Going to write a bit on fear biters. I will write another time on socialization and the problem biters there, but feel that the worse problem is dealing with ferrets biting out of fear. Fear biting- it is a tough issue. There are many causes for it. Some you may not think of. Abuse, many homes because the biting gets bad from no socialization and then the ferret gets into bad habits, being sensitive and high strung, and also deafness. The last two are easier to overcome in many ways, because it is dealing with the ferrets true nature rather than learned behavior. High strung ferrets and deaf ferrets need patience and lots and lots of handling. This gets them used to everyday activities, and desensitizes them to startling things. Which is exactly what gets them, being startled. Abuse, neglect leading to no socialization leading to bad handling and many homes as a result, are tougher problems. This is dealing with a learned reaction, something which the ferret feels helps to protect itself. It is harder to overcome these things because they result from bad experiences. To me, ferrets are much like people. If they are hurt or abused because of someone or a situation, they will react the same to all later situations remotely resembling the original hurtful event. The more hurt that is put upon the ferret (or human) makes them increasingly more hesitant around anything or anyone new, and in turns, reinforces their wrong reactions. Think of it like a human problem. Instead of taking a new situation on its own merits, the individual looks at everything with a tainted viewpoint. "I have been hurt before by (women, men, people, etc) and so to prevent this from happening again, I am going to hurt them first." I have seen countless animals and humans do this to others. It is a case of reinforcing their own beliefs, because they inflict hurt first and often are the actual cause of their own pain. "I don't trust you because of what happened to me before, so I am going to hurt you. I don't understand that by hurting you first, I am actually causing the situation that is painful to me." They react in two basic ways, some will not let you get even physically close without trying to lash out. Others will let you start to form a relationship, but may remember past abandonment and then lash out to prevent the closeness that they feel. And yes, I do believe animals can remember enough to behave this way. Although I think they only remember the feelings associated with the outcome, not necessarily the event itself. Natasha is a good case in point. I got her when she was 6-7 months old. I was her third home after leaving the breeders, so she was in her fourth house in her short life. I could bet on what happened, without any real knowledge of it. She bit as a kit, probably pretty hard. So folks yelled, hit or just flat didn't do anything with her. Passed her around. Some would try but never had the time or patience, so she could get attached and then be abandoned. But this reinforced her biting behavior, which in turn made her easier to abandon. She hurt others, so others hurt her by giving up. I guess I can understand it after dealing with the very same issues for most of my own life. I was raised around alcoholics and some real loony toons. I had no stability, and after dealing with both parents almost dying when I was very young, found it very hard to trust that folks would be there for me. I lived in over a dozen places in high school alone. Because of this, I have a hard time letting folks close to me and have often hurt folks because I regret it when I do. Nothing to do with them, all with me. I have only trusted deeply a couple of times, and because it is so hard, when someone I have lets me down, it hurts all that much more. And I deal with this with the understanding and reason of a human being. Fear biters, to me, are like dealing with young abused children. They have no understanding of why someone might do these things, and so have a hard time trusting so they won't be hurtful. And trust is the issue, with all fear biters. It is a very hard thing for them to learn to do. I do not, under any circumstances, even tap my fear biters on the nose until they have learned to trust me. I also do not scruff and hold them down until they relax (a technique I use for socialization) because this demands trust from them, giving control to someone else. You cannot demand it, nor demand the respect the trust gives. [2 part post combined here. BIG] So when I get bit, I will often hold the biter afterwards, making sure they cannot bite me again, and tell them how much I love them, in soothing tones. I tell them that nothing they do will stop me from loving them. I think it helps to vocalize these things, because it also gets your body into the same thought, and they can sense that. I will often stretch them out and kiss their tummies (to keep my face safe) or kiss the backs of firmly held heads. This contact shows them it won't hurt, it desensitizes them to physical contact and lessens the over stimulation from it. Or I will give them a time out alone, which removes the stimulation that resulted in the biting. And over stimulation is the main cause of fear biting. If you can't trust, you get the adrenalin going and set up for all kinds of tension, apprehension, etc. Think of yourself in a new situation, or one where you had a bad experience before. Then take away the reasoning you have to work through it. That is what you are dealing with. I also don't believe everyone can or should try to deal with fear biters. You have to be willing to put yourself in harms way, to earn the trust. If you are too fearful yourself, you can't help the ferret. And if you have small children, I don't think you should try. I believe that the normal sounds of a household with smaller children in it can be too upsetting for the fearful animal. Plus, you also run the risk of the child being bitten, and then teaching the child to be afraid of the animal. It isn't bad for someone to say they can't handle a situation. Think of what is best for the animal, and find another more suitable place if needed for it. Later, I will post on some of the behaviors that mark fear biters, then move onto the problem of socialization or lack there of. If you have any questions, or would like to pick what is left of my little grey cells, feel free. Like I said before, I am not a trained anything (well, except journalist and they are all animals). Maybe that is where I started picking all this up. ;-) Margaret in Mid Mo [Posted in FML issue 2388]