ferrets tend to be nippy when they are kits(babies).
they dont bite maliciously, its just the way they play.
when they bite eachother it doesnt hurt them, because they
have very tough skin. they will often seem vicious when playing,
even draging eachother by the ear, but its all fun to them.
the trick is to make it clear to them that you are NOT another ferret,
and scold them when they do bite. the only safe and effective way is
to scuff their neck as you would a puppy or kitten. after some struggling
they will finally give up and breath a sigh of resignation. just remember
to pet them after, just to let them know you dont hate them. i cant stress
how important that is, since if you only scold them, they will just learn to fear
and avoid you. oh yeah, the magic word is "NO!!!!" not "dont do that" or "cut it out" just "NO!!!". eventually they will know what it means...however they will often choose to ignore you
so long as you get them past the nipping faze, you should have no problems with biting...unless they are sick or in pain, in which they will clamp down on you, so its good to check on them before you just reach your hand down and
pick them up. also, some tend to get spooked by certain smells and bite. when filming that 'along came polly' movie, ben stiller had a ferret clamp down
on his lip, and drew blood...turns out he just had dental work done, and for some reason, ferrets get creeped out by the smell (novacane?).
as far as the smell, its all about cleaning up after them. if you leave a cats litter box unkept, or forget to let your dog out, your home will smell like festering shit...same with ferrets. they do let out a slight musty smell which some find offensive, but other than that, they really dont stink.
as for me, i have 2 ferrets. a boy and a girl. the girl i got first and she is the devil incarnate (i still love her though
). training her was near-impossible and when i say "NO" she hears "GO". the truth is that female ferrets are tougher to keep under control, as they have a stronger tendency to explore,
and just allaround misbehave. after her, i bought a male ferret, who is just an absolute angel. he never bit me, rarely misses the litter pan, is content with NOT climbing on every piece of furniture and crawling into every single crack and crevice in my home. so for a beginner, i would DEFINATELY recommend a male. they are much bigger than the females, but they are far more docile and affectionate in general.
oh yeah MOST IMPORTANT: ferrets know the EXACT wrong place to be at the EXACT wrong time and naturally choose to be there. when you go to sit down on the couch they will be right there under your ass. when you close a closet door they will be hanging out in the door jam. it sounds like paranoia but its true. so ALWAYS keep your eye on them, or there will be tragedy.
btw ill post pics of my kids when i can
they're not?
My brave dachshund was trying to eat it last month 
