feeding problem

Question
i have two ferrets one was a gift one was my neibhors and she wasn't takiing care of him propely he was very skinny when i got him now he is fat and my problem is he is eatting all the food and not letting my other one eat gabie.
bear is beiing a little piggy i have tried to feed him seprate but gabie won't even go neer the food unless he is with bear it seems to me that gabie is trying to make sure bear eats cause he was so poorly taken care of before and he was starving for food and campoinship cause she wouldn't even play with him he stayed in his cage all day and night i know he is a happier ferret now he is constantly hopping around and barkiing at me to play but what should i do about the eatting problem?

Answer
Hello, thank you for your question. What you need to assess is whether Gabie is actually losing weight. Many times ferrets (and other animals in fact) will allow the "weaker" eat first. It may be very well that Gabie is eating by himself at night. My dog Barron does this. It seems my little female, Rainey,  is eating ALL the food, and I NEVER see Barron eat. I can assume he is eating at night, due to the fact his weight is stable and has been all along (he is three).
If in fact Gabie IS losing weight, and not eating, it may be due to another problem other than the other ferret. It is EXTREMELY unlikely that a ferret will virtually starve themselves to allow another ferret to eat, unless the larger ferret is VERY aggressive. But not as a "kinship" type behavior.
My advice would be to monitor Gabie's weight very close over the next couple weeks. If you see a wgt. loss, even a slight one, consult a vet. It may be a medical problem as opposed to a behavior problem. And your vet can shed some light on this, and also help with supplements.
Thanks again, and please let me know!
Good Luck!
amy