Reptile & Amphibian Forums

constantly!! We have a girl ferret that loves to bite & loves to bite hard!! I mean she loves to bite us...her name is Sable & she is about 9-months-old...I thought that once she came home and got used to us that she would quit biting but I was wrong, so very wrong. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get her to stop biting so that we can handle her? I handle with a glove & my husband handles without a glove but with extreme caution so any suggestions would be appreciated!! Thanks!!

First thing you need to do is stop wearing gloves. Ferrets need to smell you and be able to feel you and get used to you. Gloves should only be used in very rare cases and as minimal as possible. When holding your ferret you want to make sure that you NEVER put her down because she bites. If she bites and you put her down that is only telling her that she gets what she wants for biting. You need to keep holding her until she settles down and then give her what she wants (ex: down to run, a treat, a toy, etc). Another thing you can do when she bites it scruff her and tell her very firmly "NO". You know that you have her in a good scruff when she yawns. Again after she settles down you can stop the scruff and pet her and talk nice to her again. If she gets all crazy again and bites or tries to then scruff her and tell her "NO" again. They can learn to be very well behaved and happy go lucky little guys but it does take some time and some can be more stubborn. How long have you had her? Where did you get her from? Make sure no matter what you do, you NEVER hit your ferret!! Some people will tell you to flick them on the nose, but that is only going to make them lose any kind of trust in you and will make them more prone to biting. I used to volunteer for the ferret rescue and have met a few ferrets with all kinds of different issues. One of my fuzzbutts was actually very abused when I adopted her and she had a huge lack of trust...it took alot of time and effort but now she is very sweet and loving and loves to give kisses.

Thanks for your words of experience and knowledge...Sable has NO FEAR AT ALL...SHE LOVES TO BITE & TO DRAW BLOOD...IT IS A GAME TO HER...SHE THINKS IT IS FUNNY TO BITE AND LAUGHS AT US...I WEAR GLOVES BECAUSE I AM CONSTANTLY TYPING EVERYDAY FOR A LIVING AND CAN NOT HAVE CUTS/BITES ON MY HANDS....Archie, my husband, has tried to do all of the things that you have just stated & does quite well for the most part with her, but kissing her is so totally courageous that he doesn't even try to do it...Sable stalks me until she finds bare skin to bite...I am so at my wits end...she is suppose to be my baby, but she isn't. Thanks though for taking time to answer me though.