Debbie asked: >Was wondering how many of you have odd number of ferret's and how they got >along? Meaning 3,5,7,9,11. Also, I have heard most ferret's get along >fine when introduced. Did anyone have a real hard time in introducing >new ferret's and if so, how long did it take before they all got along? I have 3. I was told and I agree that 3 is a good number because ferrets tend to get very attached to each other and if one dies the other 2 will still have each other. (ok so it is a rationalization but it worked on my roomate) I will not add anymore permanent ferrets to my group due to the fact that I had so many problems integrating my last one. The integration of Footsie and Oakley was fine. They accepted each other without problems. The knightmare came when I brought Lance home. Oakley set out to kill him and I do mean kill him and we had to keep Footsie and Lance with seperate run times from Oakley. It was terrible. Fur and skin ripped off if Oakley found Lance, polysporin and hydrogin peroxide. Oakley ripped out a nail twice. My house was not fun during this time which lasted 4 months. During this time I posted to the FML. Everyone was very nice in giving me ideas but nothing worked. I talked to ferret friends and only one came up with a solution that in hindsight, and with what I know now, was probably a very good idea but at the time I dismissed it because I thought it was too simple to work. Sorry Paige! After 4 months of this insanity in my house (and my ferrets free roam by the way so they were not anymore) I fostered a ferret named Gadget. Against my usual policy I let Gadget up to play with my kids. Occasionally, Oakley got out when Gadget was around and he would display the same behaviours with Gadget that he had been with Lance. The day Gadget was adopted, it was very hectic at my house and I had not noticed until I got back that the door to Oakley's room had been left open. With my heart pounding in my chest and thoughts of Lance dead, I frantically searched my home for him. I found Lance and Oakley curled up in a drawer together....sleeping. It seems that the appearance of another ferret in my home took the attention away from Lance and made he and Oakley aligned in Oakley's mind and now Gadget had become the enemy. Until Oakley is gone (which I hope is not for a long long time) I will stick with the 3 I have. It seems to work well in our home anyway. They all like each other now, they all play and sleep together and I don't want to disrupt this harmony. [Posted in FML issue 2648]