Tips on Introducing Your Ferret(s) to a New Ferret

So, you have one wonderful ferret at home and you have decided to give him or her a new buddy. While most kits will get along with one another with few problems, introducing an adult ferret to another ferret can be challenging, especially if the ferret is used to being an "only ferret." Below I have listed some tips on how to go about introducing your ferret to a new ferret family member.

1. Keep your ferret and the new ferret caged separate (and in different rooms) for a few weeks after you bring the new ferret home. You want to make sure your new ferret is healthy and not carrying any diseases or parasites that could infect your current ferret.

One common illness that ferrets can pass on to one another is ECE. This disease causes green "mucusy" diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy and weight loss. Veterinary care is required for recovery in most cases due to extreme weight loss and dehydration. Quite often, a ferret will come down with this disease after being introduced to a new ferret or kit. The new ferret may not show any signs of illness. Unfortunately, once infected, a ferret can carry this disease and spread it to other ferrets for six months or longer. The infected ferret may show no signs of being ill at all.

Although you may not be able to prevent your ferret from catching ECE from a new ferret, a two week quarantine period can help keep your ferret from catching anything else from the new ferret. If the new ferret shows any signs of illness in the first couple of weeks, contact the pet store or shelter and/or take your new ferret to the vet . Always find out from the pet store or shelter if your new ferret comes with a certificate of health or warranty.

2. After the quarantine period, put your new ferret's cage right next to your current ferret's cage. This will allow them to get used to each other and each other's scent. It is not a good idea to just throw both ferrets in the same cage together, especially if your ferret is not used to interacting with other ferrets. This could lead to fighting and two very stressed out ferrets. Take some of the bedding from the new ferret's cage and place it in your current ferret's cage (and put your current ferret's bedding in the new ferret's cage). This will help the ferrets get used to each other's scent.

3. Only let the new ferret and your current ferret interact under your direct supervision. Let them sniff each other and check each other out. Don't be surprised if they start to wrestle. Ferrets do have a pecking order in their social groups. Wrestling helps establish each ferret's place in the group. One ferret will usually bite the other ferret by the scruff and try to drag him or her across the floor (after much tumbling and twisting). This is usually done with a lot of vocalizing and hissing. The ferret who is constantly being dragged will usually be the submissive ferret and the one doing all the dragging is the "alpha ferret." However, social status can change with continued wrestling over time. Don't separate the ferrets while wrestling unless one is drawing blood or one seems a bit too stressed out. Signs of a stressed out ferret include diarrhea, loss of appetite, ulcers, black tarry stool (needs vet attention), screaming and constantly trying to get away from the other ferret. If this is the case, limit their playtime together until things smooth out (for example, only let them interact for fifteen minutes or so together at a time). Hopefully, things will balance out as they get used to one another and they will start playing for longer periods of time without incident.

4. Take your time with the introduction. Don't expect your current ferret to just "get along" with the new ferret right off the bat. Introductions can only take a few days in some cases, however in other cases introductions can take months. Ferrets have individual personalities and respond to each other in different ways. If your current ferret has been an only ferret for years, he or she may see a new ferret as a threat or an intruder and it may take a long time for your ferret to adjust to the situation. If your current ferret is elderly (four or more years of age) and/or is suffering from a medical condition, a new kit may be too energetic and rough for your elderly ferret to handle. Baby ferrets can be annoying to older or sick ferrets. You may have to limit their interaction until the baby ferret grows up a bit and mellows out. Always have two cages available just in case your new ferret and current ferret don't get along (or in case one becomes ill).

5. Give your current ferret lots of attention and praise during the introduction of the new ferret. Your current ferret may feel left out or jealous if you are spending lots of time with the new ferret. If your current ferret is used to being an only ferret, he or she may resent the fact that your attention is now divided. This could lead to depression or stress (yes, ferrets can get depressed). Give your current ferret individual attention and playtime with you. When both ferrets are out together, give your current ferret an extra treat or two. You want your ferret to feel secure in his or her place in your family and not feel left out.

6. To help your current ferret bond with the new ferret, try putting some Linatone or Ferretone on the new ferret's head. Then, while holding both ferrets, let your ferret lick the Ferretone off of the new ferret's head.   Then, put some Ferretone on your current ferret's head and let the new ferret lick the Ferretone off. This exercise encourages grooming behavior. It also helps them to get over their scent differences- Ferretone is a universal good scent to most ferrets!

7. Sometimes, you may run into a situation where one of your ferrets takes on the role of the "bully" and decides to terrorize your other ferret. This can make introductions a long and difficult process. If this situation arises, don't cage the ferrets together when you are not home to supervise their interaction. During a "terrorist attack," try to deter the bully ferret by scruffing him or her and gently dragging him or her across the floor for a few feet. With this exercise, you are telling the bully ferret that YOU are the "alpha ferret" and that he or she cannot get away with picking on the other ferret. You may have to do this several times before the behavior stops. Only cage the bully with your other ferret when they start playing and sleeping together outside of the cage.

8. In rare instances, ferrets just may not get along at all. If your ferrets are still not comfortable with one another after several months, you may just have to keep them separated. This is especially true in cases where one ferret is constantly picking on another ferret and is drawing blood during their interaction. There is a difference between play wrestling and fighting. During play wrestling or "mock fighting" the ferrets will not injure one another. When ferrets fight, blood with be drawn. Always separate your ferrets and check them over for puncture marks or scratches if they appear to be fighting.

9. Invent creative games all three of you can play. When our ferret Ginger was not getting along with our new ferret Ed, I had to get creative. Ed would bully Ginger to the point were she would literally leave the room if Ed entered the room. One morning, I placed both of them in the bathtub with a long flexible play tube and several plastic cups filled with water (I knew that they loved to knock over drink glasses). As Ed knocked over the cups of water, Ginger would run over to take a drink and get her paws wet. Before long, they were chasing each other through the play tunnel and splashing in paw deep water. My duty was to trickle a little bit of water out of the faucet each time one of them went underneath it!   After they got out of the tub, they were so busy drying off that they forgot to fight with one another. This particular bath tub game became a morning and evening ritual for the three of us. The game really helped teach the two of them how to interact and have fun together (it took them six months to become best buddies due to their age difference).

10. Finally, once your ferrets are playing together outside of the cage and are curling up to sleep together outside of the cage, they can probably be caged together. To prepare them for this change, try caging them together for brief periods of time when you are home to supervise their interaction. Start putting their toys together in one cage to see how your ferrets' react. If they seem comfortable, than it is probably okay to start caging them together while you are away. Just keep an ear out for sounds of ferret fighting and periodically check them over for signs of injury. Once your ferrets get to this stage, congratulations! You should now be prepared to laugh endlessly with all of the silly things they will do together.

Written by Mahri
EverythingFerret.com

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