I'm posting this for my ferret owning daughter who doesn't have email
access.
 
She's had her three year old ferret for going on two years now.  About three
months ago she acquired a second ferret.  The second ferret is 8 months old.
The two seem to get along okay, though the younger is the more physically
active.  Both ferrets are females.
 
The younger ferret is quite healthy and rambunctious, but recently my
daughter has noticed that the older ferret doesn't seem as healthy as she
used to.  She seems skinny and her fir isn't as glossy or full as the
younger ferret's.  In fact she says the older ferret's fir seems thin and to
be balding around the tail.  She has also noticed what she describes as
yellowish/orangish patches on her skin.  Another thing she has noticed is
what appear to be scabs or cuts around the chin, neck and chest areas.  Also
there are specs around the mouth which might be blood.  The older ferret
also seems a bit more lethargic, though still active.  The way my daughter
puts it is that the younger ferret (Misjah) seems disgustingly fat, healthy
and energetic, while the older Ferret (Jezebella) seems sickly, scrawny
(about half Misjah size) and not as peppy as she used to be.  I hope I've
included everything, because I was furiously taking it all down while
talking on the phone.  One of these days my daughter is going to have to get
email!
 
Could these symtoms be due to the stress of dealing with another bigger,
stronger and more dominating ferret?  The older ferret has always been very
mellow, while the younger is quite feisty.  My daughter said she didn't
think the younger ferret was being excessively rough, but then she can't
watch them 24 hours a day.  At the moment the ferrets are being kept
together, but she is wondering if they shouldn't be separated for a while.
Or maybe these are unrelated health problems?
 
Any ferret psychologist out there?  Advise and comments welcome.
 
Thanks,
 
cobra (from a FFZ)
[Posted in FML issue 1975]