Baby ferret rough play

Question
Hello,

We have a 9 month old female ferret whom we have had since she was 8 or 9 weeks old.  A few days ago, we got a baby male ferret (about 9 weeks old).  They seem to be getting along OK, but the 9 month old (much larger) will grab the baby's neck and bite real hard and not let go.  When this happens, the baby will let out a moan.  I know ferrets are supposed to be pretty intense when they play and establish dominance, but can babys handle rough adults?  I'm worried she's going to break his neck or something.  Should we wait until he's bigger to let them play together, or is it OK to let things proceed like this when he's so small?

Thank you for your help!

Answer
Hello, and thank you for your question! Well, even though it looks rough, ferrets love wrestling, the wilder the better. To put your fears at ease, the baby is perfectly ok as long as he's not pooping, bleeding, or screaming (which is a unmistakable sound). Don't worry if he's making some noise, ferrets can get a little loud during play. What your older girl is doing is indeed establishing dominance, and the baby will probably try to de-throne her even into adulthood. No need to separate them, they are fine and are having fun. When I got my Puppy, he was just a wee itty bitty thing (about 2 months old) and my older male (2 years old) and him were constantly going at it...they still do, but now Puppy is bigger than the old man, so sweet revenge is his. Soon your baby will grow up and fill out, and probably end up being bigger than the girl.

I know it looks rough on the poor little guy now, but trust me, they're just being ferrets and he will be ok. If you are worried during a particularly intense "fight" simply pull them apart and let them go. Watch the baby guy; if he runs right back toward the female he's all for it. But if he runs and hides and doesn't come out it may be a bit much. Feel free to act as referee for a few days/weeks just to keep an eye on them and make sure it doesn't get out of hand if they are making you nervous. Or if you can, sit back and enjoy the show! Your ferrets definitely are enjoying playing together. (No one's neck is getting broken!) :)
Hope I've helped, good luck and don't worry :)
~sheila