Why Baby Ferrets Bite

My baby ferret bites! Why? Welcome to Part 1: Why Baby Ferrets Bite of our 3 part series on ferret biting.

If you are already well versed on why your ferret may be biting, feel free to skip to Part 3: How to Stop Ferret Biting.

One of the most common questions we receive at The Modern Ferret is how to train a ferret not to bite. Unfortunately, many ferrets are abandoned because they have a problem with biting. Lucky for you, teaching a ferret not to bite is a relatively easy process with a little training and a lot of patience!

In this article, we will provide you with important insight into why your new baby ferret is acting up.

First thing’s first. Let’s assess the situation.

Is Your Ferret a Kit or an Adult?

There are multiple reasons your baby ferret bites. The first question to ask is ‘how old is my ferret’? An adult ferret may be biting for a very different reason than a kit (baby).

Why Baby Ferrets Bite

Just like we learned in Chapter 2: What Do Ferrets Eat? (The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide), ferrets are carnivores just like dogs and cats. And just like puppies and kittens, ferrets are especially nippy as kits (babies).

Baby ferrets bite due to two main reasons:

1. Baby Teeth
2. Learning Bite Inhibition

Baby Ferrets Bite Because of Milk Teeth

If you purchase a ferret at a pet store, chances are they are 2-3 months of age. This is around the time that ferrets are losing their ‘milk teeth’ (baby teeth) and replacing them with their permanent adult teeth. Your baby ferret bites because their mouth hurts. This discomfort will cause a baby ferret to want to chew on just about anything -including their owner! The same is true for dogs and cats.

Fun Fact: Rodents do not lose baby teeth like carnivores do. They only have one set of teeth their entire lives, from birth. Because ferrets lose baby teeth just like dogs and cats, this is another way to tell that ferrets are not rodents at all!

Baby Ferrets Bite Because of Bite Inhibition

Next, if your ferret is a kit, they are still learning something called Bite Inhibition. This is when a baby ferret’s mother and siblings teach each other about what is acceptable and what is too rough when it comes to biting.

If a ferret is taken away from his mother and siblings at too young of an age, he misses out on a crucial life lesson. Sadly, this is often the case for big pet retailers like Petco. Though it is not ideal, you are completely capable of making up for lost time and putting your little fuzzbutt through Bite Training School!

Is your ferret past the kit phase and still nipping? Check out Part 2: Why Adult Ferrets Bite – and find out the 6 reasons your ferret is biting.