MF good deed; Our shelter was recently contacted by a representative from MF. They were contacted by a pet store who wanted to return the kits they had recieved and asked us if we would take these babies in. Of course we said yes. These little girls were about 12 weeks old when we brought them in and the worst biters I've ever come across. Their behavior lead me to believe they were improperly handled at the pet store. Probably teased through the bars by customers and scruffed by the staff. With patience, knowledge, and loving care we have made very good progress. We temporarily named them Cookie Monster and Ginger Snap. When the rehab is complete they will be called just Cookie and Ginger. I couldn't be more happy to find that MF seeks placement for kits that might be considered "unsaleable". Anne Ryan; Rather than critisize your post for the words it contained, I could see through them to the frustration you felt when you wrote them. Sheltering can sometimes seem to be a thankless task. Not that shelter operators believe no-one cares, it's just hard to remember you're not alone when you're fighting so hard to save them. I'm sure your love of ferrets will help you to help others. This man you spoke of will probably need advise on proper care. Any help you could offer him would help to assure that one more fuzzie will have a good home. In my opinion no-one should feel begrudged the right to purchase a baby. Hopefully if this man feels the urge to add to his ferret family, he will feel welcomed at your shelter, and offered the wealth of information you can share with him. De-clawing; There isn't anything I could add that hasn't been said already, other than what I've seen myself. We had a little girl come into our shelter, who's previous owner had attempted to have de-clawed. The poor little girl had so much difficulty walking, not to mention that the attempt wasn't successful. Her nails came back in such a disfigured manner, it takes a trip to the vets just to have them trimmed. Please don't do it. Biters; If your biters have recently come into your home there is no telling what their experiances in life were before they came to you. What you might see as "no reason" for biting could be some type of trigger from past handeling that you are unaware of. I think someone said they were bitten when they reached into the cage. The solution would be; Don't reach into the cage (at least for now). Let the little one come out on his own. Once he becomes more comfortable with you and his new environment he should feel less threatened. What worked for Ginger (mentioned above) was a scruff with a little shake and a firm NO BITE!! Eventually all that was needed was the NO BITE!! Cookie was different. Scruffing just made her try to bite more. What eventually worked for her was a little nip in return (I only recommend this if all other attempts fail). Each ferret is an individual, what works for one might not work for another. Remember to always be consistant. Don't attempt to chastize five minutes after the bite (when you finally catch them) because they probably won't associate the punishment to the offense. Also; try putting a treat, such as ferretone, on the body part they seem most aggressive toward. If they are biting your hand out of fear, this will help them to associate your hand with something good. Be aware that when the treat has been licked off they might still try to bite. Try to remove your hand before this happens. :)~ SP [Posted in FML issue 2462]