerous ferrets. Sandi [Posted in FML issue 1844]