Welcome oneilleanna

[huronna]

Glad you could join us.
I live in Florida and have been owned by ferrets since 1984....a very long time.
Right now I only have two little loves, Scout and Powder
We adopted them from a cat and dog shelter almost three years ago.
We just love them to bits.

[Deleted]

I have one ferret, I've named him Dipper...

I got him two days ago off a breeder who had 'no use' of him, and was going to drown him.

He was £40 because of his dark colour, they also flicked him on the nose so hard it made him squeal... He said 'this is how you train him'

I won't ever, ever hurt him. At least not on purpose, I just need as much help as possible teaching him not to be so nippy. He is apparently 12 weeks old and has drawn blood a few times when he's got hold of me.

Any help would be great, thank you in advance!

[Deleted]

Oh and were in the UK!

[huronna]

Sounds like that breeder needs to be drowned.
That is never the way to train a ferret, you can do more harm that way.
He squealed because they hurt him.
You are going to need lots of patience and love but I think in the end you will succeed.

I help support FACT and here is an article they have about biting.
ferretassn.org/ferret-information/behavior/biting/

I have had two ferrets that were biters, both it turned out had bad health problems.
The first had Juvenile aggressive lymphoma and it turned out he was having a hard time breathing and was in discomfort all the time, especially if I tried to hold him.
The other was not a biter until one day she had a blockage in her intestine. she had been chewing on one of the new blankies I had gotten her. She went one day from sweetness to a raging lion...on the attack. After surgery she was fine again.

I'm sure others will come in with some ideas for you besides this article. What ever you do, hitting is not the solution.
You can use a bitter solution on your hands when you try to pick him up and if he tries to bit the taste may stop him.

I have been bitten many many times over the past 30 years. Mostly when I have been plyaing with them as they play very rought with each other and think my skin is as tough as their cousins. It isn't I bleed.

Let us know how you keep on

[huronna]

Oh the color of your ferret is sable. Back when I started with ferrets that was the only color except for a rare albino.
of course now there is so much interbreeding to get all these wild colors.

[dee517]

Welcome to Ferret oneilleanna

[dee517]

Your baby is beautiful. It sounds like you have a lot of work gaining Dipper's trust that you are not going to hurt him. He has been trained that he will be hurt so he thinks that he needs to hurt you first.
I got my first ferret in 1997. She was a biter and I had no idea how to get her to stop. She did not like to be held. When she would bite me, I refused to put her down until she calmed down. I had scruff her for a minute of two. That is the way a mother trains her kits. She finally decided that I was not going to hurt her and she stopped biting me. I had a few others over the years that nipped but never for long. Once they learn that they were loved.
I am down to one ferret.  His name is Zeus.  He had his sixth birthday June 15th. He is spoiled  rotten because we love him so much. He is a big gentle boy. He changes his coat every time he sheds. We take lots of pictures so we always have one that looks like him now.  These are all Zeus.



 

[smokeyoshi]

Dipper is lovely. Nice of his breeder to ask 40 quid for a ferret he had no use for.
Baby ferrets nip and will bite if not trained. We also have a 12 week old who is learning. He gets a loud NO BITE and put on the floor, and we stop playing with him, when he get too rough. If he persists, He goes into a carrier for some time out. We try not to use his cage for punishment.

We have 7 total. we know that 4 are 4 years old, 1 may be 4 or older, and the other is about 3. Together we've had 26 in 10 years

[Dar24]

One thing to remember a kit at 12 weeks old is in the middle of their "teething" stage.. it's all about training right now.. you need to find a way to play with him that builds positive results.. We use a stuffed toy for wrestling.. that way the kit can chomp on the toy not you..lol Also, it's all about being consistant.. he will learn to trust you if you are very consistant.. Every time he bites your hands or feet.. tell him not to bite.. and kits hate to be ignored.. so if you end the game and walk away he will learn very fast.. "oh if I want my Human to play I better not bite.." it takes some effort but in a few weeks you will see really great results and have a best buddy for life.. Just stick to it... your baby is just being like a puppy sinking his teeth into everything.. once he realizes you don't like that it will be down hill from there.. He is beautiful.. I believe they call his color Poley in the UK..lol