Hi, all! Well, it looks like ferret math is being contemplated and I need some advice. First, a general call to action -- I live in Lincoln, NE, and we are willing to drive pretty far (a day trip -- *maybe* even stay overnight) to get our new adoptee. (And we do want to adopt rather than buy -- there are too many homeless furbabies out there!) We want to make sure we make the right choice and find the one special baby who will get along great with our other three. So does anyone know of any fuzzies up for adoption in our region? Now to the advice part. We currently have Xena, Gabrielle, and Bear. All three will be a year old this summer. Xena and Gabrielle are litter-mates and have never been apart -- we got them as kits. Bear is a rescue we got in December. He is a big boy and plays very hard, but he is a sweet baby. Bear and Gabrielle bonded very tightly and Xena is sort of odd ferret out now, which makes me sad for her! She's never been very social, but she was very attached to Gab prior to Bear's arrival. So.... we need advice on what kind of a ferret to get. Does sex matter? Will three girls and one boy be a bad combo? What about two of each? What about disposition? We want a ferret who is sweet and affectionate and relatively docile (I just don't think it would be a good idea to add another rough player into the group, and I really don't want to have to nip-train another adult -- Bear is a sweet, wonderful baby, but I have scars!). However, we need a fourth fuzzy who is capable of holding his/her own with Bear, who does play roughly, and who won't be terribly upset and stressed over this kind of play. Thoughts? Advice? Any help would be greatly appreciated. -Tasha, Belinda, the Ferret Patrol and the Kitty Brigade! "It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this." -- Bertrand Russell [Posted in FML issue 1931]