ferret pregnancy

Question
I have 2 female ferrets which are both two years old (Pickles and Berta), they are both very friendly with each other and were bought from the same breeder so i would assume they have lived together since they were born.

Soon after i got them i noticed Pickles was in heat so i called the breeder and he offers to fetch me a male for her to mate with re-assuring me that it was not the time of year for ferrets to get pregnant so she would probably not have a litter.

However soon after the mating took place i noticed the typical symptoms of pregnancy within her.
She is still lovely and friendly, eating, drinking and acting normal. It has now been 40 days since they mated and i was just wondering do i have to separate the girls?

Berta has been caring for Pickles, lying on top of her, playing gently with her, cuddling up with her and sharing everything with her still. I'm concerned it would cause them more stress to be apart than it would for them to stay together.

Do you have any extra advice for me?

Answer
Hi Laura:

Surprise, huh?   Gosh....I have never had a ferret who was not neutered, but I found a great website that seems to cover a lot of information. From what I interpret from that page, momma and babies need to be separated from other ferrets for the babies safety initially ntil they are about a month old, then slowly introduce her to the babies. Hopefully she will accept and love them. You can put momma and babies  in a cage right next to your other ferret to help with stress.  If they are close, where they can see, smell and be near each other, they should be fine for the short time till the babies are old enough to be introduced to your other ferret.

Here is the website and I am sure there are many others on baby ferret care also.  They should be coming just about any time now from what I read, so good
idea to prepare a cage with lots of clean, soft blankies, newspapers for easy cleanups, etc.

         http://theferretzone.com/breeding-ferrets/ferret-babies-the-whole-kit-and-cabood         

Hopefully everything will go smoothly with the birth and early days.  If I were you, I would read everything I can get my hands on and be prepared for anything.  Sorry I cannot be of any more help than that, but I have never experienced this.  Lucky you, tho.  I would love to have babies!!  Good luck, God bless your little girl and her precious little ones.

If you need more help, don't hesitate to write again.  I can get specific information from breders on my ferret group on Facebook, or you are very welcome to come join us so there is someone there 24/7, as we have folks from all over the world including many who DO have experience with birth and babies.  The group is on Facebook and is called THUNDERING FERRET PAWS.  Hope to see you there soon!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers