Extremely aggressive ferret...

Question
We just bought this ferret a few days ago at a pet shop. We were not told the age of the ferret however he cannot be more than a year old. He is extremely aggressive. We have tried just about everything to work with this lil guy but he is really biting hard. He has drawn blood from my husband at least 6 times. We made a ferret room for him to play in and to hopefully get more comfortable with us but we have to wear shoes when entering the room because he will literally lunge at us and attack our feet. We want to keep this lil man but we cannot keep being attacked. Please help us. Thanks for anyone who can help us with this poor guy.

Answer
Hi Heather,

Try something called the scruff and snuggle. This is always effective, it just takes time and patience on your part. When he bites too hard, gently pick him up by the scruff of his neck and say "no" in a firm voice. Then, hold him close to you and pet him and talk to him. Then, let him free to play again. (Make sure you don't let him down if he is struggling. If you let him down when he throws a fit, you'll send him the message that throwing a fit is the way to get down. Show him that it is on your time (as the dominant "ferret"), not his.) If he does it again, repeat the scruff and snuggle. If he does it a third time, do the scruff and snuggle, then put him in his cage for a ten minute time out. You could also use a pet carrier for his time outs so he doesn't link his cage with being bad. (As a side note, please don't ever hit your ferret because besides being wrong and cruel, your ferret will start to associate you with pain and anger and fear and may start being extremely aggressive.)

He just needs to be socialized and he needs to know that he's part of your family and that you love him. When he goes to bite, try distracting him with play. Also, you can try putting Ferretone on your hands so he licks you instead of bites you. Then he'll associate you with good feelings! If that doesn't work, you can always try Bitter Apple paste rubbed on your hands. With that, though, don't ever put that directly in his mouth or anything!

I hope this helps, and if you have further questions or you need clarification, please feel free to ask!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews