>I love that low necked, flat headed glare I get every time I start
>shampooing the ferret.  There are so many messages in that look... all
>of them making it very clear they're going to get even with you.
 
Funny--ours just give us imploring looks--like, "Mom, I thought you loved
me... please, please, please don't hurt me like this."  It's heartbreaking,
but we harden our hearts and scrub, clip, and otherwise groom away.  One or
two of the older ones, especially our personal ferrets as opposed to the
rescues, do a wonderful look of resignation.  No one glares, though.
 
In regards to introducing two (or more) ferrets and hoping to keep blood
from flying... well, we've found that the biggest problems are usually
older female ferrets--any female over the age of 3 or so.  The younger
girls, especially under 10 months or so, and the boys, are generally pretty
accepting ("Oh, a new friend.  Will you play with me?  Look, this is where
I put the remote control"), while a few get somewhat dominant ("I'll be
your friend if you'll do what I say").  Our older males get a little
grouchy with the younguns, but not to the point of doing more than snapping
if they come too close.  There are, of course, exceptions to all
this--these critters have intensely individual personalities.  These are
just tendencies I've noticed.  Anyway, keeping these in mind, try to accept
that your ferrets are going to need to work things out for themselves.  An
older dominant female will almost always "attack" a younger female, or
another older one.  Unless one seems genuinely scared or hurt, let them
work it out.  They're usually fine after a few days or at least weeks.
Of course, if anyone's getting hurt or freaked out (we've had a problem
recently with one dominant older girl and two three-month-olds who are
terrified of her), try keeping them apart but near enough to see and smell
each other.  It can take time and effort for them to get used to each
other, but they almost always do.  (In our case, when the babies get a
little bigger and realize they can fight back.)
 
Ferrets almost never (emphasis on the almost) hurt each other to the point
of needing veterinary care.  Their behavior isn't all that different from
the posturing of dogs--or people.
 
Lastly, on caging ferrets: we have several cages.  A couple of them
actually close occasionally.  Most of the time, the ferrets are confined
to one room, which they seem to think of as a large cage with windows.
Sometimes they get to wreck the house, just for fun.  And I found a baby
gate at Wal-mart for $20 that I laminated with packing tape... I originally
made the mistake of using duct tape, but they can climb that.  :-) As for
the older ferrets not needing cages, we've had quite a few older ones take
up residence in our bedroom.  They sleep in the underwear drawer or
wherever, and have plenty to eat and all that.  They don't go far, and our
presence at night usually seems to comfort them.  While I agree that a cage
is a basic necessity, we don't usually lock ours into them.  Their room is
as safe as a room can get, with blankets and tubes all over the floor.  Fun
place for us, too...
 
Jen and the Crazy Business
[Posted in FML issue 2802]