Hi everyone: I have something of a dilemma going on that I could use some
help with.
 
Some of you may remember that I lost my boy Marshmallow earlier this year.
He was the alpha of my four (the other three are girls).  It goes without
saying that I miss that little guy every day, and I can tell my other
ferrets miss him too.  No one seems to have stepped up to the challenge of
being the alpha, and as a group they seem fairly fragmented.  So, I was
*contemplating* getting another male.  I realize that just because Marsh
was male doesn't guarantee another male will take the alpha role.  Anyhow,
I wouldn't be getting one for a few more months yet (I gave myself a six
month waiting period to decide if I was ready), but I had some questions
that I needed answered.  First off, I have two 4 year olds and a 3 year
old.  One of the four year olds has insulinoma, controlled with surgery
last July and meds.  She's been pretty stable since surgery (knock wood).
Would I be risking too much (ie ECE, that type of thing) by bringing in a
new ferret?  I would be destroyed if I got another ferret and ended up
losing one of the girls because of something the newbie brought in.  I know
the importance of testing for giardia, etc, and quarantines for bringing
ferrets into established colonies, but I still worry about making my
established ferrets ill.  Also, would it be too much stress on the girls
to bring in a kit?  Again, I don't want to get a kit that through nothing
other than being a baby, stresses out the girls too much.  That train of
thought makes me lean towards a single shelter ferret around a year old,
but then I worry about finding a single ferret at a shelter that would
accept 3 cagemates.  Am I overanalyzing the situation?  I'm trying really
hard to break myself of that habit when it comes to the kids.  I knew I
was overdoing it when my vet told me I worry too much.  ;-)
 
Any insight would be appreciated,
 
Laura, Gatsby, Saffy, Xena
Marshmallow at the Bridge
[Posted in FML issue 2614]