Ferret Dominance:
My freind has though owning many ferrets over the years and watching other
ferret groups, figured this:
 
Ferrets have ranking, one below the other, to each other
 
Ferret females and ferret males tend to concintrate on the same sex for
dominance.  It's sort of like two hierarcies.
 
But ferrets of either sex can be head ferret, and either sex ferret can
challange another ferret. IT's sorta complicated.
Like this:
f1
m2
f3
m4
f5
The ferret has to challange the ferret directly above before being taken
seriosuly for another challange, but for day to day disapline, the males
tend to keep the males in line, the females keep the females in line (and
of course head ferret rules go)
 
Babies are exempt from rankings, being tolerated by all and they cannot
challange anyone untill they are considered adults
 
Ferret rankings are more mobile than dog rankings, and can change even in
an older group of ferrets, especially if skill are similar, or a ferret is
ambicious.
 
Depression:
Unfortunatly I don't know how to help you.  Our ferret Triton also
suffered after his freind died, but he turned violent, not introspective.
Unfortunatly, we had to wait it out.  We DID find that the first ferret we
got, he beat up, but with each sucsessive ferret, he calmed down more.
 
Mel
[Posted in FML issue 2518]