putting ferrets together?

Question
we have a ferret at 1 yr old and a new ferret at 12weeks we would like to put them together and,have swaped there bedding round so they can smell each other.when we have put them together they bite each other knecks is this normal?and do u think they b ok together.the cage theyl b in is 8foot buy 6foot so would have plenty of room.thx andy

Answer
Absolutely!  They will probably all be happy to have new playmates!

There is one more thing you need to do before putting them in together tho - if you haven't already - get that new baby to the vet and have his shots, get his ears checked for earmites and have a slide examination of his stool.  You don't want him to take any nasty bugs in and make your other ferret sick (happens a LOT, especially with pet store ferrets).  

It's a good idea to supervise their first few get-togethers, maybe just let them out in a room to play together, where they are both on neutral territory.  The oldster may feel the cage is *his* :-).   It should take no time at all before they are playing and happily curled up together in a hammock.

Hopefully this will be a good experience for everyone - every now and then you get two ferrets that just won't get along; the general rule is "no poop, no blood, no foul", which means they can roll around, wrestle, bite each other's necks, etc and they are playing until one of them either poops (a sign of sheer terror), bleeds (a sign the biting is too hard). Only in those two cases should they be separated and even then, you can always try again later.  *Generally* ferrets do get along with each other ,especially when they are introduced at such a young age. They will probably bond and become inseparable.

If you have some Ferretone handy, it's a great first meeting activity to share a nice treat - gets everyone in a good mood and they associate 'happy' with each other.   I put a small plate down on the floor with a tablespoon or so of ferretone on it (I mix my ferretone half and half with light olive oil so they don't get too much Vitamin A, which is toxic if they get too much of it).

Best of luck to your new 'kids'!  Your cage is plenty big enough to house them, although I hope you do give them out of cage time also. Ferrets really need a big room to run and play with their humans and lots of human interraction and love.  

I highly recommend the book "Ferrets For Dummies" by Kim Schilling.  It has all kinds of tips and ideas and I think every ferret owner should have one :-), even experienced owners can learn from this book!

Best of luck to you and your babies!!

jacquie