To Bill Waters and anyone else who has tried to introduce new ferrets -
 
There is a big difference in mental, emotional and physical ability between
a 6 week-old ferret and a 6 month-old ferret.  The 6 week-old is still a
very dependent infant.  At this age his life experience is limited to
knowing how to play with other 6 week-old ferrets and his mother, who was
never that rough on him.  He needs to be given time to grow up and learn the
ways of the world, so to speak.  Gradual introductions are always best in a
situation like this.  The older ferret is just going to be too rough on the
little guy - not because he wants to hurt him - but because he's playing on
a different level both physically and mentally.  It would be like expecting
a 6 month-old baby to be able to play and interact in the same capacity as a
6 year-old child.  They're simply not compatible based on their individual
physical abilities and emotional needs.
 
Anybody who has ever had the opportunity to observe young animals growing up
can attest to the fact that there are different stages in their development.
In my 25 years of working with animals, the bulk of my experience has been
with dogs, but the stages that puppies go through are very similar to that
which baby ferrets go through.  From birth to ~3 weeks of age, baby ferrets
have one goal - that is to eat and stay warm.  At 3-4 weeks of age they
start to discover, through sounds and scents, that there is more to life
than the nestbox and will often follow mom to the litter box.  At 4-5 weeks
their eyes open and they get a little bolder in exploring their
surroundings, but not so bold as to take any unnecessary risks - the nestbox
is always close by.  At 5-6 weeks they are eating well on their own and no
longer really need mom for nourishment, but still need her for emotional
security.  At 6-8 weeks is when humans usually take over where mom left off.
The baby ferrets at this age are getting braver about exploring their
environment, but still tend to over-react when something startles them.  It
is up to us to guide them through this often frightening time in their
lives.  From now until ~12 weeks of age, a lot of the experiences they have
(good, bad, or otherwise) will, to a certain degree, shape their
personalities for life.  I've had good luck with teaching young ferrets to
be gentle by giving any new baby I've acquired a stuffed animal to cuddle
and wrestle with.  He/she learns to play without getting too rough - stuffed
animals just aren't very aggressive - and he's not being bullied by an older
ferret that he just can't keep up with.  At 12-16 weeks most young ferrets
have grown up a lot and can start to play on equal terms with an older
ferret.  They've attained most of their size by then and no longer have the
infant emotions of a much younger ferret.
 
Two of our adoptees went through similar situations as your two ferrets.
Mandy (I've written about her in a previous post), came to us totally scared
out of her wits by everything.  She was very young when her original owner
bought her and then just simply tossed her in a cage with 2 much older
ferrets.  She just couldn't cope, at the tender age of 6 weeks, with an 8
month-old and a 6 month-old.  She was well on her way to becoming a
fear-biter, having quickly learned that she couldn't trust anything larger
than her, by the time we got her.  A year later, she is doing very well and
is more than ready to be adopted.
 
A recent newcomer to us is Squeeky.  She was bought at the age of 6 weeks
also, and was immediately introduced to a 1 1/2 year-old female who had been
an "only child".  Now, we all know how opinionated the girls can be, and
this was no exception.  But, in Squeeky's case she became an aggressive
biter.  Squeeky doesn't wait to be dominated or bullied or even told "No"
(by humans or other ferrets), she simply bites first and asks questions
later.  I have to give credit to her original owner - she was willing to try
to make some changes with Squeeky, but her husband finally put his foot down
and insisted that she give Squeeky away.  Squeeky is going to be much harder
to re-train because she is so much older now than Mandy was when we got her
and her biting behaviour has become more firmly ingrained.
 
The point of all this?  Let's not force our babies to grow up any faster
than they are able to.  Given time and separate living quarters (at least in
the early stages of introduction), most ferrets will be able to get along
with each other without anybody having a damaged psyche to show for it.  But
keep in mind that not all ferrets are created equal - most will get along
with others, but some will simply refuse to get along and should be kept
apart to avoid stress and stress-related illness.
 
I'm not an expert on animal behavior and never claimed to be, but if I can
help anyone with a ferret-related problem, please don't hesitate to call.  I
believe in exploring all options when dealing with the problems we often
encounter with these wonderful little guys and maybe together we can come up
with a solution.
 
Jan M. Lovell - Secretary
Georgia Domestic Ferret Association - Founded in 1989
Dedicated to a Better Life for Domestic Ferrets Through Knowledge and
Understanding
770-442-5917
[Posted in FML issue 1560]