Hi, Cheryl,
 
I can relate to your roommate.  When my roommate, Summer, bought her first
ferret, I didn't want pets.  Now *I* own five ferrets, and Summer's
brother, who is my current roommate, is taking care of the three she had.
We have eight ferrets at home now, and I never dreamed this would happen.
I couldn't be happier, BTW.
 
To answer a couple of your questions:
 
>the male bit hime when Greg picked him up..  could this be because he has
>been neglected?
 
Yes it could, or that nobody took the time to nip train the little guy, or
because he was scared of this new person picking him up.  A little love,
attention, and nip training will likely solve this problem, but it may take
time, patience, and a few more bites.  Is Greg familiar with how to nip
train a ferret?
 
>how do I introduce the new ones to my two babies so there are fewer probs?
 
You need to understand that the ferrets will wrestle and fight until a
pecking order is established.  It is *normal* for ferrets to try and
establish dominance over one another, then turn around and play well
together and sleep snuggled together.  So long as none of them draw blood
on each other, let the ferrets sort it out amongst themselves.  It'll work
out fine in most cases.
 
At first, you will probably want to keep the two groups in separate cages,
and introduce them slowly.  Swap bedding between the cages to get them used
to each other's smells.  Some ferrets will get on great right from the
start, while with others it will take some time.  You will have to judge
how well (or poorly) they are getting on in order to decide when they can
become one big happy business.  So far we have had no problems introducing
new fuzzies, but it does happen, and sometimes they never get along, but
most often they do.
 
>also I think the new ones are a Jill and a hob, what precautions should I
>take with them?
 
If they are not neutered and spayed, that is the first thing I'd do.  If
they are fixed, that shouldn't be a problem.
 
It's great when roommates both have ferrets.  Today Keith has to work, so I
let the eight weasels out to play, and he does the same when he's around
and I can't be.  They get more supervised play time than either of us could
give by ourselves, and I believe that the less they are stuck in a cage,
the happier they are.  If I'm sick or out of town, Keith makes sure my
ferrets get their time, and I do the same for him.  It works out great.
 
Good luck!  Ferret math is loads of fun.
 
Take care,
Caity
 
________________________________________________
Caitlyn M. Martin                                     [log in to unmask]
http://www.caitys-world.com
 
"Good grief, man!  It's as simple as Einstein's special
theory of relativity!"
         - Dr. Who, as portrayed by Jon Pertwee
________________________________________________
[Posted in FML issue 2587]