We've had two little girls for five years - they're litter mates and always
been together.  About 10 days ago, we added a little 11 week old girl to
the mixture as a playmate for the second-in-command ferret.  She is much
more lively than her dominate counterpart.  Interestingly enough, the
second-in-command ferret sees her as an interloper so we have the usual
dominance battle going on.
 
The older ferret is not breaking skin, etc., she grabs the new one by the
base of the neck or throws herself on her but is not hurting the new one.
The younger is so terrified she yips or hisses anytime either ferret comes
near her.  Lately she's gone to "fear pooping." We were expecting some
battling but the new ferret's fear is discouraging.
 
We have separate cages and a small amount of overlapping playtimes.
Otherwise they play separately - I don't want to stress either ferret.
We've tried ferretone on the neck, vanilla on the nose, switching bedding,
supervising playtime in a small room, giving them treats together and just
about anything else we could think of.
 
Anyone have any suggestions?  Are we on the right track?  How long is this
going to go on?  Any vets or shelter folks with ideas on how we can improve
the situation would be appreciated.
 
Thanks!
 
Jo Pope
[Posted in FML issue 2994]