Ferret Help (Desperate!)

[TokeHound]

Hello my Tarantula friends. I have a biting ferret and I need help. I tried asking another pet forum specifically for dogs, cats, and small animals and I made a post about my ferret on Nov 3rd and NO ONE has responded to me, so I've decided to ask you guys on THIS forum instead.

I'm desperately in need of help. I have 4 ferrets, and two of them were given to us by a friend, and ONE of those two is a biter. Our original two ferrets are boys and very sweet, however, this one female will bite feet and hands without even trying to pick her up. You can't pet her or she just turns and bites. She has drawn blood multiple times so her bites are not playful. The other one is a boy and he is just sweet as our other two boys. I am not use to a biting ferret, I've had my other boys for 5 years. I've tried sour spray, I've tried putting her in time out in an empty carrier for a short time, but she just isn't understanding that biting is not acceptable. Please help me Tarantula friends, I don't want to get rid of her! Thank you for reading

 

[ilovebrachys]

Do all the ferrets live together? Are they all neutered?
Could be an issue that because she is the only female amongst 3 boys this could be the problem ? The dominance of living amongst 3 boys maybe making her defensive or hormonal if she's not been neutered?
Older animals have sometimes gotten into bad habits which can be extremely hard to break.
Just a few suggestions

 

[TokeHound]

All the ferrets are altered and one of my original boys has already dominated them all. They all live in the same cage, yes. We have had the two new ferrets for about 3 weeks. We kept them separated from our original two boys for a week before we introduced the two noobs to them and moved them into their cage. Their cage is 5.5' tall x 3' x 3'.

I wanted to make note that my problem ferret gets along with the other ferrets just fine, she is only biting humans.

 

[Rs50matt]

All the ferrets are altered and one of my original boys has already dominated them all. They all live in the same cage, yes. We have had the two new ferrets for about 3 weeks. We kept them separated from our original two boys for a week before we introduced the two noobs to them and moved them into their cage. Their cage is 5.5' tall x 3' x 3'.

I wanted to make note that my problem ferret gets along with the other ferrets just fine, she is only biting humans.

What ilovebrachys is trying to say is the female is being dominated and feeling frustrated. She cannot take the frustration out on the males because it’s a fight she will lose. Therefore she is biting you

 

[TokeHound]

What ilovebrachys is trying to say is the female is being dominated and feeling frustrated. She cannot take the frustration out on the males because it’s a fight she will lose. Therefore she is biting you

Okay... but she was biting before we introduced them to our boys.

 

[Lawrence b]

Just looked this up on google https://www.wikihow.com/Train-a-Fer...ur,process. Do not flick their nose,... More .

 

[m0lsx]

Your new ferrets have been through a stressful time. And biting is a natural response to that & you accidentally prolonged that stress by first taking it on from it's last owner & then keeping it in temporary housing to let it settle in. So two moves in a short period.

Biting - Ferret Association of Connecticut

Biting Ouch! Exploring the Whys & Wherefores of Ferret Biting by L. Vanessa Gruden in Paw Printz, March – April, 2000 Ferrets naturally use their mouths, and not just for eating. Watch a pile of babies playing, and you’ll see them chew each other’s ears, bite each other’s necks, and drag each...

ferretassn.org

 

[TokeHound]

Your new ferrets have been through a stressful time. And biting is a natural response to that & you accidentally prolonged that stress by first taking it on from it's last owner & then keeping it in temporary housing to let it settle in. So two moves in a short period.

Biting - Ferret Association of Connecticut

Biting Ouch! Exploring the Whys & Wherefores of Ferret Biting by L. Vanessa Gruden in Paw Printz, March – April, 2000 Ferrets naturally use their mouths, and not just for eating. Watch a pile of babies playing, and you’ll see them chew each other’s ears, bite each other’s necks, and drag each...

ferretassn.org

Thank you

 

[DustyD]

Your new ferrets have been through a stressful time. And biting is a natural response to that & you accidentally prolonged that stress by first taking it on from it's last owner & then keeping it in temporary housing to let it settle in. So two moves in a short period.

Biting - Ferret Association of Connecticut

Biting Ouch! Exploring the Whys & Wherefores of Ferret Biting by L. Vanessa Gruden in Paw Printz, March – April, 2000 Ferrets naturally use their mouths, and not just for eating. Watch a pile of babies playing, and you’ll see them chew each other’s ears, bite each other’s necks, and drag each...

ferretassn.org

And this assessment could equally apply to tarantulas as well, I would think.

 

[TokeHound]

I stuck a worn t-shirt with my scent on it in the cage for her to sniff and sleep on. I am also handling her with my shirt and petting and kissing her for short periods of time. Hopefully this helps.

 

[MBullock]

I read a long time ago that you're supposed to yelp really loudly in pain in an exaggerated manner. It's gotta sound really pathetic and sorrowful. Maybe even pretend to cry like it was the worst betrayal of all time, ball up into a fetal pose on the carpet hahaha.