Biting baby

Question
ok well for 2 years i have been researching ferrets how to take care of them an all that stuff :-) but now that i have saved up enough to buy them an the supplies I've run into a problem well here it is i got 2 from a breeder i thought was decent but turns out she wasn't able to be hands on with them every day but don't get me wrong they know her an didn't nip at her but now that i have them (I've only had them 4 a few days) they are a little different one is lazy an don't do nothing don't bite don't play nothing at all an the other one runs around every where like he crazy but when we play i think i scare him because he backs into corners an hisses at me i thought he was playing but he has bite me 4 or 5 times an he wont allow me to scruff him he starts biting where ever he sees my hand but onces hes calm he sniff me an lets me hold him but once again he will bite my toe an run well my question is 1 do you have any suggestions an 2 am i scaring him i hope not because he is my baby thank u sooo much bye

Answer
Hello, thanks for your question. Well I'm glad to hear you've been doing some research about ferrets, most people wait until after they buy a ferret to figure things out! I'm assuming you got baby ferrets between 4 and 6 months old from the breeder...if they are much younger I don't think the breeder should have been selling them yet, which may be part of the problem if one if sleeping all the time he may be very young or has a medical problem....as the hyper one is showing you, that's how baby ferrets should act: crazy. There is a slim chance that the mellow ferret is just that; a mellow ferret. Double check on his age and try to get in touch with the breeder and ask them about this ferret. As for the other one, what you are describing is perfectly normal for kits.

Baby ferrets (kits) are notorious for being extremely hyper, playful, wild, nippy and crazy. For a while he will be nearly uncontrollable, but you can start now on taming and training him not to be so psycho. (Keep in mind all these things he will grow out of and become more mature and tame, but you need to be handling him daily and interacting with him).

When you first let the ferrets out of their cage, just let him run around and burn off some of that extra energy for a while. Try playing with him so he knows you're not a bad guy. Backing up in to a corner and playfully hissing are good signs; those are ferret play things. Talk to him a lot so he can recognize the sound of your voice. If he's biting your toes it sounds like he's trying to get you to play with him, so go at it...ferrets love to tease and chase and play hide 'n seek. Don't worry, he's not afraid of you (an afraid ferret will run and hide underneath something, sometimes with their tails poofed up and they won't come out).

You say he doesn't allow you to scruff him, well there's no "allowing" involved--just pick him up with one hand and with the other grab the loose fur and skin behind his neck and then hold him up by it...if you're doing it right his whole body should relax and he should yawn. Babies can be squirmy so you need to be able to master scruffing him in order to establish that you're the boss so you can train him more adequately. If you haven't been around ferrets till now you probably aren't used to handling them, which takes some getting used to.

For biting try putting some Bitter Apple on your hands OR FerretTone. The first one is nasty tasting which discourages biting, the second is yummy and encourages the ferret to LICK not bite you. If he bites, scruff him, hold him up and say NO really loud, wait until he yawns (yawning means submission). Also you can try time outs in his cage, pushing your finger(s) deeper into his mouth and pressing on the corners of his mouth. For the most part babies don't realize that they bite so hard and they don't know it's bad and hurts you. Also they happen to be teething which is pretty painful, so they have an urge to mouth things. Just be patient with him, don't be afraid of his teeth and don't put him down when he bites. Give lots of praise and pets when he doesn't bite, and lots of treats. For a couple months you may not get in much holding time due to his energy, but the more and more you touch and hold him over a period of time the less he will bite. Just be patient and hang in there! And please get your other ferret checked out by a good exotics vet, it doesn't cost very much for a checkup, but you need to make sure that there's nothing medically wrong with him either.

Ok, sorry this is long but you had a lot of things to cover! Hope I've helped, good luck. :)

~sheila