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Post by joshorion98 on Aug 25, 2020 0:53:39 GMT -5
I recently got two ferret kits and they are absolutely adorable. However, one of them seems to be wanting to bite me with malicious intent. Every time she has any interest in my hand, it's because she wants to bite... And (seemingly) not a playful bite. She'll latch down hard and yank it like a dog would do in tug of war. 9 chances out of 10, it draws blood and sometimes being bad enough that the wound needs to be cleaned. I am pretty good at ignoring the pain and remaining calm, putting her in her timeout box without expressing fear or anger. However, my hands can only take so much of this before they fall apart. 😂 I've been trying positive reinforcement using a low calm voice and cautious petting when she doesn't bite me. I'll be getting some juicy treats in the mail here soon that should help a bunch with training them. Does anyone have any additional methods/tools to help out with this little turd? Lol.
The other one, for the record, is an absolute Angel (and that is exactly her name now). When she plays, she nips, but it's so light that I can't tell the difference between her jaws and paws most of the time. I wish she would just teach her sister how to be a good girl so my hands can take a break. ðŸ˜
Edit: I want to say that they are three months old, if not slightly older.
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Post by okojosan on Aug 25, 2020 1:49:36 GMT -5
You don't say how recently you got the ferrets, but at 3 months old they're still very young and learning. Try not to react when she bites, make a specific noise (I use AH-AH-AH) and put her in the sin bin for 2 minutes. I don't think she's being malicious, just understand that the Biting Game is VERY fun for young ferrets. Try to play with her with a stuffed toy or a blanket. But be resigned to getting bitten until she understands. It may take a while.
I have a 3 year old biter. She's gotten much better but I cannot trust her 100%. I do know if you lose your temper and scruff her it can make things much worse, so try to stay calm and put her in the sin bin for a timeout. Try putting some salmon oil on your hand and when she licks it, praise her. Good luck!
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Post by joshorion98 on Aug 25, 2020 2:35:00 GMT -5
You don't say how recently you got the ferrets, but at 3 months old they're still very young and learning. Try not to react when she bites, make a specific noise (I use AH-AH-AH) and put her in the sin bin for 2 minutes. I don't think she's being malicious, just understand that the Biting Game is VERY fun for young ferrets. Try to play with her with a stuffed toy or a blanket. But be resigned to getting bitten until she understands. It may take a while. I have a 3 year old biter. She's gotten much better but I cannot trust her 100%. I do know if you lose your temper and scruff her it can make things much worse, so try to stay calm and put her in the sin bin for a timeout. Try putting some salmon oil on your hand and when she licks it, praise her. Good luck! |
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Post by joshorion98 on Aug 25, 2020 2:38:29 GMT -5
You don't say how recently you got the ferrets, but at 3 months old they're still very young and learning. Try not to react when she bites, make a specific noise (I use AH-AH-AH) and put her in the sin bin for 2 minutes. I don't think she's being malicious, just understand that the Biting Game is VERY fun for young ferrets. Try to play with her with a stuffed toy or a blanket. But be resigned to getting bitten until she understands. It may take a while. I have a 3 year old biter. She's gotten much better but I cannot trust her 100%. I do know if you lose your temper and scruff her it can make things much worse, so try to stay calm and put her in the sin bin for a timeout. Try putting some salmon oil on your hand and when she licks it, praise her. Good luck! Thanks!!! I don't jump or jerk when she bites, no matter how hard she bites. I understand that could lead to biting harder or more tugging due to her thinking it's a game. Lol. I'm guessing I'll have to get salmon oil on amazon? I got her a week ago along with my other kit, to answer the question. Thanks again for the input! |
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Post by Charlie on Aug 30, 2020 12:19:38 GMT -5
You can get salmon oil at a pet store. They sell it for cats. Just make sure that it's only salmon oil in the bottle on the label.
When my ferret started biting really hard while playing, I would get up and leave him alone. A couple minutes later I would come back to play again but as soon as his bite was too hard I would leave again. I would also use a toy to distract him to bite the toy and not my hand.
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