Hello -
 
My wife posted a question to this list a few days ago - I'm not sure if
she's gotten any responses, but I thought I'd post my observations too.
 
We got Stella (a female, who has since been neutered) last summer when
she was about 8-10 weeks old.  We originally kept her caged at night,
and let her roam freely while we were around.  We retired her cage after
a few months.
 
Occasionally, Dina and I go out of town and _can't_ take her with us -
what we usually do is leave her at home and have a friend stop by to feed
and play with her.  We have considered getting another ferret for a long
time so that she'll have a playmate.  Last Sunday, we got a ten month
old neutered female and brought her home.
 
The new ferret (Dookie Bear) is quite a bit larger than Stella - almost
twice as heavy.
 
Unlike Stella, Bear has been kept in a cage most of her life, and only
allowed to wander under supervision.  She comes from a home with other
pets, and did not seem to have any problems with them.  We've had to
re-introduce Stella to her cage since bringing Bear home - but she seems
to handle that just fine.
 
What concerns me is that I'm not sure they're getting along - Stella
seems frightened of Bear.  The few times we've let them both out of
thier cages at the same time, one will usually chase the other behind
the couch where a fight always breaks out.  I last let them out together
day before yesterday, and while trying to break them up, one of them bit
me hard enough to draw blood.  Stella almost always ends up spraying
during these wrestling matches - Bear only has once to my knowlege - and
that was the first time they met.
 
I suspect that they are trying to establish dominance - but I'm worried
that they might be hurting each other.
 
For now, we're keeping them in separate cages, but within sight and
sniffing distance of each other.  We only let one out at a time, and we
will occasionally switch cages so they can get accustomed to each
other's smells.
 
Is there anything else we can do?  Is this normal behavior for neutered
females?
[Posted in FML issue 1179]