Trip to the vets!

Question
Hi Emilee

I have 3 young ferrets (approx 14 weeks) who are still very interested in biting hands. I'm following all the advice to stop this, but need to take them to the vets for their vaccinations shortly, and just know that they will try and bite the vet! Should I take in some thick gloves for him, or will he just accept that they're young and he might get bitten?

Thanks,
Tan

Answer
Hello Tan,

I'm not sure if you've already taken your ferrets into the vet for their check-up but even if you have, this info is probably helpful anyway! (By the way, if your vet has treated ferrets for a while, he should understand that ferrets, especially young ferrets, are quite nippy! It is generally expected to be that way!)

The technique I used for my kids when they were little and in this phase was the "scruff and snuggle" and it is pretty simple. The first time one of them bites, you gently scruff them and say "No!" in a calm, clear voice. You then take the fuzzbutt and gently snuggle them to your chest, pet them, and snuggle them. Even if they start to squirm, hold for a minute or two. Don't let them down when they struggly, because then that sends the message that if they get wiggly, they get down and that is not the message we want to send right now! The second time, do the same thing. The third time, this is the third strike and they are out for a ten minuteish time out. You can do this in a cage or in a pet carrier. It is a bonus if your other ferrets are out frolicking and "bragging" of sorts that they are out and having fun! After a few minutes, you can let the offending ferret out again to play! This might take a while, but this process works! In the meantime, some other deterrents to biting are bitter apple spray on the hands or you could go with the positive reinforcement and put Ferretone on your hands to encourage licking instead of biting! Please don't handle them with gloves if the biting isn't too severe because the purpose of the scruff and snuggle is to get them better socialized with the snuggling and to better mind their manners with the scruff as it is what mommy would do if they were still in her care. I do want to emphasize that your ferrets are young, so they tend to nip quite a bit when they are young. These techniques and the fact that they are going to grow out of it at least a little bit as they get older should have them behaving better in no time!

I'm very sorry if you've already heard of those techniques! If you have, please let me know! They are tried and true for me, though! If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews