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Post by brittanyb on Oct 20, 2020 0:43:47 GMT -5
So the quarantine period for our new ferret ended on Sunday, and she was officially cleared of her very mild Giardia infection as well, so we introduced her to our two established ferrets (using the typical sniffing through the cages first, then meeting in a neutral space, etc.). There was the usual amount of sniffing and following one another around, but absolutely no signs of aggression from any of them. At one point, however, Scarlett and Oliver were playing in the dig box, and I guess Ollie got too excited and rough while wrestling with her, and she squeaked loudly at him. He seemed to back off, which was great. They all ended up napping together after that (not exactly in a pile, but sharing the same cat bed). This made me very happy to see. Cut to today, though, and Oliver has twice sought her out and jumped on her (doesn't look aggressive, just like play, but I could be wrong). She again squealed at him both times, which he ignored. The second time he did this she defecated during the scuffle, so I intervened and separated them. As of this point, Scarlett and the boys are maintaining separate sleeping quarters when I'm not there to supervise them, although Huck seems to get along with her just fine (which is not surprising, he is the most laid-back ferret I've ever met). Until I can trust both of them with her, however, they won't be housed together 24/7.
I guess I'm just confused by Oliver's mixed reaction to the new ferret. How can he be sleeping with her one minute and then stressing her out to the point of defecation the next minute? Scarlett is very passive, so if this a dominance behavior for him, she is clearly being submissive (at least from my perspective). I'm going to continue working with them, but I just hate the thought of adding to her stress while she's adjusting to her new home... Besides, to my knowledge she's always been a single ferret, so she may be a bit overwhelmed already.
Has anyone had this experience when introducing a new ferret to your business? Any tips/suggestions for easing this transition will be much appreciated!
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Oct 20, 2020 4:45:50 GMT -5
I have never had the partial good and partial bad experience in an initial introduction . After the curiosity and sniffing, they either started fighting or accepted. Once i had acceptance come later. When girls did not like my Phoebe, I had a long tube nearby and she would run in there. I don't know how many weeks---maybe 2 or 3. I found the main instigator and her on top of each other behind the dryer asleep.
I think you are wise to supervise. Might be wrong, but I think, too--- she is a little intimidated by the big fellow right now, especially if she has been a loner. Maybe a long tube for her to go in. None of mine went in the tube after Phoebe. Sleeping together to me is a good sign. I Hope all goes well---sounds like it is nothing serious even tho she has fear pooped. But yes, supervise. If not already doing so, let her investigate your house without them sometimes.
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Post by brittanyb on Oct 20, 2020 7:01:03 GMT -5
I'm very grateful they at least aren't actually fighting. I've been lucky in that regard with every ferret introduction I've done in the past. Nearly every time, they were immediately BFFs. That's obviously the most desirable outcome, but I'll be happy when they just get to the point of peacefully coexisting. I think you're right about her being intimidated by him. I love Oliver so much, but that boy can be a handful! Scarlett is so sweet and timid, and I think he might just be too much for her right now... It was just hard to watch her react to him in fear, and not be able to read my own ferret to understand the motive behind his behavior. I'll definitely be supervising playtime and splitting them up if another pee/poop/blood violation happens again. And no worries, Scarlett has her own free roam space right now to explore without her new brothers.  She's had a rough life so far, and all I want to do is eliminate as much of her stress as possible. |
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Post by brittanyb on Oct 20, 2020 8:52:42 GMT -5
Well, he did it again this morning. He jumped on her (not immediately, but after about 5 minutes of being out together). Her screeching only seemed to spur him on. And she pooped, so I immediately had to separate them. Sigh. This is going to be a process...
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Post by unclejoe on Oct 20, 2020 13:57:49 GMT -5
yup it can be a process, but at least they started out well so there is hope
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Post by Corvidophile on Oct 20, 2020 18:42:06 GMT -5
It sounds like they need some time to work it out, but it eventually should. Just keep at it slowly and consistently.
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Post by Charlie on Oct 21, 2020 0:46:19 GMT -5
Is it possible to have a plexiglass barrier between the 2 so they can still see each other while out exploring? Are all your ferrets spayed/neutered?
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Post by brittanyb on Oct 21, 2020 17:45:43 GMT -5
Yes, they are all spayed/neutered. Their cages are side-by-side, so they have constant visual and olfactory access to each other when they aren't free-roaming. We are doing separate free-roam spaces for now, although I have been letting Scarlett and Huck spend some time together since they get along and seem to be developing a bond (I found them curled up napping together last night). With her and Oliver, I've been sticking to very short interactions with me holding one or both of them. I'm just going to take it very slow yet consistent with the two of them. We'll get there, I think |
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Post by Charlie on Oct 21, 2020 21:47:18 GMT -5
Just may take longer but at least it's short interactions better then none!!
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Post by brittanyb on Oct 24, 2020 1:42:48 GMT -5
Yesterday I decided to see how Oliver would react to Scarlett after a couple of days of only interactions where I was holding one or both of them. I set them both down on the floor, and he immediately jumped on her and bit the back of her neck. This time, however, she didn't defecate from fear. She still yelped at him, but when I pried him off of her, she actually tried to come back after him, hissing the whole time. I'm actually relieved that she isn't terrified of him anymore, even if they still aren't getting along yet. I ended the interaction after that, because I didn't want to overwhelm her.
Later after their separate playtimes when they were nice and tired, I put them on the couch together beside me, where they actually snuggled together for a bit. Oliver woke up a couple of times and sniffed her, but then immediately laid his head back down. They both seemed unbothered by each other's presence. I'll chalk that up to a step in the right direction. 😊
Ollie has a check-up at the vet soon, so I'm going to ask if perhaps his reaction to her could be driven by adrenal disease. We had absolutely *no* problems when we introduced him to our two male ferrets after adopting him last year. This could be because back then *he* was the newbie, and now with Scarlett he feels like our home is his territory, who knows. But Ollie is in the right age range for developing adrenal disease (he's a Marshall's ferret, and has an unknown history of exposure to artificial lighting), plus he *has* been quite itchy lately. Even that could be explained by the season, or the amount of time he spends in his rice box... So I guess we'll see!
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Post by unclejoe on Oct 25, 2020 19:11:26 GMT -5
That's actually very good news. With my problem kids, once they shared a bed the major battles were over and it was pretty much settled. Of course there will still be wrestling matches, but I'm hopeful you've crested the hump.  |
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Post by Charlie on Oct 25, 2020 19:39:50 GMT -5
Maybe a few more separate play times to tucker them out then napping together a bunch of times will only get better!!!
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