Ardith,
 
I cannot tell you his reasons for wanting 3, but I can tell you why I made
the decision to have 3.  We initially had 2 ferrets.  Apparently, they came
together to the shelter.  I had thought that 2 was the best number to have
until Zinc had an anaphylactic reaction to her distemper vaccine and had to
stay overnight at the vet clinic.  Pixie was completely disinterested in
playing.  She spent a short time looking for Zinc, but then just slept the
rest of her playtime.  She did the same thing while Zinc was recuperating
from the reaction.  Zinc wasn't herself for a while,  but once she got her
energy back, Pixie was again interested in playing.  That got me worrying
about what would happen to Pixie if Zinc went to the Bridge before her.  I
thought that having 3 would make that loss a little easier - that it would
prevent the other left behind from spiralling into depression.  I grappled
a bit with this decision as I didn't want to introduce ECE into the
household.  But after talking with my vet, we decided that it's better to
take that risk now (while they are younger and not suffering from ill
health), than later when their health may compromised and they are older.
From what I recall, older ferrets have a more difficult time getting over
ECE than younger ones.  Plus, adding a ferret after the death of the
closest mate may just be too much stress for the survivor to handle.
 
Suzanna Donahue
[Posted in FML issue 3455]