Female Behavior Issues

Question
QUESTION: I have had Ryoko, my female ferret, for two months now after purchasing her from a local Petco.  She has shown to have mixed behaviors that still confuse me.

Her common habbits are to walk around the room while actively sniffing around, taking small objects and hiding them in her favorite places and to get up in high places and try to knock stuff off.  She almost does not play period.  Never with me and I've only seen three instances where she actually hopped around and dooked with my boy ferret, but most of the time she ignores him (much to his hissing irritation).

The most predominant is her signs of fear.  If I was to be relatively still she would act as if I wasn't there.  However, if I make any sudden movements she would spring back, arch back and freeze or take off to hide somewhere.  When I pick her up she stiffens up and shakes convulsively.  If I have food, treats or plastic bags she would then be interested in coming to me, but that is the only time she'll show interest in me.

Another problem is her litterbox training.  She seems determined not to use the litterboxes.  I have a younger boy who is almost 100% from a few weeks of my training.  She has gotten to the point where she will try to fake using the potty when I catch her trying to go where she isn't supposed to, then waiting until I either go to sleep or leave the room to go there.  I clean the areas very well with both cleaners and descenters to rule out the idea she is using those spots due to scent indication but that isn't the case.  I keep the litterboxes clean but still leave some scent behind for them to find.  I'm at a loss of what is causing her to avoid them.

Another issue is biting.  She will bite not just hard enough to break the skin, but I had a few times down to the bone!  No matter how many times I tell her NO, scruffing and extended periods of "time out" in the pet carrier she still is determined to bite the knuckles, sides of the wrist, toes and heels.  I've attempted to use positive reinforcement as well, such as ferretone to encourage licking instead of biting, praises for when I do handle her and she does not bite and to handle her as gently as possible (no rough play).

I'm at a loss as to finding a way to correct her and to make her a more social and friendly ferret

ANSWER: What is her age?

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Ryoko   QUESTION: The store said she was right around 14 weeks on December 30th the vet thinks she is a little older but not by much.

It has gotten to the point to where she will fake using the litterbox when I catch her trying to go somewhere else then will try to go elsewhere if I can't stop her in time, not when I'm just asleep or gone now!

ANSWER: You ask a lot of questions here, but I can address a few easily.  Litter training a ferret is a never ending battle and not always successful.  Be patient.  Try a different litter, move the boxes and hope that she learns to use them.  The biting is her age - just like puppies nip so do baby ferrets.  If the picture of her is good quality, she looks like a blaze so it is possible she is deaf.  Have her checked out by your vet.

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QUESTION: Is that what a blaze looks like?  I wasn't sure exactly how to identify the colors so did not know for sure.  I know she isn't deaf, she responds to any kind of noise I make, which makes it hard to keep her from knowing when I open a bag of my own treats.  I've tried moving the litterboxes around before, perticularly where she tries to go but she just finds other places to go and it causes confusion for Toby, who almost never misses unless he is too far away from the nearest one and has to poops.  The biting has gotten better, I've switched tactics where I will simply put her in a very small cage carrier and leave it in the open so that it will not give her the idea it is not a sanctuary of sorts.  She still has a thing for biting my elbows though and I have a theory about that.  I have psoriasis which is prodominant in my elbows.  I've had dogs, cats and other animals that sense this and lick or bite the spots.  She might be doing the same thing as well.  I have rubbed amino acids on my hands time to time and have soften my voice when I talk to her and her responses to my hands have gotten better.  I have been ignoring her more by not trying to play with her like I do with Toby and she is starting to show more of an interest in what I'm doing by coming over to investigate.  When I isolate her for doing bad I will hold her for as long as she'll tolerate which is getting longer.

Answer
It sounds like you are on the right track dealing with the biting.  It takes time to form a bond sometimes with a ferret.  The litter box issues may always be a problem, but you can usually keep working at it to make it better.  Add litter boxes around instead of moving them?  Make sure you see something in the box before you reward her for going.  And most of all, be patient.