Mounting?

Question
First of all, thanks very much for your time!

I have two one-year-old (as of this month) ferrets: Loki and Suki.  They are bonded litter mates.  I adopted them about five weeks ago from a rescue.  Loki came with a biting warning: he does bite humans but plays well with other ferrets.  The lady who fostered them said that she was almost positive he had been abused by one of his previous owners and simply has a fear of hands.

However, not two weeks in, I noticed that he had begun to mount and display mating tendencies.  She would squeal some and then I'd separate them.  But lately it's gotten out of hand.  Suki has a prolapsed rectum that she is going to the vet for Tuesday, and I'm really hoping it's not due to her brother's mounting.  Loki also still bites on occasion though not as much.  I've been scruffing him and giving him time-outs.  I give him treats when he behaves properly.  He only mounts when they are caged together, never when they are out playing.  They always play very well together.  But they both absolutely hate sleeping apart.  They will always curl in the same hammock, and if I place Loki in the "time out" cage then he tries to destroy everything in it and make as much noise as possible.

I can handle the biting.  I believe he may be on the road to recovery there.  But I am worried about Suki's well-being.  The vet told me that the mounting was probably due to his alteration not being 100% successful, or basically that he was just too manly to have all of his sex drive cut out of him.  Still--I don't like the awful noises Suki makes when he mounts her.  But listening to Loki while separated isn't a real joy, either.  Should I be worried?  What can I do?

Thanks so much in advance!

Answer
Hi Kirsten,

Your vet is probably right, but I would have Loki brought in to have a work-up anyway, because it might not be a simple case of the neutering operation not taking all the way. He could be showing early signs of adrenal disease, which doesn't happen to often in ferrets as young as that, but anything is possible. I would suggest he get a blood work up and a general check over just in case. If it is adrenal disease, then you are catching it early, I'm sure, so that should be a positive. Maybe you could take Loki in with Suki and discuss the possibility of adrenal with your vet?

Adrenal gland disease is a type of cancer that ferrets tend to be very susceptible to. Tumors will grow on the adrenal gland and that tumor will cause the overproduction of sex hormones. In both genders, this can account for increased aggression and sexual behaviors. Also, in both genders, you might, and probably will, see hair loss that generally starts with the tail. This is what alerts most ferret parents to their ferret's condition. In males, you might notice difficulty urinating due to a swollen prostate. In females, you might notice a swollen vulva.

I hope this helps. Please let me know how everything turns out after you get to the vet. Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any further questions!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews