Expanding my fuzzy family

Question
I own two beautiful fuzzy babies. One male(Odin) whos 1 and a female(Lokie) who is almost 3. They are both happy and healthy. Recently some friends have asked if I wanted to take in their 2 ferrets. Male and a female.I believe they are close to the same ages as mine. I have welcomed them with open arms and promise of good times and plenty of fuzzy fun. I will be getting them this weekend and want to make the transition as unstressful as possible. I would welcome any helpful hints and tips on this subject. Thank you for your time and help. My fuzzys and I appreciate you.

Answer
Hi Tina:

How nice that you are willing to expand your fuzzy family. There are just a few things you should be sure of before you put them together.

1. Do all ferrets on both sides have their immunizations? (rabies & distemper) Both are nearly always fatal and incredibly contagious, tho not extremely common.

2. Ferrets can carry ECE and other intestinal parasites - be sure none of the newbies have diarrhea BEFORE putting them together. They will probably all get diarrhea for a few days (maybe even green, but that's okay as long as it's just for a few days) because of the excitement and changes, so it's important to observe them before putting them together. ECE and other diseases can sit completely without symptoms, but can be passed to another ferret, so there is ALWAYS a danger of making your current ferrets sick OR that your current ferrets have inactive viruses that will transfer to the new kids and make them sick.  Any "excitement" diarrhea should last less than 3 days - any lasting longer than that, that involve stopping eating or drinking or cause vomiting should go directly to the vet for stool samples and antibiotics if necessary, in addition to watching constantly for dehydration if they appear less than healthy.  CHeck for dehydration by pinching up the skin on the back of their necks and pull UP, then release quickly and if the skin snaps right back down flat, the ferret is well hydrated.  If the skin stays "tented up", the ferret needs to go to a vet ASAP (within 12 hours) to get subQ fluids and determine the cause of the diarrhea/vomiting,etc.

3. Consider finances. If one of the new kids gets sick in a month or six months, do you have a "ferret vet fund" sufficient to take care of four ferrets?  The generally accepted amount is $2,000 per ferret.  Otherwise, you might find yourself deciding which ferret to treat and which you just can't or won't put out money for. It's a hard fact that too many ferret owners learn sadly because it's so much fun getting ferrets. Once they get older - and if these are the approximate age of the ones you already have, they will get older at approximately the same time, so there could be some tough decisions. Be ready, SAVE $$, and know sad times are in the future. It's easy to forget that in the thrill of new babies.

4. You need to be four times more educated about ferrets when you have four ferrets. There are four little ones depending on you being up on your ferretproofing DAILY, being able to supply a high quality ferret-specific food and vet bills (yearly immunizations AND the benadryl shots that should precede the immunizations so they don't have reactions. It's important that you have lots of toys and constantly examine them for wear and tear (many intestinal obstructions come from their own toys just being worn and chewed). Be SURE you know the signs of a sick ferret and act on them early to keep your vet bills lowest; in addition to having a "hospital cage" where you can isolate any ferrret that appears sick so the others don't automatically get sick also.
READ everything you can and be the smartest ferret owner you can be and your babies have a much better chance of living long, healthy lives.

My best wishes to you and I have to say that I'm a bit jealous, down to only one ferret myself now - ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY !!!  Be ready for a barrel full of monkeys, but don't ever forget that your biggest job is to keep them safe and healthy so they can play and be ferrets.  

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers