Hi Fellow Ferret Fanciers!
 
An interesting occurence I thought I'd share:
On the advice of some FMLers, plenty of pet-store staff, and lots of other
folks, I made the decision to get a buddy for Oliver (neutered male whose
first birthday is today!) Friday I brought home a sweet 8-week-old neutered
boy.  Now, let me preface this story by telling you a little more about
Oliver.  He KNOWS he is my sole reason for existance and that he is the
giver of sunshine.  Kidding aside, Ollie and I have a fabulous relationship.
He's a free-run fert.  Sleeps with me.  Jumps in the shower with me.  He's a
kisser and cuddler.  Hits the litterbox 99.9% of the time.  LOVES to go
shopping & meet people.  Can't understand when a passer-by doesn't stop, pet
him and remark what a gorgeous fert he is.  In general, people are really
impressed by his sweet disposition.  (He's not an angel, though, he DOES do
the lick-lick-chomp on rare occasions and is quite an accomplished
potted-plant digger on visits to grandmas's.) Now, on with the tale...
 
His first reaction to the new baby was a good sniff.  Then, and with some
dooking, I might add, he played with him.  I intervened a couple of times
when things appeared to get a little rough.  Then we all took a little
siesta.  When Ollie fell asleep, I put the little guy up near him.  WHen
Ollie woke up later, things changed substantially.  Ollie became very
guarded.  Trailed the little guy on his explorations.  Kept checking his
stash of toys under the dresser.  Was very distressed when the baby ate out
of HIS dish and pooped in HIS litterbox!  Started dragging baby by the ears.
Baby arrived at 10:00am and by 4:00pm.  Oliver still hadn't eaten.  Even in
a new, clean dish.  He was getting more depressed by the minute and would
hardly respond to me at all.  Normally, he comes to a whistle immediately
(99% of the time) and hardly ever refuses the opportunity for a cuddle &
kiss.  His little eyes were getting kind of glazed and everything in his
body language screamed "you don't love me anymore!".  It would not surprise
fellow ferret people, I'm sure, when I say I can easily read Ollie's
expressions.
 
So far, the baby was doing fine.  Naturally, I wasn't letting them out of my
sight.  I put in a frantic call to the pet store (very nice staff) and spoke
to a fellow I'd spoken to many times before, who has three ferts.  He calmed
me a little and told me about introducing his three.  He said, as FMLers
have said, that it is very rare for ferrets not to work things out.
 
Well, after a hellish evening and sleepless night, with improvement in
Oliver only after the baby was caged and Ollie slept with me, I made the
decision to return the baby to the store where he could find a good and
loving home.  Baby went back Saturday morning.  Thank the ferret gods, the
two littermates were still there and kissed their returning brother.  I felt
absolutely AWFUL and had to fight hard not to break down and cry right there
in the pet store.  I had become THAT sort of person - who returns baby
animals for a refund!  I was praying there was no trauma to the baby - who
is quite a kisser and was already learning the meaning of NO!  to biting.
(I was thinking of calling him Simon.) He seemed fine and I keep telling
myself that he received some valuable handling, cuddling and affection -
which I hope will be of benefit to him and his new family.
 
It's now midnight and Oliver is returning to normal.  (BTW, He has not even
ONCE looked for the baby!) Quite a relief - I was sick with worry that I'd
done irreparable damage to our relationship.  It would seem that my Ollie
does not consider himself a pet.  And he's certainly not willing to share my
affections with anyone.  (My husband left for work overseas in August and
Ollie & have become even closer since then.)
 
This is one ferret math test we aren't going to re-write.  I dunno if Oliver
is really unusual for a fert - or if he's just one of the .01% of fuzzies
that has no desire for a buddy.  (BTW, I took him into the petsore on
previous occasions to meet babies - and he showed little or no interest in
them and had to be coaxed into play.  I figured it was the confined space or
that he just wasn't in the mood.)
 
I don't know if things would have worked out if we'd tried a little longer.
I just felt that the risks of emotional trauma to Oliver and the baby were
too great and that speedy action would be the best thing.
 
Anyone else have similar stories to tell?
 
RE: Panting/gagging or "open-mouth breathing".  Every so often, Oliver seems
to go through a short spell of this.  It's not quite panting and not really
gagging - seems to be an attmept to clear his respiratory tract or a little
difficulty getting air.  Only lasts a second.  He's not distressed by it and
just carries on with whatever he's doing.  Vet can't figure out what it is.
The mystery is that it appears only about once every couple of months or
less.  Hasn't happened for a long time until tonight.  I washed his
favourite towel and dried it with a new fabric softener sheet.  Very shortly
after, he started the panting thing.  I took away the towel and replaced it
with something not freshly washed and he seemed to improve - although he did
do it a couple of more times.  He seems fine now - about an hour later.  I
first noticed this a month or so after he came to live with us.  Maybe
allergies?  asthma?  I dunno.  Could anyone shed any light on this?
 
Andrea - the human "Please gimme a kiss, Ollie.  I was only trying
to do what's best for you!"
Oliver - the fuzzie "I'm the only ferret in your life, baby."
[Posted in FML issue 1714]