I have a baby ferret and need some advice from people with expertise in this field
2006-08-17 02:24:00 · 10 answers · asked by gaspiman 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Do NOT flick a ferret in the nose or hurt it in any other way EVER. Geesh!! Doing so will only get your ferret to associate the human hand with pain and most likely get it to bite worse, besides, though ferrets skin is some of the toughest around they are easily injured due to their slight built. So please DON'T!!
I adopted two males to go along with my two females in May and one, 3 1/2 month old Bart, was a biter. He bit hard, though never drawing blood. First off, I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck just like his mother would have and I looked him straight in the face and very loudly and sternly said "NO BITE!!" Some people advised me to look him in the eyes, but that doesn't work with him, because he closes his eyes when he's scruffed, as do most ferrets. After I "hollered" the command at him I dragged him across the carpet or the couch a couple of times. It doesn't hurt him and it's what dominant ferrets do to their subs, like youngsters. As soon as he quit the biting I praised him and sometimes he got a treat. He would soon forget and try again, so I had to repeat, ,many times. It didn't take but a few weeks before I saw improvement in his behavior though. He only play bites now, never clamps down and when it gets a little too intense I just have to holler NO BITE and he remembers. He's very excitable, being that he's so young, so I have to read his mood before we start playing and I make sure that I don't get him more wound up when he's already in overdrive. I found a toy called the "Kitten Mitten" online, Walmart carries it too now. It's a glove with long, extended fingers, pompoms on each finger with bells in those. Whenever he got too excited to be able to concentrate on training I used the kitten mitten to wear him out a little bit. He listens better once he got some of that energy out of him.
If all this doesn't work well for you you may have to step it up a notch and that would be "time out". Use a small carrier and confine him for a few minutes at a time, after you tried the "no bite" method a couple of times. Do not leave him in there too long, because he'll just go to sleep. Let him out and if he doesn't bite you when he comes out, praise him and give him a treat.
Patience, consistence and positive reinforcement turned my little Bart into the smartest most interactive ferret I have. He now knows how to roll over, sit up, jump through a hoop and dive for treats on command. Good luck to you, hope this helped.
PS: make sure you know the difference between actual bites and play bites. Ferrets will nip at you to invite you to play or to get you to pay attention to them when they want something or just because. Play bites or nips are never intended to injure therefore the ferret does not clamp down and never breaks skin. Ferret skin is tough and the little guys do not know that our skin is not.
2006-08-17 03:24:15 · answer #1 · answered by Huh? 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I have two ferrets and they are 6 years old now.
here is a website for u to help u train ur young ferret.
http://www.everythingferret.com/training_your_ferret.htm
I used a ferret manual and followed t he tips in it and it worked , The main thing is Patience to train.........
Read this website link and it will really help u. Good luck
Flicking the ferret on the nose will work depending on the ferret, but some ferrets will react by making them bite more. The flicking worked on one of mine and not the other. ALL ferrets are differant and some have to be trained differantly.
2006-08-17 02:44:37 · answer #2 · answered by badgirl41 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
do no longer bathe them too often (as quickly as each and every 3 months or so at maximum) they say that ferrets will produce greater oils after being bathed...greater scent. No ferret is ever a hundred% clutter experienced. I even have 2 clutter boxes in my ferrets cage, besides as 3 of their play room. in case you will locate the place they are going, positioned a clutter container in that spot. once you clean the pans, do no longer clean them too sturdy. you nevertheless choose the ferret to have the skill to sniff the place he has long gone. yet do clean rather nicely the place he's no longer think to pass (desire that's clever)
2016-09-29 09:03:46 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I just got a ferret a few months ago and he would not stop biting me. I bought some Bitter Apple. Every time he would bite I would get a Q-tip and spray some bitter apple on it and put it in his mouth. He hates it and now he does not bite. If I show him the bottle he starts going crazy. It works.
2006-08-17 02:56:06 · answer #4 · answered by Daveana D 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Everytime it bites you or another person, flick it on the nose.
There noses are very sensitive and they dont like it at all. They usually learn fairly quickly to stop doing whatever it is that results in the flicking.
2006-08-17 02:35:57 · answer #5 · answered by urbanbulldogge 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You can't... it comes normaly for a ferret to bite things, including the hand that feeds it.
2006-08-17 02:29:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The nose is very true. I had a ferret and it bit me and drew blood. I popped her nose and she never bit me again.
2006-08-17 02:42:37 · answer #7 · answered by mjtsimmons 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Watch what cologne/perfume you are wearing, and what soap you wash with. The fruity scents may cause them to bite. This has happened to me in the past.
2006-08-17 03:17:34 · answer #8 · answered by My world 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Wrap some duck tape around its entire head. I garuntee it will not bite you for the rest of its life.
2006-08-17 02:29:49 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Flick the nose is good...or squirt with water. or confine in cage and ignore....they hate that...
2006-08-17 02:54:49 · answer #10 · answered by Charlotte 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋