PLEASE don't pull a ferret's whiskers or hit or flick it. It will only backfire on you. Those who do learn to not nip this way will have a reduced trust of your hands which will cause problems in emergencies or when they are sick, as well as depriving you of your share of cuddles. Those who are stubborn will have a worse response because they will decide that you expect and deal with rough discipline (What you give is what you take.) so will express themselves roughly in return, and the ones which like to play rough will also assume that you are indicating that you can take it, though they'll think you are just playing rough. We've had a LOT and LONG experience with ferrets, including ones with difficult pasts and a wide range of problems (including common ones such as teething problems like a baby tooth jammed between adult teeth and digging into the gums or bone -- something to have your vet always check for at each of the multiple baby distemper shots). How can you get your ferret to not nip or bite you? Each is different but for most the process goes like this: let your ferret know that the nips or bites hurt, say "No!", scruff the ferret, (maybe even hiss at the ferret or carefully drag it on its back (so claws don't catch in floor) for a short distance while scruffed to imitate a ferret mother) and put it in the cage for (perhaps 5 to 10 minute) TIME OUT while you play with the others. Ferrets LOVE attention so the punished one will STRONGLY mind this. Repeat CONSISTENTLY every time it is needed. The ferret will get the hint (especially if it has 3 or 4 of those times during one long group play session. When the ferret behaves PRAISE it royally! Ferrets will do ANYTHING for praise and approval! Be patient. One ferret book which has impressed Steve and me with it's training advice (other tips,too) is Mary Schefferman's _The Ferret_ from "An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet" series of Howell Book House. It's a great book in general. Warning: This is a funny story and not even too badly dressed-up. Today I discovered that a year of having a throw rug with double-sided rug attachment tape below it can lift a most recalcitrant carpet stain. What was it and how did it get there? Imagine a ferret who has discovered that the long front door on the cage is missing it's side clip then slithering out. Now, after a while, think of said ferret deciding to save her humans from terrible, horrible, reeking thing which sometimes gets in their mouths, makes them stink like processed mint, and causes them to foam. (Okay, maybe I'm fudging the order. Tough.) Resourceful ferret makes a daring, athletic leap to the toilet lid (Where is a circus grand master when you need one? Ahem...) followed by an incredible ascent to the very tip top, high above your heads, ladies and gentlemen, of the bathroom sink. There is the offensive item. Remove same. Take it ferret room to hide safely. Enroute the tube begins fighting back, tossing aside it's head top and emitting that fearful stink accompanied by an obnoxious gelatinous green movie moster ooze. Attack alert! Bite its tail. Ye gads, it can pass the taste through any hole in its body! Jump on it! Drag it carefully! Jump on it some more, and more, and more, Knock it around the room. Dance all over its defeated still reeking body. Now, fair readers, we got to discover that we knew nothing which could get ground-in Aim gel toothpaste out of a carpet -- until this morning, when I pulled up the throw rug and its tape and found that a year of having the walked-over tape on the stain caused most of it to attach to the tape and come up! Ahhh. What a way to start a day! [Posted in FML issue 1985]