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Ferret Introductions
Ferret Introductions
by
Ferrets of New England .com

When bringing home a new member of the family, it is important to remember that you may be in love with your new kit but preexisting animals my not.  It is not uncommon for an animal to exhibit jealousy over the time you are devoting to this intruder.  Hopefully this will give you some ideas what to watch out for and how to deal with issues if they come up.

Most owners seem very sensitive to whether their dog or cat may have issues with the new ferret and often ask for ways to introduce them.  I think most people understand that a dog or cat could hurt a ferret and that they should never be left alone together.  What I wish to address is how your other ferret(s) will deal with a new member.  

We all know how much ferrets love to have one or more playmates and really seem  to need the company.  Often when a playmate dies the owner rushes out to find their sad buddy a new friend.    Younger ferrets 2 years old and under general seem less bothered by the addition of new ferrets than older animals.  This is very true in the case of a pair of ferrets and one dies.  Often they are older and a concerned owner runs out to find a replacement after reading about how ferrets can die of loneliness.  Unfortunately this does not always go well.  The owner may be taken with their new kit but often times the older ferret is not.  Sometimes every thing goes as planned and they get along great; but if you do have trouble here are some tips.


Do not expect everyone to sleep together and share a cage. Your older ferret may have only had to share their stuff with one other ferret and may not enjoy having a stranger just moved into there home.  Remember when you bring your kit home they may never get along well enough to share a cage there are no guarantees that their personalitaes will mesh. Most of the time it works out just fine but have a secondary cage ready for you new kit just in case.  

Start the introductions by just letting them sniff each other. If that goes well let them meet in a neutral are like a play pen.  They will get excited jump around and get crazy. Sometimes it is hard to tell whether they are getting along.  Look at the tail; if the hair is standing straight out like a bottle brush then they are nervous, scared and not relaxed. As long as they are not hurting each other, drawing blood or locking onto each other and not letting go, then give them time to figure things out on their own.  If they seem to want to get away from the other ferret, give them some separate time in their own cages.  You can always try again later.

I have seen this process take a matter of minutess (instant best friends) or months and permanent separate cages.  Every ferret is different you can not force them to like each other but they should be able to tolerate being out at play time together.  Take your time and if they do not get along like best buddies think of how you would feel if some one just dumped a  stranger on you and said, now play nice.

Luckily ferrets typically get along really well together. They do so well that we tend to forget that this could happen and are very surprised and sometimes at a loss of what to do.  Hopefully this will help.