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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2014 18:18:03 GMT -5
Nate and I have been looking for some new little fur babies for awhile for little Rico. But when we take Rico to the shelter or to meet someone on craigslist, as soon as Rico sees the other ferret (male or female) he goes crazy. He hisses and fusses and tries to bite the other ferrets at first we thought he was playing but he drew blood from one of the ferrets at the shelter so that was the end of that. I have no idea why he has this type of behavior.
We even tried to use rescue remedy to calm Rico down before we went to meet the other ferrets/ferret.
We have tried to meet the ferrets one on one we even brought our vet to observe the behavior and it stunned her.
She has never seen Rico act this way.
If you take Rico out of the situation he is completely fine like nothing even happened!!
Does anyone know why this is happening?
Any advice?
Rico is so lonely and we would like him to have some ferret siblings but we just don't know what to do!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2014 1:38:18 GMT -5
My fuzzy George is the same, so i'd be interested in any advice.
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Post by Thérèse on Apr 6, 2014 6:14:21 GMT -5
My guess would be that Rico likes being an only child and sees any other ferrets as a threat to his lovely life, he doesn't want to share or have anyone coming in and acting like he is not the supreme being. Some ferrets are like that. They have it good and don't want things to change.
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Post by bitbyter on Apr 6, 2014 8:27:24 GMT -5
He also may be too nervous outside of his own space to meet others. Try outside in a playpen or maybe have someone come over to your house with a ferret and see if he is different there. However, that being said, some are just wired to be single ferrets and will never get along with others.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2014 8:56:27 GMT -5
He acts so lonely though. It is a mystery! I wonder if I could try just letting him meet the other ferret in his travel cage rather than just throwing him out with the other ferret/ferrets. Maybe he is overwhelmed?
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Post by Sherry on Apr 6, 2014 9:34:50 GMT -5
He honestly sounds like he does not want a friend.
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Post by Thérèse on Apr 6, 2014 9:59:32 GMT -5
Ok. That kind of puts a different perspective on it. It never occured to me that he was being introduced to ferrets en masse. When I have introduced mine to a possible newbie my process is different. I have discussions so that a single ferret is selected out as a possible good match. I interract with the ferret to gauge whether I think it seems like it would be a good match and only then does an intro take place. Mostly a little sniff with me holding mine and the other person holding the possible newbie and if that seems good, both get put down to see how they react then.
Two examples.
When I got Noodles (many years back) I already had Studdidoo. This was the beginning of me having multiple ferrets, my two before Studdidoo had been solos. Noodles (actually named Tommy at the time) was up for adoption through the NSW Ferret Welfare Society. I had seen his profile on their website and started emailling back and forth with the foster carer to find out a bit more about him. When it seemed like he might be the ferret I was looking for, my mum, myself and Studdidoo made the trip to Sydney to meet him (a fair hike, takes a few hours, particularly with stops for Studdidoo to stretch his legs). When we got there I talked for a while with the carer, who not only had ferrets of her own but a number of foster ferrets too. After a bit she got Noodles out for me to meet him. Once I felt like he was maybe a match for us, I got Studdidoo out and we let them see each other and sniff each other. As they seemed curious and calm we let them both down together to explore and meet each other. While both did a bit of exploring on their own, they also seemed interested but not threatened or aggressive with each other when their paths crossed. I decided Noodles was the ferret for us. I had brought 2 carriers with me to take them both home but they seemed happier in one, so that's how they came home. By the time we got home (several hours later) the were already friends.
When I got Sumo, I had emailled the breeder explaining the ferrets I had and what I was looking for. We arranged a time for me to come out. When I got there we discussed what I wanted and also what my ferrets were like, ie. were they dominant or laid back, adventurous, aloof etc. The breeder then picked out a ferret she thought might be a good match for my boys. I met him and spent some time interacting with him. We then put him in a harness and got one of my boys out on a harness and after a little sniffing let them down together. Mostly it went well until we got near the females cages. Sumo was in full rut and started getting a bit antsy. Because of the initial reactions though, I knew he was a good match but his hormones were making things problematic. So he came home but in a seperate carrier. He was mostly good with my guys, Diablo, just avoided him, and Rocket let him do whatever he wanted, his hormones kept telling him to drag that ferret off. I got him desexed, his hormones abated and everything has been friendly ever since.
Those are my examples but they do not detract from some ferrets just wanting to be solos (see quite a few listed by the NSWFWS on their adoption pages, they test each ferret to see if it likes other ferrets and if they bond with a particular ferret/s they then sell them together, others they sell as singles but note they are social and still others are noted as not liking other ferrets, solo only).
One final story that may not be helpful, but may explain things. Many years back, when the Ferret Society of Canberra was active, they used have meets every couple of months and everyone would bring their ferrets. One ferret I had, Woozle, was fine the first few times I took him but obviously one of the other ferrets did something that upset him and ferrets remember. After those first few meets he started going straight back into their carrier when he saw there were other ferrets there. He would only come out when everyone else had put their ferrets back in to go home and if any ferret that wasn't one of mine dared try to go in the carrier he went beserk. He did that for the rest of his life, all from one incident. He was fine when I got a new ferret, he just didn't like ferrets in great numbers. I have added this story because ferrets do remember and if Rico has now felt other ferrets are bad, even one on one intros may not go well but I hope that with a less overwhelming intro he might find a friend.
Course Rico does sound like he has it pretty good, so he may really just not want to rock his comfy boat and it may have nothing to do with how the intros are done. Best of luck
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2014 10:02:28 GMT -5
The way I see it, is that Rico doesn't know that he is picking a friend. Instead, he is in a strange place and suddenly there is this potential trouble/danger in the form of unfamiliar ferrets. It's not the norm for him and he reacts instinctively to this unknown situation. It's all overwhelming and uncomfortable and he isn't going to relax and play, he's going on the offensive. I only have my own experience to go on and we were successful in bringing home, first Mika and then Wynstan and introducing them to Roamy and Juliet. When Ponce was an only ferret, we tried playdates. He was only interested in exploring his friends house, not playing with the other ferret. I suspect if you do try bringing someone home for Rico, you will have a little bit of an introduction period to get thru. I really do think that he would come to enjoy having a friend, you and Nate will have to decide if you want to work on this.  |
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Post by Heather on Apr 6, 2014 17:11:40 GMT -5
I would suggest one on one in a strange neutral place. Meaning the other ferret isn't on his/her own territory either. If he won't accept and continues this behaviour I would consider the fact that he may indeed need to be a solo
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2014 17:33:34 GMT -5
Nate and I would really enjoy another ferret. We are positive Rico (if he could ever get used to another brother or sister) would like a play mate. We are 100% willing to work on it! We can tell Rico is lonely even with us playing with him its just not the same anymore. He kinda just lays on the ground bored. We have even changed up the room and bought new toys. Hes eating and drinking fine and when we took him to the vet she gave him a clean bill of heath. We feel like we have got to pursue this for him.  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2014 18:32:58 GMT -5
I really hope you do. After seeing how ferrets play together vs the only ferrent playing with his ferrents, I want all of them to have that much fun. Like everyone else said, I think that a group of ferrets is just too overwhelming for him. I like how Therese was the "matchmaker" and knew who would be a good potential match. I knew that once I brought someone home, I was committed to the little fellow. I wouldn't suggest that you bring someone home and if it doesn't work out, return them. That's too sad, but if you were to find someone and bring them home, I think you will be able to make it work. It seems to me, it's kind of like having children. The first child doesn't always get a choice, the new baby just arrives. Sometimes they are the best of friends, sometimes they play well together and sometimes they don't, and then there are the ones who just don't like each other much. Keep looking around, I think you will find a little one or a little one will find you and everything will work out fine. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2014 20:43:02 GMT -5
Has anyone noticed if male+female combos are better than female+female ?? I know when I was a kid we could have 2 make cats or male and female but we couldn't have 2 females.
What about ferrets??
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Post by Sherry on Apr 25, 2014 1:36:59 GMT -5
Depends entirely on the ferret. I have one who will kill other females, and one who hates males.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2014 12:29:07 GMT -5
Rico just hates everyone Lol  |
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2014 12:52:23 GMT -5
I *mostly* successfully integrated a solo ferret into a bonded pair family. When they first saw each other the solo guy started screaming and hissing. After months of gradual interaction(from separate cages and play times, to forced together bathtimes, to shared play time only to shared cage and occasionally separating them when they fight) they were calmer and calmer together. Now they sleep in a pile all together. The previously solo guy still doesn't quite seem so bonded as my original pair but everything is fine. So I think first impressions isn't the be all and end all.
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