New ferret... hissing?

[Deleted]

My apologies in advance if this has been addressed elsewhere in the forums; I'm new to the HFF and I need a little advice.

My fiance and I took in a ferret from a friend of a friend; ferret's name is Trixie.  This woman is moving due to health concerns and is unable to take Trixie with her.  It was a free to a good home situation so we both agreed to try it out.  We already have one ferret named Widget who is about 10 months old.  Trixie is about 3 years old.

We introduced the ferrets to each other at the friend's house and they seemed mostly fine.  When we got Trixie home, however, she began hissing at Widget if she got within an inch of her.  Widget has not bitten her or mouthed her... just attempted to engage her in play.  Trixie comes from a single-ferret home and so does Widget.  We took Trixie in on Wednesday, gave her a bath with Widget, and have been trying to integrate them together.  We did make the mistake of initially putting Trixie into Widget's cage the first 24 hours but we got another smaller cage and remedied that on Friday.  So far the hissing has decreased but not entirely.

Trixie dooks when she plays and she's very curious and playful.  However she not only hisses at Widget but also at our shoes, the door, and toys on the ground.  She becomes submissive and cowers near Widget, however yesterday and today I was able to hold them both together in my arms with some success (ferrets touching each other).  I can tell that she has been underfed and probably under-socialized.  She is much skinnier than Widget (to the point I can feel her hip bones); her owner simply said that she had "run out" of food and put some sort of kibble into the bowl to tide her over till she could get more.  At a quick glance it appeared to be dog food (like Kibbles and Bits), so I'm not sure how much she's eaten until she came here.  She's eating and drinking relatively normally and is litter trained.  She has made no attempt to bite me or my fiance.

Definitely so far the shaking that she did before has improved to it being almost non-existent, but my fiance is still concerned about her hissing.  His theory is that she is merely tolerating Widget and is not going to be a good fit here.  I said that she needs more time than 4 days to acclimate to having a second ferret around.  Widget seems to love the idea of having a companion but appears confused as to why Trixie doesn't want to wrestle and goof around with her.  Any advice would be appreciated!

If it's any help, he and I had a ferret before that passed away at 9 years old of adrenal disease, so we're not unfamiliar with ferrets.  We're more unfamiliar with how they interact with each other.

Thanks so much!!!   (wave)

[gfountain]

My fuzzies hiss ALL.THE.TIME. Playing chase.. hiss hiss. Food fight.. hiss hiss hisssss.. Wrestling.. hiss hiss. Figuring out who's sleeping on top.. hiss hiss hiss. And they love each other.

[Heather]

You've got a good intro going here. Give it time. The hissing....may just be a mis-communication. I've got a wee boy who hisses when he's happy. Unfortunately, farm ferrets are removed before they really learn how to communicate or socialize properly. Learning proper vocalization is rarely a concern. She may or may not learn. You've got a wonderful introduction going with little to no hiccups. I would consider this to be a successful intro.
ciao

[crazylady]

Hi I agree with heather you are being very lucky if its only hissing you have to remember everything in this ferrets world has been tipped upside down new home new smells new food new friend my guess would be its simply a warning hiss the old on back off I am not ready yet hiss just give it time as heather has said and I am sure ou will end up with two happy fuzzies take care bye for now
Bev

[Deleted]

I think your intro has gone well. Trixie needs a good home and I hope you will give her a chance. I've been thru two tough intros, and your girls are doing fine. Like everyone else said, the poor little underfed girl, has had a pretty scarey few days. Ferrets also take their time making friends, but so far...No blood, no poop, no hiding, everything sounds normal.

My Mika is a hisser also. She hisses at Roamy, Juliet and Wynstan, even while she is inviting them to play. She hisses at toys, she hisses, while she is walking thru a room, she hisses at balls, who are just sitting their minding their own business. She came to us, very young and like Heather said, she left her Mother, too young and never learned all her social skills.

You will Love having two ferrets, its much easier than just one. You can play with Widget, but you can't play ferret games, sleep with her, dance the wild weasel war dance or explore hidey holes. Your girls will be fine, and if your fiance needs more convincing, put him on the forum and we will get some of our male ferrants to help ease his mind.
P.S. Its almost always the men, who worry the most, about ferret intros.

[Deleted]

Thank you for the advice! He's still hesitant about it all, but he said "we can hold onto her until we see what happens or if we can find her a better home. I'm not sure this is the best fit for her." I'm hoping he eases back. I went to take a short nap while he watched the kidlets playing and he said that Trixie is still backing down from Widget and was getting hissy again. I'm still going with my gut that if there's no blood and no major screaming then it's going fine. Is there anything I can do to help with the integration process?

[Deleted]

Since there is no major aggression, I would do a play period. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon or evening, depending on your schedule. Take a blanket and go into a large empty space, like your hallway. Waggle the blanket and wait for someone to jump on it, then pull it up and down the hallway. If No one jumps on it, put Widget on it and then pull it, while Trixie watches. Then put Trixie on it and pull it again. Make alot of fun noises and say their names alot.

One thing, that I always did, was to pick up Roamy first (he and Juliet came first in, before Mika and Wynstan). I give him the first kiss, and the first everything. Kind of like, dog owners do with the Alpha. Juliet however, is the Queen, she just wasn't aggressive with her new friends.

Another fun game is put them both in a dry bathtub, fill it with towels and blankets and sit and "help" them play. Dangle a teaser toy, wiggle the towels, and again, make lot's of fun noises and say their names alot. It's alot like teaching two toddlers to play, Mommy needs to help and make it fun.

Both Widget and Trixie were only ferrets, they will have to learn to play with another ferret. Trixie needs to  explore her new space and Widget wants to play with Trixie. So, pick them up and show them things. Turn on the faucet in a sink and let them see that, together. Open a (ferret proofed) drawer or cabinet and make a big deal of seeing what's in the cabinet. Throw a bunch of paper bags or boxes, sit on the floor and move the bags or boxes around. They will both be curious and want to see what Mommy's doing. You can also lay on the floor with a blanket and pillow and just let them wander all over you.

Just remember that Widget needs a little extra special Mommy time and Trixie needs to bond with you and your fiance. She will make friends with Widget, she needs to explore and feel safe and secure and then she will be happy, and ready to really make friends with Widget.

[Deleted]

I agree with everyone else here. I've had some pretty bad intros with no success. No blood, fear pooping, or biting with severe aggression or screaming; you have a really good thing going with Trixie and widget. I think they could be very good buddies

[mjbez]

I think that if all you have is hissing you have a beautiful start!

When I introduced Mika to my first, Kyra, there was constant hissing it seemed. Same with Bear. However, Zeke and Miya were way more challenging.
I would say hissing is expected with two ferrets new to each other, in each other's spaces. However, I think with some of the ideas already expressed, like play times they could learn to be good friends. It may take a bit of time, but be patient. I think two (or more) ferrets is always better than one! That way they always have a buddy to play with, snuggle with, be lovey with and sometimes scrap with!

[Sherry]

Honestly even if there is some fighting they need to be able to sort it out. You should hear some of mine scream just with the playing
The only intros I have actually stepped in to stop one of our little females attacked a larger male quite viciously. She tore a 3" rip in his scruff and had him curled up in a ball on the floor shaking and crying because he couldn't get away from her. And that all happened in under 3-4 minutes.

[Thérèse]

This may or may not help with your fiancé...

Ferrets are emotional critters and when they open their heart to someone it is completely. Sounds like your wee Widget is delighted to have Trixie as a friend and has opened her heart to her. Intros also sound like Trixie when settled will be a friend to her. I would give them more time. If you take Trixie away (even though she is not yet opening up to Widget) I would not be surprised if Widget became depressed at her loss. You might think then to find her another friend instead but may find that it is her that is no longer receptive. Having opened her heart to a new friend only to have that friend disappear suddenly may make her wary of opening herself up to another ferret friend in case they too suddenly disappeared. Just something worth considering.

It really does sound like they actually get on great and it is just that Trixie needs time to acclimatise to so many changes. Best of Luck with them both

[Deleted]

I'm in 100% agreement with you, Therese, and while my fiance is concerned that things might not work out, I'm more worried about my two fuzzballs and what could happen if we separate them. He suggested that we find Trixie a different home and we get a younger ferret; he's worried that Trixie will just get acclimated then pass away and leave Widget alone and sad. I told him that I think separating them now would do more harm than good. He's going with me on whatever choice I make, and right now I'm determined to help make this work between Trixie and Widget. I said to him yesterday: "No blood? No problems!" lol

[Deleted]

I say give them a good chance. My Kaylee is a rescue, about three when I got her. She hated all the ferrets at the rescue, and didn't even especially like my little River, who was about six months old at the time. However, we (rescue lady and I) decided that a lack of blatant hatred was as good a start as any and I took the three year old hissing scream monster anyway. Kaylee hissed a lot those first couple weeks, but she never acted aggressive, really, and after a couple weeks they were inseperable. I did notice that sometimes when Kaylee is at her moodiest, she climbs up on top of my rabbit's cage and just sits there, looking wistful like she's thinking...I thibk she's missing someone. A former owner, a lost ferret friend, I don't know. Oncw she accepted River, though, she's like a whole new ferret and when I rescued two more last month, she accepted then with no more than her usual play hisses.

Kaylee is deaf, and iften hisses when she should dook, dooks when she's eating () And makes a lot of weird peeps and chirps when settling in for a nap. All the rest ignore her noises unless the teeth come out. Which only happens now when she wants my boy yo lie down and be her pillow. She'll bite his neck and he's all "okay already...I'm not tired but whatever!"

[Deleted]

So, a quick update:
After reading the thread comments to my fiance he said "well, maybe we will keep her." (dance)

We finally got Trixie's old cage from her owner and put Widget's cage in the same room as hers. I also gave them some toys to play with and a room to just be goofs in. Many fewer hisses and both ferrets were exploring each other's cages. No biting or nipping to be seen. Trixie still hisses but it's at random things like my shoes, the wall, a ball... maybe this is her way of communicating?

Thank you so much for the advice!!! I've attached images of the babies. Widget is white, Trixie is the mask. Trixie also doesn't like giving my fiance any peace when he wears his sandals. Apparently they're an insult to ferret society! lol

[gfountain]

Beautiful fuzzies! They're going to be good buddies and you're going to have so much fun. I think the hissing is a non-issue if there's no aggressive behavior. That's just how she communicates!

It's funny the things they get obsessed with. Sandals aren't a problem for us; here we have issues with socks.. and shoelaces! They can get the laces out of a pair of shoes faster than I can!