I am seeing something happen that bothers me. I raise ferrets. I spend a lot of time socializing them to be sweet and as cuddly as a young ferret can be. Then I send them out with a new owner and get a call that they are biting. Careful questioning and watching has shown me one thing. The majority of people complaining about their young ferrets biting are causing it themselves. Now before you get out the flame throwers ....take a good look at what you are doing. Young ferrets play using their mouths. When they leave my place they are still playing that way, but in a gentle manner. They are not breaking the skin or even pinching hard. BUT, when you deliberately excite a young ferret they will forget the rules. So if you are tickling, teasing and otherwise deliberately exciting your youngster....you are asking it to bite you...and sometimes very hard! That is not the ferrets fault! It is yours! To keep from teaching your youngster to bite, you should handle your ferret in a calm and quiet manner. Speak to them and attract their attention before touching or picking up a ferret. When playing use a toy, a rag, a towell or something to excite them. Keep your hands out of the picture. After play give them a minute to calm down and then calmly pick them up. You are sayings but I enjoy teasing, tickling and play fighting with them with my hands. Okay, that is your choice and it is fine. But do not blame the ferret when it gets overexcited and rips your thumb open. It has sharp teeth and it is excited! And it is not to blame. I have handled literally thousands of ferrets. Only two were actual serious biters and those two were as close to feral ferrets as a ferret can be. They had never been handled! They are the exception. Youngsters are not mean only crazy! Think about it ! Would you tease, tickle and play fight with a young human and then immediately expect him to be calm and loving? Take a little thought of what you are doing before you complain that your ferret is biting. Judith Moonsong Ferrets bred to be the perfect companion http://moonsongferrets.virtualave.net [Posted in FML issue 2842]