New Introduction Tips?

[ghostie]

My coworker got a ferret the same time I got Oatie last year in August. Her son won't play with her, or let her out of the cage, poor thing... She asked if I'd be willing to buy her, but right now I have car repairs out as the wazoo (thanks winter) so I had to turn her down, until tonight. She offered to give her to me for free now, because watching the poor baby in her cage stuck all day made her sad. :c

I'm willing to take her in, but I want her to get along with Oatie. My girl has been a lone-girl since I got her, but she's plenty friendly and lovable with humans. She's never shown a shred of aggression. My coworker is giving me her girl's cage, as well, so I can keep them in separate cages until things are safe (and quarantine time is over.)

Does anyone have any first introduction tips, once she's had her time in her own cage separated? I want it to be a safe meeting. My apartment is one big room - I have a very tiny bathroom, and they are not allowed in my bedroom. Should I let them play in the bathroom a little first? (It's a cube of space, it's very small so I can monitor well, but it's also a usual no-no zone for Oatie, so it's very neutral territory.)

Toys? Snack bribes...? Any ideas at all would be great! Thanks!

Note: I will not keep her for sure until I know the two of them get along. This is a trial period. But if they don't get along, the poor girl will likely end up in our local shelter, and all the hicks who live where I do don't know how to care for a ferret.... My coworker is even guilty of feeding her FRUIT LOOPS, people.... I'd very very much like to keep this sweet girl, if only because she'd been in GOOD hands. :c

[caitmonster]

Aww, I hope things work out!

I would have them in their respective cages side by side for a few days so they can get used to each other's scent, then have one free roam while the other one is in their cage, and vice versa. I might lean towards letting them free roam for the first time together in the bedroom, since there's more space which might help keep them from feeling too up in each other's business.

One suggestion is to bathe them together; neutralizes the unfamiliar scents (and maybe helps them bond in an unpleasant situation, haha). I tried that with two of mine and it didn't seem to affect their opinions of each other, but YMMV.

They may instantly become bosom buddies, or they may fight it out until they decide who's "in charge." It's OK to let them squabble a bit, but just to warn you, it might sound a bit chaotic at first. If there's no poo, pee, or blood, you can let them be. If you DO see any of those, separate them immediately and go back to an earlier stage of introduction.

Letting them be together outside, on harnesses, is another option to introduce them.

I introduced a young 'un to my first female when she was about 5. She mopped the floor with him any time they were loose together, so for the first two months I had to have separate playtimes, until he grew too big for her to drag him around. There was one day where, magically, they just started playing together. Every now and then she would get too rough for him--she was a Waardy so I think deafness was part of the issue--but they were fine from then on.

All that to say, it could take some time for everything to be hunky-dory. Or, it could happen right away.

[abbeytheferret6]

Glad you got the baby
Some ferrets do not care who joins the group or how many. I have had a few of those. Then I had one girl, like Caitmonster's ferret, drag my baby boy across the floor. He too got heavy and that stopped and was welcomed and loved by the group. So if you see dragging, do not worry.

While mine do not play with toys, I do keep a stash around because I have one who likes to haul little flat, furry toys up to the top floor of her cage. The eyes and noses are little embroidered dots--- do not get anything with buttons for eyes or noses and no rubber. I got some ping pong balls for my two ---thinking that they would push them around like my Didi who kept me entertained moving it all across the floor. Well that did not occur with the two I have now.

I do have a stash of plastic grocery bags. I cut all the handles into, so they will not get hung up in them. I  put them all in a cloth or paper grocery tote to let them crawl in amongst them. 

[ghostie]

You guys are an awesome help, now I'll know what to watch for. Coworker is bringing her baby for me 2 days from now, and I'm nervously excited.

My mom suggested the same cage idea - keep them side by side for a few days first, and let one free roam alone! Interesting, given she's only ever had cats. I'm guessing they're similar to a degree?? I was originally thinking of registering a cat as an ESA but my landlord doesn't like them, so I went with a "cage" pet when I was speaking to my therapist to find middle ground. Now I'm a ferret mom and frankly, I'm glad I did. Oatie has been lonely, so I'm glad she's going to have a friend to help entertain her.

In terms of toys - I cannot use toys with embroidered eyes. Oatie chews and shreds them off, and I have a theory she eats it... ugh. While she doesn't play with anything remotely toy-like, she does like to steal my shoes, and loves to play in boxpiles like a playground, so she's got that going for her. I'm hoping when Newgirl arrives, she can teach Oatie how to play with toys, or they can figure it out together during their shenanigans. I thinks she just literally has no idea what to do with it. She was fresh from her mom when she was sold to me, and never got a chance to learn to play with them with littermates.

So far, Oatie is the type to instantly love on any human that walks through the door, especially my best friend who was there with me when I got her. So I'm hoping she holds that same level of "let's play!" with Newgirl. Luckily, there's no huge age gap. Newgirl is the same age as Oatie, because my coworker got her within 2 weeks I'd gotten Oatie. My girl is very small, so I'm assuming Newgirl will be as well.

I'm also still not sure what to name her. As far as I know, coworker's son never played with her enough for her to learn her current name, which is actually Sophie. I kinda wanted to stay in line with Oatie's name (Oatmeal) but something that sounds similar. Soapi maybe? From what I THINK I remember, coworker mentioned she was white. (I don't even know what she looks like, I just wanted to save this poor baby from the shelter, haha.)

Thanks you guys, this is so helpful.

[Charlie]

After the quarantine period another thing you can do is have blankets/hammocks in each of the cages and after a couple days switch the blankets/hammocks so their scent is on the blankets/hammocks or even switch the ferrets and put them in each other's cages.

I have a single ferret as well and I had my sister's ferret spend a couple months with me while she was out of the country a couple years ago. Interestingly enough they both got along great. My ferret would lay on top of her and she would make such a scene. lol Any time I visit, I take my ferret with me and they still get along. What I also did was block off an area and have one ferret in one space and another ferret in the other space so they both have out time. I had a screen separate the 2 of them. My ferret had free range of the house and I kept my sister's ferret in the bedroom where I keep the cages but the screen allowed them to sniff each other. When introducing them have a big space though so that if one wants to run away they have the space to do it.

Start off with short play periods and then lengthen the time together. I never had my sister's ferret stay in the same cage with my ferret because I didn't want them to bond closely for when my sister's ferret went back home. But they were good play mates. At times when my ferret would go to lay down my sister's ferret would try to lay with him and he didn't like it. He would move. lol

I hope it works out well and they get along great.