From:
Teresa Knezek
Date: 2003-05-02 18:00:53 UTC
Subject: Re: Ferret Muzzles?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-Id: <a05111b03bad85edd12fa@[192.168.1.28]>
The first ferret I owned was a young stray, and would bite in play.
He'd usually end up being dropped on the couch for it (since he
usually bit us when we were sitting on the couch and he climbed up).
He grew out of it, probably because having us yell OUCH and drop him
on the couch was startling and unpleasant... After a short time, he
became totally safe UNLESS you let him climb up your pant leg. Then
he'd bite you on the shin, every time.
The second ferret I owned (named Sid Vicious for this very reason)
bit through my thumb the second day I had him (he was found
half-starved in someone's back yard...). I learned to pick Sid up
very specifically with my thumb and forefinger around his neck, and
my last three fingers around his ribs, so he couldn't get around to
bite, and kept that grip on him while he was being held... After some
time, he just relaxed and stopped biting so much. Sid eventually died
of old age, having become a very mellow and affectionate old man who
slept on my ex-husband's pillow at night.
So time may well improve things, if you figure out a good system for
holding and interacting with the biter safely (Just don't let other
people hold her unless you teach them the "right way" of doing it.
Let them pet her while you hold her...)
One of my new ferrets (Ziya the Sock Thief) was poorly socialized
when I got her, and would bite feet to get attention. She'll still
grab noses once in a while if you hold her up to your face. What I
did with her to stop the foot biting was to immediately bend over and
pin her down by the scruff of her neck, and hold her against the
floor like that until she started squirming, and then a little longer
until she gave up. I got that idea by watching them all sorting out
their group dominance issues. It seems to have worked for the most
part. She's not 100% trustworthy yet, but she nips MUCH less often
and never bites half as hard as she used to.
--
:: Teresa ::
http://www.mivox.com/
"Men are not prisoners of fate,
but only prisoners of their own minds."
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt