Many Ferret owners are concerned about their Ferrets biting them. Fingers, Toes, and (careful!) other places.

This is how you prevent your Ferret from becoming a Fer-Terrier…

Fer-Terrier

Step One:

Take your finger out of your Ferret’s reach.

Step Two:

Properly Socialize him to you and other family members.

Step Three:

Teach him that his bite is unwelcome even if it’s play biting.

Here’s how… When your Ferret bites or tries to bite, you need to scruff him, by holding him gently by the skin on the back of the neck (called the scruff) until he relaxes and tell him “No.”  This is how a mother Ferret disciplines her kits (baby Ferrets) by picking them up by the scruff of the neck.  By doing this to your Ferret, he will associate this behavior with the discipline he received from mommy, and with the addition of a firm “No,” he will start to understand that biting is bad behavior and disliked by you.

Never hit, yell at or spank your Ferret or he may start biting you out of fear.  A well known training product that can be used to deter the little fellow is Bitter Apple Spray.  Just spray some on your hands, then when your ferret bites, he will taste the bitterness and will think that you taste really bad; he’ll want to avoid getting a taste of you the next time around.

Like all animals, Ferrets must be socialized properly, & handled frequently from an early age.  They’re no different from a dog, cat or any other domesticated animal, mistreat them and they will bite to protect themselves for fear of being hurt.  Animals given proper love & care with regular handling while still young, are usually docile, very gentle and will rarely bite, they develop a trust with you.

Ferrets are known to “play bite“ & nip, especially young kits.  This is how they play, although their skin is tough and they don’t feel the bite of their fellow kits, their teeth are sharp and do hurt!  They’re not biting to hurt you, they don’t even know their play biting hurts you, so just remember when they do bite, gently grab them by the scruff of their neck and give them a firm “No“ while they get calmed down.  Do it each time it happens and they will begin to learn their biting displeases you.

As a side note, try not to grab them and drop them on the floor or elsewhere out of fear, because they will associate biting with being set down or let go and may begin to bite when they want you to set them down, creating a Fer-Terrier .

Remember to treat you Ferret with love and kindness, keep him properly socialized with his human counterparts, teach him right from wrong and you will have a loving, friendly & happy pet that will bring joy to you and your family for many years.