To Melissa and Easel:
 
After having had up to nine ferrets in one house, I think I can offer some
insights on ferret introductions (though I never did introduce those nine
all around :).  Ferrets need to establish a pecking order.  It may seem
vicious to us, but this is the process they go through to set up a community
among themselves.  Sometimes it's no more than butt-sniffing.  More often
it's good hearty wrestling and chasing.  Sometimes (as is the case with our
Mithril and all Strange People and Animals) it involves biting hard enough
to draw blood.  When we introduced Mithy to the boys, we just mixed 'em up
and let 'em go at it.  There was a lot of squealing, and I confess I rescued
my baby Sebastian a couple of times.  Both the boys ended up with scabs on
their necks, but it was a bigger deal to me than them.  In the end, I never
did quite figure out who ended up at the top of the pecking order because
the fighting stopped suddenly, and there hasn't been a whiff of a dominance
display since then.
 
Since Easel is handicapped and a bit skittish, I recommend letting her
wrestle with the incumbents for a few minutes a day under supervision.
Maybe you can do it in a small room so they can bite her neck without too
much chasing?  Once they get past these introductions, I'm willing to bet
that they will become affectionate, possible even maternal toward her.  Good
luck!
 
How many ferrets to get?
 
I have three and I would say that is enough for any family where most people
work a lot.  I wouldn't get more than three if you are a student, have small
children, travel a lot, or have any other committments that would interfere
with your obsession with ferrets.  <G> The cleaning up is a big issue.
Ferrets are said to evacuate every three hours, so if you do the arithmetic,
that's eight eliminations per ferret, per day.  Try to decide how many of
these you want to clean up.  And remember that some of these will be
diabolically hidden every day.  Two is a pretty easy number to handle.  One
is very easy, but as they say, an only ferret is a lonely ferret.  Also
consider medical costs--not just vaccinations, but emergencies.  The more
ferrets you have, the more likely it is you'll get nailed with a big vet
bill.  You don't want to have to choose between selling your car and saving
your ferret's life.
 
And finally, a cute observation:
 
We frequently take the ferrets on trips with us, especially to "Grandma's"
where they are given waaayy too many raisins and bananas and dates and
watermelon and cantaloupe and...and... Well, I noticed that when I got the
travel basket out Saturday and said "Sebastian, Mortimer, come on!  Let's go
to Grandma's!" they woke up from a sound sleep and crawled into the basket
where it sat on the floor.  Mithril hasn't been with us as long, so I don't
think she's made the connection.  How cute!  Mortimer did the same thing
when we said "Come on Mortier.  Let's go see the nice vet lady!" He hopped
right in the basket.
 
Mortimer update: He has surgery today.  We'll know better what's wrong with
that kidney by the end of the day.
 
Bests,
Catherine
[Posted in FML issue 1673]