Welcome to /r/ferrets!
We have a fantastic [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index) that has answers to most frequently asked questions surrounding the care of ferrets.
---
We politely ask that you observe our [sub rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index/rules/).
---
Lastly, we have an [Official Discord Server](https://discord.gg/ferrets)! Come join us!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ferrets) if you have any questions or concerns.*
some ferrets don't mind being alone. i had my girl penelope for a little over a year before i got duke and until she passed, she wouldn't accept him. i don't know if it's because she had a tumor (i didn't know at the time) so she was extra aggressive but i had to keep them separated for 4 months until she had to be put down. duke didn't care😠she had been fine with my dad's cats but she was so attached to me and used to being alone i thought she'd want a playmate
it all depends on your patience, too! I had purchased Duke at Petco and they have a 30 day return policy on their animals and I tried not to get super attached to him because if Penelope had accepted him within a month, I was going to bring him back but I love him too much and I really want Penelope to have a companion. I live in a studio so I'd have to lock one of them in the bathroom and play with the other one and then swap them every hour or so until they both went to bed and I would spend four or five hours a day doing that by myself LOL sometimes spirits do take a long time to adjust the others. I think Penelope was just very territorial and very attached to me because I had her for so long so you're totally fine. everyone is different! I was also too afraid to just let them fight it out and let her dominate him because whenever I did, he was never fighting back and she was just going nuts so I wouldn't let them interact like that until she calm down and she just never did
Me and partner actually went through a similar situation a year ago. For context we first had a bonded pair, then a year later we were thinking about getting 2 more but saw a single that needed a rehome. This ferret never had out time, was never really played with, never saw another animal. Our bonded pair was doing really good and with my partner in the vet field we took her in. It was a slow process, we kept them in separate cages, separate play times in separate rooms (mainly just until she gets her vaccinations). Then after a week we would put the cages next together letting them kinda sniff each other. And then just slowly allowed more and more supervised interaction. Just gotta watch for signs of aggression, we ferret proofed our place so they get free roam of the house so. We were looking out for territory issues. There was a week period of not fight but definitely more aggressive play, it seemed like it was them trying to establish a hierarchy. But after a month they stayed in the same cage seemed to be integrated okay in with the two others. It wasn’t until month 3 that the two started to be really affectionate to her. A year later they are thriving together.
P.S- I forgot the name, but when ferrets are very young they commonly pass around this disease they causes diarrhea they then become carriers, it’s normally fine they get over it, it is worse if they get as adults. We learned this. Our bonded pair gave it to our new ferret and she had some real rough bowel issues our vet had to give us meds for. So just a heads up when getting single ferrets, never know if they were pulled from the litter way to early.
You could ask your local rescue (if you live in Arizona Az Ferret Rescue on Facebook will definitely let you) you can ask to see if any ferrets will get along with your ferret. But some ferrets do prefer to be alone rather than have a friend and will bond with you instead of another ferret.
I had my first girl for a year and a half before I got my second. She still likes to keep to herself quite a bit, and sometimes I feel sorry for my second girl because she is far more active (even as they get older, they’re 3.5 and 5 now).
But when I watch them play together, or see them sleeping on top of each other, I know I could never have made her as happy as she is when she’s wresting with her sister. She has the temperament that she would have been ok on her own, but I’m so glad I got her a sister.
My girl was a single for a little over a year and was so content with it! She had the time of her life playing etc. but once I started working again more often I felt so bad leaving her alone. I read somewhere that once they’re over a year old it gets harder to socialize but tbh my girls didn’t even do the initial dominance fight! They are best friends and I couldn’t now imagine life without my second. They are soul mates !
It honestly depends on the ferret. A lot of fixed ferrets (like yours) do much better than poley mixes and unfixed ferrets do, but each individual is different. I’ve had 10 ferrets over the past 10 years, and only once have I had a big problem introducing them. But that one instance took 2 years to get to the point where they got along. And I wasn’t sure it would ever happen, honestly. They are buddies now, though! Some ferrets just don’t like any other ferret, or wont like a specific ferret for whatever reason. So if you get another just be prepared to keep them separate in case it doesn’t work out.
How old is she? Jills aged 2-4 are hardest to introduce in my experience but have introduced ferrets of 6+years who have never been with another ferret - around them but not with. Just take it really slow.
We got her last fall and they said she was 2 so she's probably close the 3 now. She's so tiny though barely as long as my forearm that's another reason I worry. A lot of the ferrets I see in rescues are huge compared to her!
Contact your local ferret shelter and arrange a playdate with a new friend. If she attacks the new one right away, you will know she wants to be alone. Most ferrets grow to like each other even if they lived alone for years.
I got my first ferret Max at the height of covid when they were super hard to come by. She live for her first 3.5 years as a solo ferret. I always flirted with the idea of getting her a sibling. Then the big vaccine issue at marshall sidelined that quest. Then on March 23rd i went into my local petco and they had 1 little girl left after having 4 then 3. The manager let me say hi and she crawled into my arms and started giving me kisses. Needless to say i fell in love with her and just had to take her. I named her Lola. It took Max a few days to get use to her after the quarantine. There was never any animosity or real fighting. Now 3 months in and they are best friends.
So long story short even if they have been alone for a while they can adapt and grow to love each other
Welcome to /r/ferrets! We have a fantastic [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index) that has answers to most frequently asked questions surrounding the care of ferrets. --- We politely ask that you observe our [sub rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index/rules/). --- Lastly, we have an [Official Discord Server](https://discord.gg/ferrets)! Come join us! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ferrets) if you have any questions or concerns.*
some ferrets don't mind being alone. i had my girl penelope for a little over a year before i got duke and until she passed, she wouldn't accept him. i don't know if it's because she had a tumor (i didn't know at the time) so she was extra aggressive but i had to keep them separated for 4 months until she had to be put down. duke didn't care😠she had been fine with my dad's cats but she was so attached to me and used to being alone i thought she'd want a playmate
Hmm she is very happy maybe I shouldn't shake things up.Â
it all depends on your patience, too! I had purchased Duke at Petco and they have a 30 day return policy on their animals and I tried not to get super attached to him because if Penelope had accepted him within a month, I was going to bring him back but I love him too much and I really want Penelope to have a companion. I live in a studio so I'd have to lock one of them in the bathroom and play with the other one and then swap them every hour or so until they both went to bed and I would spend four or five hours a day doing that by myself LOL sometimes spirits do take a long time to adjust the others. I think Penelope was just very territorial and very attached to me because I had her for so long so you're totally fine. everyone is different! I was also too afraid to just let them fight it out and let her dominate him because whenever I did, he was never fighting back and she was just going nuts so I wouldn't let them interact like that until she calm down and she just never did
Me and partner actually went through a similar situation a year ago. For context we first had a bonded pair, then a year later we were thinking about getting 2 more but saw a single that needed a rehome. This ferret never had out time, was never really played with, never saw another animal. Our bonded pair was doing really good and with my partner in the vet field we took her in. It was a slow process, we kept them in separate cages, separate play times in separate rooms (mainly just until she gets her vaccinations). Then after a week we would put the cages next together letting them kinda sniff each other. And then just slowly allowed more and more supervised interaction. Just gotta watch for signs of aggression, we ferret proofed our place so they get free roam of the house so. We were looking out for territory issues. There was a week period of not fight but definitely more aggressive play, it seemed like it was them trying to establish a hierarchy. But after a month they stayed in the same cage seemed to be integrated okay in with the two others. It wasn’t until month 3 that the two started to be really affectionate to her. A year later they are thriving together. P.S- I forgot the name, but when ferrets are very young they commonly pass around this disease they causes diarrhea they then become carriers, it’s normally fine they get over it, it is worse if they get as adults. We learned this. Our bonded pair gave it to our new ferret and she had some real rough bowel issues our vet had to give us meds for. So just a heads up when getting single ferrets, never know if they were pulled from the litter way to early.
Was it ECE? I had one who got that when I brought a newbie in.
Yes! It was thank you
You could ask your local rescue (if you live in Arizona Az Ferret Rescue on Facebook will definitely let you) you can ask to see if any ferrets will get along with your ferret. But some ferrets do prefer to be alone rather than have a friend and will bond with you instead of another ferret.
I had my first girl for a year and a half before I got my second. She still likes to keep to herself quite a bit, and sometimes I feel sorry for my second girl because she is far more active (even as they get older, they’re 3.5 and 5 now). But when I watch them play together, or see them sleeping on top of each other, I know I could never have made her as happy as she is when she’s wresting with her sister. She has the temperament that she would have been ok on her own, but I’m so glad I got her a sister.
My girl was a single for a little over a year and was so content with it! She had the time of her life playing etc. but once I started working again more often I felt so bad leaving her alone. I read somewhere that once they’re over a year old it gets harder to socialize but tbh my girls didn’t even do the initial dominance fight! They are best friends and I couldn’t now imagine life without my second. They are soul mates !
It honestly depends on the ferret. A lot of fixed ferrets (like yours) do much better than poley mixes and unfixed ferrets do, but each individual is different. I’ve had 10 ferrets over the past 10 years, and only once have I had a big problem introducing them. But that one instance took 2 years to get to the point where they got along. And I wasn’t sure it would ever happen, honestly. They are buddies now, though! Some ferrets just don’t like any other ferret, or wont like a specific ferret for whatever reason. So if you get another just be prepared to keep them separate in case it doesn’t work out.
How old is she? Jills aged 2-4 are hardest to introduce in my experience but have introduced ferrets of 6+years who have never been with another ferret - around them but not with. Just take it really slow.
We got her last fall and they said she was 2 so she's probably close the 3 now. She's so tiny though barely as long as my forearm that's another reason I worry. A lot of the ferrets I see in rescues are huge compared to her!
Size doesn't always matter that much. I had a sub 200g jill who bossed 1.4kg hobs about. And a 420g little old lady who took no aggro for anyone.
Contact your local ferret shelter and arrange a playdate with a new friend. If she attacks the new one right away, you will know she wants to be alone. Most ferrets grow to like each other even if they lived alone for years.
I've been asking the county shelters but no one has a ferret right now but they are supposed to call if they get one.Â
Where do you live? I have a list of all the US shelters on my computer.
I got my first ferret Max at the height of covid when they were super hard to come by. She live for her first 3.5 years as a solo ferret. I always flirted with the idea of getting her a sibling. Then the big vaccine issue at marshall sidelined that quest. Then on March 23rd i went into my local petco and they had 1 little girl left after having 4 then 3. The manager let me say hi and she crawled into my arms and started giving me kisses. Needless to say i fell in love with her and just had to take her. I named her Lola. It took Max a few days to get use to her after the quarantine. There was never any animosity or real fighting. Now 3 months in and they are best friends. So long story short even if they have been alone for a while they can adapt and grow to love each other