New Ferret Owner- Biting & Attitude

Question
QUESTION: I have a question about a new female ferret that we have just gotten here recently. We got her from a couple that says they were her only owners & she is about a year & a half. My question is mainly about biting & her attitude towards me & my dog. I also have 2 young daughter (2 & 6) but they dont mess with her enough for me to know, so far as the attitude & biting goes. I didn't know that they bite liek she does...she will grab a hold of you & not let go. I'm not sure if she's trying to play or if she's mad at me or dont like me. Plus...she makes this weird noise when my dog sniffs her & sometimes when I try to play with her & it kind of sounds like she's getting mad...not hissing but I would say in that catagory. Which I didnt know that they did that either. My dad used to raise ferrets when I was young & in the past I've played with many so I wouldnt say I'm necessarily ferret illiterate. But is there anything that I can do?

ANSWER: Hello Whitney,

Since she is brand new to your home and your dog, probably, she'll need some time to get used to things. I would say give her a couple days to get used to being handled by you and then your daughters, and then you can work on introductions with your dog! Another thing you should probably know about ferrets is when they bite, they don't bite like a dog would (which would be bite and then release). When ferrets bite, they bite and then bite harder. That is the norm of what a ferret would do if she were poorly socialized and/or scared. For biting, I like to do the scruff and snuggle, which is a three strike system. The first two times she bites too hard, you gently scruff her and tell her "No" in a clear, calm voice. Then, you snuggle her to your chest and talk to her and pet her, but don't let her down if she starts squirming. Hold onto her for a few minutes and when she isn't squirming to be let down, you can let her down. The reason for that is you don't want to send her the message that she can get whatever she wants just by throwing a fit. The third time she bites too hard, repeat the scruff and snuggle and then put her in her cage or a pet carrier (pet carriers are ideal for a time-out because then she won't associate her cage with bad feelings) for ten minutes. After that ten minutes or so is up, you can let her out to play again. You can also try rubbing some bitter apple spray on your hands so she won't be inclined to bite them anymore. On the flip side of that, you can try Ferretone - rub that on your hands to encourage licking instead of biting.

I know what you're talking about with the sort of hissing noise. My little girl does it when one of her brothers (who is deaf) is playing a little too rough. It is her way of saying "Back off". This is another reason why you might want to get her used to you and get the biting thing under control, then have her spend a little time with your daughters, and then maybe work on introductions with the dog. With the interactions between your ferret and your dog, though, they always need to be watched very carefully as sometimes, they may look like they are getting along great and then the minute you turn your back, they might not be getting along so great and between a dog and a ferret, I think the ferret would come out on the losing side. So, in that situation, it is up to you to maintain the safety of all of your animals!

If you have further questions about anything at all, please feel free to ask! You know where to find me!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for the advice that you have given already since the last message i wrote she has gotten a hold of both of my daughters which were for a while tramatized : ) & wanted nothing to do with her which i obviously do not want at all but they are slowly getting over that. after i have spent a little more time with her, trying to get to know her personality, i think that the biting may be a playful thing but i still dont want her to think that biting is okay or a thing that she does when we play i heard somewhere or read somewhere that its not good to play with ferrets with your hands & to always play with them with a toy...is this true? i love to play with her with my hands but dont want her to think that the hardcore biting is okay i figure it now is play because she gets rather excited when I put her on my bed for some reason (which is a calafornia king & full of pillows) & yesterday she started jumping around with her mouth open & bit me really hard....she wouldnt let go. even though it did hurt i thought it was so cute cause i knew it was in a plyful manner & she meant no harmBUT I also wanted to ask (this is before I have read up on it just wanting to get all the advice I can get which i was told she was very well trained) about liter trainging she likes to go behind my bathroom door in the corner & she has a litter box so im confused of why she isnt going there instead of the corners of my bathroom....& what the best method, in your opinion, would be on litter training ferrets. ALSO I almost forgot & I'm sorry for so many questions but also she's been having like a cough type thing goin on...is that a cough like sick cough...could it be nothing or like a hairball cough : ) I didn't realize there was so many things that I didn't know about ferrets but am very interested & want to learn!

Answer
Hello again, Whitney,

Please don't ever apologize for asking questions! I would rather you have your questions answered than just go on without knowing the right things! I am so sorry your new little one got hold of your girls! That can be pretty traumatizing! The behavior you're describing with your bed and the way she was jumping around with her mouth open - that is purely ferret play behavior! The scruff and snuggle should take care of the biting problems you're having. The reason she is biting so hard when you play is because fellow ferrets have really thick skin and when your ferret bites you, she thinks she's just biting another ferret who can't really feel it too much. The scruff and snuggle will teach her that this is not good. When you say "No" you could also say "Ouch" each time as well. That will be like your way of hissing at her to say "back off". She will get the hint. All of my ferrets came home to me with this problem and they don't mean to hurt when they are playing. It is just something they are used to when playing so they need someone to teach them that this isn't the way to go with us really big ferrets. Haha. Like I said before, I would get the biting thing under control before letting your daughters handle her just so no accidents happen. I was once bitten by a ferret so hard that they went through my thumbnail, so I know how it feels! You just have to stay patient with her! Don't ever hit her or anything like that because that will teach her to associate you with fear and pain and that will make her aggressive. (As a side note, if she ever bites you and you can't get her to let go, you should push your hand (or whatever part of you she has) toward the back of her mouth and this should get her to let go. Also, putting Ferretone on the area should encourage her to let go.)

I play with all of my ferrets with my hands as well as toys (they all love it when I play with them with clothes, like dangling them like you would with a cat). You just want to stay on top of the scruff and snuggle and remember that right now she doesn't quite get it, so by playing with her with your hands, you're running the risk of her biting too hard. After she gets the idea, though, they really love to wrestle with you! You can also play ferret tag and get down on all fours and crawl around after her. She should really like that, just make sure you don't accidentally step on her - that is why the game is best played with you on all fours!)

The thing with litter training and ferrets is that sometimes ferrets decide that they would rather not use the litter box. If one is nearby and they can make it, chances are they will go there, but even then, they may not. They aren't programmed to do it like a cat is. That being said, this takes a lot of patience as well. Things to remember - she ALWAYS needs to go after a really long nap before play and then every few hours after that, never hit her or anything like that for a mistake (adds to the whole aggression thing), and if you see her backing up in a corner, pick her up and put her in her litter box. Do this when she wakes up as well. Just keep putting her in there until she goes. That way, you can prevent accidents in the house. You might want to keep some paper towel or maybe even a few litter boxes around the house to avoid big messes everywhere! And also, make sure you're using litter boxes that she can fit her whole body in (i.e. a high-backed rectangular litter box as opposed to a litter box designed to fit in the corner. Ferrets don't like to go in anything they can't fit their whole bodies in, usually). You could also try hand feeding her a piece of kibble to reward her when she goes potty, but with that make sure she isn't faking you out and that she is actually going potty!

By the way, what kind of kibble are you feeding her? If you already said, I apologize. Ferrets are obligate carnivores, which means their bodies are only able to digest meat and nothing else. Here is a food chart that you may or may not already have:

http://www.mdferretpaws.org/care/food_treats.html

I would stay above a nine in the ranking of the food you feed your ferrets. If you need to switch food, this should be done gradually to avoid any stomach problems. You should start out with about 85% old food, 15% new food and feed that for about a week. Then, you should try about 25% new food, 75% old food for about a week and so on. You may see some looser poops than usual and this should be fine. That is just her tummy getting used to the change. Make sure she is staying hydrated by checking the scruff of her neck. If you scruff her, and the skin stays tented, then that is pretty severe dehydration that can only be helped by sub-Q fluids (delivered under the skin), so you don't want to let it get that far. Make sure your little girl keeps drinking water regularly. Also keep in mind that a ferret needs about 34-36% protein, 20-22% fat and no more than 3% fiber. Also, taurine should be in there somewhere for heart health!

As for the coughing issues, if you listen to her lungs and her cough and neither of these things sound wet or crackly, then it probably isn't a cold. Remember, though, that ferrets can pass the flu to us and us to them! The coughing thing may be that she has a piece of kibble stuck in her throat, which happens pretty often since they eat so fast! Also, it may be a hairball, but ferrets don't cough up their hairballs. You should grab some petroleum jelly and a little Ferretone and get her to lick a bit of that up (not too much, maybe an inch long line of it) every few days. That will lubricate her digestive tract, hopefully preventing anything from building up there. If it doesn't clear up, you can try giving her a little pat between her shoulders (remembering to elevate her front legs a little when you do this) and if there is something stuck, hopefully this will help.

I know I've given you a lot of info and I'm sorry! If you need anything more at all, please don't hesitate to ask! That is what I'm here for!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews