Hi Everyone, I have been seeing a lot of posts from folks asking about biting. Out of the mob of 26 that reside here, I have had 7 "kiddos" that have bitten hard enough to draw blood, some hard enough to do some serious damage. One ferret, Sampson, was from a litter of several who were turned over to a shelter as kits. They all bit lips badly. None bit anywhere else. He was my worst biter until recently. And now he is a very sweet ferret who knows he isn't supposed to bite faces, so he turns his head when I hold him up. I am now working on explaining that kisses are a good thing. Conan the Toebiter has two brain cells and they don't work at the same time. He is stubborn and still nips hard to get attention. That is all he ever wanted, attention and he figured this one way to get it and it stuck in that pea brain. Even Sara Petersen, who will really scold ferrets for biting, has to laugh at him. He will run up and nip hard, and then stand and look at you like "OK, can we play now, huh huh?" He doesn't seem to be able to understand that he can't bite people as hard as the ferrets, but he tries. It just takes a long, long time with him. Miss Maisie, Henry, Freddy were all timid ferrets and would start at the slightest movement and were very prone to running up from behind, nipping and running off again. They wanted attention, but were too timid to stay put for it. Took lots of cuddles, and play time (even with the nips) to teach them to trust. Now they all chase me and jump at me and ask to play and be tossed on the bed. They are confident. Miss Natasha, aka Mazel Tov, is the worst one I have dealt with. She has bitten me and another ferret person to the finger bones. And she does not let go once she does this. Sampson would bite badly but let go. She just hangs on. She also does the hit and run for attention. But she is around 8 months old, and I am her 4th house. She had absolutely no trust. No stability. She still nips, but it is very light and more play nips now than anything. But I don't allow her even that because she sometimes forgets herself. But she has learned that she gets a very stern lecture from me, scruffed or put in for a time out. Or all three. She knows I won't hurt her or give her away now. She has also learned that Ma will give her anything she eats, and she is my only ferret who likes my coffee. I ended up wearing it this morning when she got to my cup before I did. She loves bacon and will beg upright for raisins, in any part of the house, as long as I am looking at her. I had planned on adopting her out once she was socialized, but I don't think I will be able to. I am afraid that one more home would put her right back where she was when I got her. And that was being carried in by a Mizzou student who was wearing leather gaunlets and was studying to rehab wolves. Yes, seriously. I guess my message is this, when you get any animal that bites like this, it is usually from not knowing any better and easily corrected, or from a history of neglect and abuse. They have to learn to trust you and until they do, they bite in self defense. And if you don't have the time or the ability to deal with this (not everyone does, it involves setting yourself up to be bit so they understand you are giving them a chance) then find someone who can. It doesn't mean less of you. It means you are thinking of the animal above yourself. And as for my house, I play very rough with the "heathens" and so have many play scratches on my arms. I am always amazed when I get to meet new ferts who are so well behaved. lol!! I tolerate a lot more than a lot of folks, which sometimes test the patience of houseguests. hehe. And for some reason Freddy seems to think Otterowl is paticularly tasty. She is the only one he chomps. But she has learned to recognize him too. ;-) Don't expect changes overnight. It can take a minimum of a couple of months, even when socializing a new kit. They mellow as they grow up and have a longer attention span then too. And don't ever be afraid to ask. Give the kids hugs for me, Maggie Mae icq# 14764688 MustelidMob web home- http://home.att.net/~dragonfey [Posted in FML issue 2378]