are they fighting or playing?

Question
my 5 year old daughter found a ferret in our yard 2 summer's ago .It took us a week of leaving food out there for  it to get it to come  to us when we picked the poor thing up she
was loaded with fleas and had a large tumor on its tail. I called the police  to see what to  do & they said keep it or bring it to the pound. i called  my dad who owned 5 at the time he came right over & he stuck it in his shirt and took it away .it was a long hard road for  her but she is now health & happy ..all of my dads little ones all have passed  but 2  the one  we found & another he got from a friend . my dad had every tunnel large & small, toys he spoiled them ..  but his  girl friend of  16 years does not know were all the toys went & my dad can no longer care for them & they bit his girl friend  dena any time she feeds  or touches  them .they are in different cages because they fought.I  now have my 2 girls there names are baby & babygirl  thats what dad called  them.she told  me not to let them out of the cage's when i  picked them up to bring them home..so everyday I went to the cage's & talked  to them.when i feed them  they would run for the door & try to get out i was afraid of them because they are  bitters. . so i would close the cage fast so i would not get bit.well 1 week into having them baby got out of her cage because i didn't close it up right .We also have 2 cats a rabbit & a chinchilla on top of my 2 new girls.We are big animal lovers.. any way baby was playing & hopping around in the play room with the cat so i sat down & she came to me & she made a little noise & hoped on my lap & it was all over i was in love .. I  had them for 3 weeks now & what a change. i let them out to play one at a time ..because the first time i let the girls out they were fighting  i think ..I  let them out together now & they  play hide it is fun  to watch  them  they really don't play together  yet.. because i separate them make the shhhh shhh sound when they get together I don't want them hurting each other ..   ..& they don't go after each other any more  all i do is shhh-shhh .they go on there way & play with the cat  or my daughter ..
now  to get  to the  question or questions.  how can i tell if they are playing or fighting?  & if they  are playing would i  ever be able  to put them in the same cage?

Answer
Hi Robin:

THANK YOU so very much for rescuing these two precious little ones!! You are my hero!!   Obviously they did NOT like your dad's girlfriend and they are probably SO happy to be away from her! I wonder how long she had them kept in those cages!How very sad!  Every ferret NEEDS DAILY INTERACTION with people and room to romp and play and toys galore! That just makes me so sad to hear about how your dad's wife treated those babies. I'm so glad that she finally gave them up to you. It sure sounds like they are in much BETTER hands now.

There is a rule of thumb when ferrets are put together - they ALWAYS play hard and bite each other until they can establish who is the boss. They are used to this and it's *normal*.  The way we can determine if we should separate them from each other is this: "No poop, no blood, no foul"  In other words, if they are wrestling around, as long as they don't poop or bite each other hard enough to bleed, we don't separate them.  I would be so surprised if your little girls wouldn't LOVE to snuggle together in a hammock or sleep sack to sleep.

Suggestion:  Before putting them together, you might want to get some baby shampoo and give each of them a bath in nice warm water and lather them up really well; then rinse them really well. If they tend to not like the bath, try using water a little warmer. A ferret's normal body temperature is 101.3 degrees, so they are kind of like us with a fever, so make the water a little warmer than you would for yourself..but test it with your inner arm, not your hands, since your hands can tolerate much hotter water than you would use on a ferret.  Once they both smell the same, THEN is the time to introduce them. Then keep them busy with toys, so the attention is off the fact that they are 'new' to each other.

Try allowing them out to play together - roll balls for them, drag a towel or sheet around for them to jump on for a ride, and watch them. They make wrestle around, even bite each other and squeal a little bit - that's normal ferret play and establishing dominance - who is the boss. (NOTE: Deaf ferrets area lot more noisy than hearing ones. You can often tell a deaf ferret if she has white around her head area. Look up
"Waardensburg Syndrome" if you have a ferret with white around her head and think she *may* be deaf. Also, write to me again - there's a great website that tells all about working with deaf ferrets.   If one or the other is really upset, she will poop (not terribly unusual if they haven't been together before).  Or, you will see one of them get bit so hard that they will bleed (VERY unusual). If they poop OR one bleeds, separate them and try again some other day.  I wouldn't give up until at least half a dozen different things are tried.

The best way for you to get them ready to be together IN ONE CAGE is (hopefully you have baby receiving blankets or t-shirts, pajamas (any soft fabrics for bedding) to switch their bedding from one cage to the other about every couple of days and then wash it, put it back in for a few days, switch it again, then wash it again...so they get used to the other ferret's smell.  Get them toys (tiny beanie babies are my girls favorite) and crocheted plastic easter eggs (you can get them on ebay), empty cardboard boxes, tunnels they can run thru, etc. You can even make little 'houses' with windows and doors for them to look out and crawl in and out of :-) and they just love them!

Always introduce them in 'neutral' area - not in either cage, because each probably feels that her cage is HER own cage.  If you do decide they are getting along well and you want to cage them together, scrub one of the cages really well and put clean blankies and toys in it, so that neither ferret will feel that it is the 'other' ferrets cage. Hopefully one of the cages is big enough for two of them? (A cage big enough for two ferrets should be at LEAST 3'x3'x3')   In the beginning, tho, be sure there are two separate places to sleep in the cage, just in case they don't want to sleep together right away. Also, toys, a litterbox, food and water bowls and nice soft blankies to snuggle down into.

Some other ideas for introducing them if the first try doesn't work:

Buy some Ferretone from the pet store and try to give each of them a few drops of it, rub a little bit of it on each of them and see if they don't just "LOVE" the yummy smell of the other one :-).

Warm some chicken or turkey baby food (the meat only) and put on a plate and let them taste it (or help them taste it by feeding it to them with your finger, one at a time; dip your finger into the food, then let them lick it off your finger). You may even have to  kind of squiggle your finger so a LITTLE BIT gets INSIDE the side of their mouth and they have to taste it a few times before they recognize it as food and enjoy it.  My kids enjoy their warm "soup" every night before bed together. I get Hill's A/D from the vet's office, warm in the microwave, stir into a puree, check with your finger to be sure it's not too hot anywhere (the microwave doesn't always heat evenly) and give it to them together (the ferret family that eats together, tends to get along better :-)

Ferrets are 'obligate carnivores' which means they eat ONLY meat and meat products. Their food is usually in kibble form when you buy it commercially, and has a lot of other ingredients in it - just be sure that FOUR of the first FIVE ingredients are MEAT or meat BYPRODUCTS of some kind....not soy, or wheat or corn, flour, etc.  Be sure you are feeding a good, premium ferret food like Totally Ferret, 8 in 1 Ultimate (the only 8 in 1 that is good for them), Path Valley Ferret Food. Be SURE you don't feed anything by Kaytee - it has dehydrated fruits in it and can cause intestinal blockages. You can even feed Iams KITTEN or but that's the ONLY kitten food that meets ferrets nutritional needs.  Whenever you change a ferret's food, you have to do it slowly (add in a little at first, then more and more until they are changed over completely). Ferrets 'imprint' on their food, so whatever they are currently eating is all they recognize as food, even if it's not good for them. So, hopefully you can get them over onto something good if they aren't already on a good food.  You can go to

http://www.theferretstore.com

and they have the various ferret foods listed there according to how healthy it is for your ferret.

There is a great website:  http://www.ferretcentral.com  that has all kinds of information about ferrets.  Click on "FAQ's" and just start reading and you will learn a LOT about ferrets :-)  That's the very best thing you can do for your ferrets is to get well educated, so you can feed them healthy foods, make sure they are playing with healthy toys, and learn how to ferretproof your home so that the ferrets can play without getting into something that will cause them an intestinal blockage (anything styrofoam, foam of any kind,  rubber, pencil erasers, soft plastics and SO MUCH MORE - I hope you will read all about ferretproofing, so your ferrets can run and play safely in your home.  Ferrets NEED to be free to run and play - not to be caged. If all else fails, you can buy ferret 'playpens' at the Ferret Store (or your local pet store) and at least that gives them a larger place to play than a cage does. Ideally, tho, you should have at least one room in your house (NOT the kitchen) where your kids can run and play with YOU.  PEOPLE are ferret's favorite toys....something as simple as a paper bag, an empty cereal box (box only - take the liner out) can be so much fun!  Small hard plastic balls (like hard whiffle balls) are a lot of fun to bounce and watch them chase :-)...even dragging a sheet thru the house and watch them jump on it and go for a ride and giggle and jump around for you, showing you how happy they are!! They LOVE rides! My ferrets even have a "ferret stroller" so I can take them for walks outside. They also have harnesses and leashes for short walks outside and digging in the dirt outside (they LOVE that, but be sure there are no chemicals in the soil either fertilizers or grass killers, herbicides, for the grass or pesticides, bug killer chemicals). All these chemicals are dangerous for your ferret.

In the beginning, tho, be sure there are two separate places to sleep in the cage, just in case they don't want to sleep together right away.


Best of luck to you and your new babies. THANK YOU so very much for rescuing them!! I'm so sorry that your dad can no longer take care of them. Maybe when you get them all bathed and used to each other, you can take them over for a 'visit' if he's up to it.  I know if I were not well, seeing my ferrets well and healthy and getting along with each other surely would warm my heart.  

Don't hesitate to let me know if I can be of any further help to you.  There is also a book called "FERRET FOR DUMMIES" by Kim Schilling, that is excellent and absolutely has everything you need to know about having ferrets in it.  Also, you may want to ask your dad what vet he used for his ferrets - you may want to keep taking them to the same one, who has all their history and records.

I hope that helps. Please let me know how they do, okay?  I'd love an update on them in a few weeks. I think with some attention and some good food, some exercise outside the cage (at LEAST 2-3 hours a day), they will be MUCH healthier and friendlier. You are going to just be shocked at how much they will change and what wonderful little pets they will make!

Sincerely,
Jacquie Rodgers