From:
"autumn whispers"
Date: 2008-10-28 16:16:23 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Re: New Ferret Issues
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
All medical issues aside, I wanted to tell you about our experience with a
very bad bite. We are 99% certain she was a fear biter, so it took a lot of
patience and time to teach her to trust humans again. She passed away after
surgery for a blockage, unfortunately, but she was a little sweetheart by
that time... some two years after we got her.
The first time Peanut bit me it was a doozy, pretty much like you described,
and I really couldn't get her to let go and had to wait until she did that
on her own. I didn't want to hurt her or cause her further trauma by
forcing her jaw open. She left a magnificent bruise and several punctures,
and I have to say.. it hurt like heck. But what I learned from that very
first bite was that somewhere along the lines she had learned that human
hands hurt.
She bit me that first time because, as with another nipper we had, I
scruffed her after the first nip... and it was when I released her from the
scruff that she immediately sunk her teeth into my hand. Right then I knew
that this ferret couldn't be handled or taught the way most nippers are
(scruffing and hissing, or a stern 'no!').
I also observed that when I set her down, which I didn't do right after the
bite (didn't want to teach her that biting was a communication to me to put
her down)... she looked up at me and trembled. It broke my heart, and I
knew that this was going to be a long haul, and that there is no way I could
ever scold or reprimand (scruff) her for biting, no matter how badly it
hurt.
I made the decision to not allow others to handle her, but for myself and my
BF who lives with me. We both sustained bites, many of which drew blood and
left bruises, but when it happened we treated the situation exactly the same
every time. Here is what we did...
When Peanut would bite, we would simply try and release her jaws by sticking
the tip of our finger in the side of her mouth near the back until SHE let
go. We did this quietly, making certain that our hold on her remained firm
but gentle. Once she released the bite we would hold her a little while
before putting her down. In the beginning she would often try to bite
again, but we would simply move our hand or arm, etc. so she couldn't. Once
she was calm and not focused on biting, we would then put her down gently,
talking to her softly as we did.
In essence, we NEVER used any form of negative reinforcement when dealing
with her biting. In time, it paid off, but it took a great deal of time and
patience.
We learned to watch for signs from her, warnings if you will that a bite was
coming. Many times it would be tension in her body immediately prior to the
bite. Sometimes it was tension, and/or a certain way she would turn her
head...usually towards the forearm, hand or wrist. And she was lightning
fast, so we had to be fast as well, moving our arm or holding her in a way
that she couldn't reach what she was aiming for.
We took all our qeues from Peanut. She taught us more than we taught her.
We learned that an ankle was an easy target, especially if you were on the
floor, say when cleaning the bottom of the cage, etc. We also learned that
when she was in the cage... that reaching in meant a bite, often happening
before we realized it was going to happen. I eventually learned to hold her
with one arm while reaching in to do what I needed to do with the other
hand. She could see what I was doing while experiencing that nothing 'bad'
was going to happen in the process.
Over time... I was able to reach in the cage, kneel on the floor without
being bitten. Eventually... I could hold her and she would lick my face,
and I wasn't at all concerned that she would bite.
I did also notice that the more she was handled and held, the less likely
she was to bite. My BF works LONG hours, most often 7 days a week, so many
times he would still get bit (though not all the time) if he reached into
the cage if she were in there. But she wouldn't bite me.
We had to accept that she would would have to be caged if company were
here. She still didn't trust humans, and few that we knew were willing to
go through what we did to gain her trust. So again, we had to accept that
Peanut would not be held by strangers, etc.
It took a LOT of time, but the progress was slow AND SURE over that time.
We taught her she didn't have to fear us, but we did this on HER terms,
basically.... and it worked like a charm.
It took us over a year to get to this point, but as I said... there was
progress along the way.
Now we know that there is a reason we had Peanut. Someone else may have
hurt her (or worse) if they had gotten bitten that hard, that many times
especially. She may have ended up at an animal shelter, who would have put
her down the first time she bit them. We were the right family for her to
be with, and though we did lose her after a surgery.... her too-short life
was loving and patient.
I know you're second-guessing keeping your biter, and we did at first as
well. We were unsure we could help her, but... we found out that we may
have been the only ones who could given what may happen to her if she were
with someone who doesn't 'get' ferrets and who may just toss her away
because she bites.
I'm no expert, but I think that if Peanut could be rehabilited, any biter
could be. :) Everyone we know feared her, except me... though I was afraid
in the beginning. But in the end, as mentioned, I could hold her and she
would lick my face and sit gently in my arms.
Your little biter probably just needs to experience a safe and loving
environment to teach him he has nothing to fear. Sure, medical reasons
could be part of it, but who knows how people reacted to his biting or
nipping before he came into your home.
But for that first scruffing at the first bite, Peanut was never scolded or
reprimanded in any way in reaction to a bite. She was ONLY shown patience
and never knew or experienced a negative response to the biting. And I'm
telling you, if you had seen the before and after, you would be completely
amazed. :)
Best of luck with your little biter. I think he's in good hands now. :)
Ella & the Furbabies, Pixie, Boo Boo, Tocho, Milo, Maui, and Peanut at the
Rainbow Bridge
On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 10:20 AM, Sukie Crandall <sukie@mac.com> wrote:
> For the biting issue you could go to
>
> http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083/probintro.html
>
> which I strongly recommend.
>
> I don't know what is currently in any link FROM that and
> recall that one of those used to call for hitting which makes
> no sense at all. The things in the pages of this series itself
> are very useful, though, and are recommended.
>
> DEFINITELY call and ask the vet (not only about those ears), saying
> this ferret is being trained to not bite. See if the vet is comfy
> checking a ferret who may be biting due to a medical reason.
>
<SNIP>
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