>Does anyone know how well ferrets and chinchillas get along, or even if
>they do?
 
Not well at all, FME.  We bred chinchillas (well - we had pets that
sometimes had a baby or two) and we had two ferrets.  Their cages were
close to each other (the ferrets in the bathroom - free roam in a LARGE
bathroom) and the chins were in the hallway in their cages (we had 4
total - 3 males and a female).  Well the chins opened their cage somehow
and got out.  We didn't know it and we let the ferrets out in the rest of
the house.  We put them back in the bathroom and then closed the door.
About an hour later, we found the chin cage open.  We found one boy, but
not the other.  My husband (then boyfriend) looked downstairs and I looked
upstairs.  Then we opened the bathroom door.  The chin boy (Smokey) was in
there dead.  There was blood on the walls where the Smokey had jumped in
panic.  It was just horrifying.  Further examination found that Smokey was
bleeding from the nose only (had smacked himself pretty hard jumping) and
he didn't have any puncture marks on him at all.  I think the ferrets just
wanted to play with him and being that ferrets and chins are like predator
and prey, Smokey was scared literally to death.  IMO - not a good
combination.  Fine to have both creatures - but not to mingle.  Also - I
would not cage them where the chins can smell the ferrets, either.  Kind
of like having your boss read over your shoulder 24/7.
[Posted in FML issue 3296]