Help Mad Ferret!

[Hermione]

Hi i just got a ferret about a week and a half ago and he is a 4 week old male im not sure which type because he isnt sable and isnt albino hes a greyish brown color but everytime we give him a treat when hes eating it if we so much as walk by him he starts squeaking and jumping and biting hard enough to draw blood is this normal? can we break him of it? because to be farely honest his bites hurt!

[Daners9278]

That does seem pretty normal in the beginning. You must train ferrets just as you train a dog. I have read to grab them by the scruff and shake them slightly back and forth. That is what the mother would do to them. However, that has not helped us at all. We instead flick them in the nose...although not with too much force. As it can cause damage. After a few flicks, they should learn not to do that. Scoobie had that trouble. He bit the heck out of both me and my husband...we flicked him and he hasn't bitten us since. I hope this helps.

Dana

[Dooker]

Please don't *flick* your babies! I know it indeed helped you out, but that just hurts the ferrets nose...they are built differently than us humans and even to a human, a flick on the nose is going to hurt. :bawling:

Anyway: This is very strange behavior for a ferret. I just suggest do not give your ferret any treats at all. A lot of treats (ei: Yogies, fruity chews, etc...) are not even good for ferrets. Good treats are treats with the main source being meat. So anyway: I also suggest giving your ferret as much love and kisses and hugs as you can possibly give. Don't get me wrong, I am not thinking that you do not give love, infact, you probably give your fuzz quite a bit of love. :agree: But I am just saying instead of scruffing, cage time, flicking, yelling, use love instead. :angel: Ferrets understand love a lot more than violence, same with humans....

Good luck with your baby ferret! Please let me know how it is coming along. And ferrets don't squeak. :D Hehehehe

[Wikked911]

Don't shake that ferret because you are going to make him afraid of you. That is normal you need so good advise, PLEASE don't shake that ferret, You can cause some problems for him.

[webmissc]

This is actually a normal thing the babies do...I thought it was weird when I first got mine..but they get over it.

Kind of like a dog who is protecting its treat so others can't take it away! It's kind of funny actually, the noises they make.

This sounds a bit mean, but my 6 month old ferret did this ALL the time, even with 1 bite of food...so we played a game where I tried to take it away and she would freak out...we went round and round and eventually she grew out of it.

But I made it so she didn't get in trouble and I didn't get mad, obviously! LOL

No reason to punish or scare them for doing something that comes natural and they grow out of soon.

[Levi]

How has your baby progressed since this post?

[PunkRockMel]

When either of my ferrets bite (my female occasionally still nips, and our 3 month old male is still learning), I either scruff them (grab them by the loose skin on the back of the neck, and shake them lightly, BUT MAKE SURE to also support their body weight with your free hand), or blow in their face (they stop quickly), ignore them completely (drives them insane that I won't play) or hiss at them very loudly.

It works very well, and nobody gets hurt :)

[tutebugz]

4 WEEKS OLD???? That is WAY too young for a ferret to be released from their mom. How in the world did you get one this young? That is very upsetting that that poor little baby wasn't even done feeding from it's mother and it's now in your home getting flicked. ARGH

It IS possible to break your ferret of biting, when it does it, scruff it and drag it across the floor for a couple feet, then let it go. Since this baby is so young, it's going to need a lot of gentle treatment, don't force it to be nice right away. Expect a lot of suckling from it because it's so young. It will probably suck on whatever it can find. The jumping and churping is just an excited ferret, it's biting too hard is just it being too young to know any different. don't freak out so early in it's life about it

[MouseCapade]

Yes i agree. You should never shake your fuzzies or flick their noses. Their noses are as sensitive as a dogs nose or better. This really hurts!!! My Fuzzies are only four months old and I have been nip training them and they are doin great!! Better than I thought they would at that young of an age. I simply just give them a firm NO BITE!!! I am very persistent with it even if they are not biting hard. I never give them the idea that it's alright to bite. They are listening very well. They are very smart and don't need extreme training. They can determine by the change in the pitch of your voice if what they are doin is wrong or right. Please do not shake or flick your fuzzies.

MouseCapade, NC

[ferretfan]

Never ever hit your ferret!!!! What I do with my boy is scruff him and then tell him no firmly. Then you reenforce with love. Give kisses and hugs and lots of cuddles. Ferrets do hurt when they are young and they bite but you have to handle them lovingly and with care so that they trust you. If you scruff them they calm right down (at least mine does) and you are able to get a hold of the situation so to speak...hehe...and then cuddle them to bits!! It could take some time and patience and a lot of cuddles...but the little fuzzy furball that will give kisses in the end is well worth it. Please keep us updated!! and LOTS of luck!!

[tutebugz]

4 WEEKS OLD???? That is WAY too young for a ferret to be released from their mom. How in the world did you get one this young? That is very upsetting that that poor little baby wasn't even done feeding from it's mother and it's now in your home getting flicked. ARGH

It IS possible to break your ferret of biting, when it does it, scruff it and drag it across the floor for a couple feet, then let it go. Since this baby is so young, it's going to need a lot of gentle treatment, don't force it to be nice right away. Expect a lot of suckling from it because it's so young. It will probably suck on whatever it can find. The jumping and churping is just an excited ferret, it's biting too hard is just it being too young to know any different.don't freak out so early in it's life about it

I still want to know how in the h*l* you got a 4 week old ferret....that's TOO YOUNG

[desire]

Mel is right!!! Punish them like the mother would have, grab them by the neck! Do NOT, and i repeat, do NOT hit your ferret!!!! Violence doesnt solve anything...the ferret is suppose to respect you, not fear you....

[axeo19]

Ok for one thing, if you are immature enough to resort to hitting a small animal for punishment, you shouldn't be a ferret owner. :mad:
Second if it is 4 weeks old, you shouldn't have it. They have to be 8 weeks before you can even think to take them away from their mother.
Kit's bite, that's it. You must teach them that it is bad. Ferrets have tough skin, hense they can bite each other harder. This means they think they can do the same to you. You need to train them not to.
Please do your research. It's not that hard to sit down and read a book. It will make life for you and your fuzzie so much better.

[tutebugz]

Ok for one thing, if you are immature enough to resort to hitting a small animal for punishment, you shouldn't be a ferret owner. :mad:
Second if it is 4 weeks old, you shouldn't have it. They have to be 8 weeks before you can even think to take them away from their mother.
Kit's bite, that's it. You must teach them that it is bad. Ferrets have tough skin, hense they can bite each other harder. This means they think they can do the same to you. You need to train them not to.
Please do your research. It's not that hard to sit down and read a book. It will make life for you and your fuzzie so much better.


AMEN..that's what I've been trying to say in my last two posts...that i just repeated the second time..maybe they'll get the point this time.

[desire]

tutebugz:

Have you ever concidered that there might be someone else than you who would like to speak their mind? Just because you mean something, others has the right to speak up and tell what they mean to. Repeating your self by sending in two threads that that looks exactly the same and write threads with big letters all the way, is just showing people that you are immature....You are acting like the rest of the ferretsowners in here are stupid or something!

[tutebugz]

I'm not being anything of the sort. I repeated my thread because it had some good information that I though Hermoine really needed to see. Especially that a 4 week old ferret is MUCH too young. Sorry if my knowing a lot bugs you. I'll just quit posting and you can act all high and mighty.....

[treasuredpets]

Okay I am new here but not new to ferrets. My guess is that this person does not have a four week old ferret. At four weeks old alot of ferrets haven't even opened their eyes. Sounds most likely like a pet store purchase in which case even with a Marshall's ferret, the kit is proabably at least 5 to 6 weeks old. It's easy to be off a few weeks on the birthdate but that week or two makes a world of difference to a ferret. I personally don't think they should leave their mothers until 12 weeks, so mom can teach them manners and the things that fuzzies need to know before going home with us hoomans. I remember my first ferret 10 years ago when I was just a kid, I didn't know what to do with the maniac war dancing and biting the heck out of me. I flicked noses, I even put tobasco sauce on her poor nose once cause that's what the pet store said to do. That was a long time ago and well in the past. I have learned from my mistakes as most pet owners do. it takes a special breed of person to own a ferret and give it the care it needs. That's why I have seven, with the exception of one all have come from people who aren't cut out to be ferret owners. I have 3 severe biters, and have had two come to me with horrendous blockages from being fed dehydrated fruit. Most people are not ferret people and unfortunatley this person does not sound cut out to be ferret mom, but as I said I used tobasco :kaioken: sauce! I also thought they liked being caged. Now they have their own bedroom and 6 to 8 hours of play every day. I didn't think they needed shots, now everyone has rabies and distemper up to date. I never went to the vet, now we have yearly checkups and have had 2 surgeries. I never ADV tested, now testing is done before any ferret comes into my home. My point is, help this person and sooner or later we will find out if she is cut out for ferret care. If not the people who were nice to her will be sure to hear she can't ahndle the fuzz and we can all try to find a suitable home. Snub her and in a worst case senario we will have another SPCA fuzz or another fuzz left on it's own outdoors. Okay off my soapbox! Nice to meet you all!