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Post by whipple on Jul 28, 2008 14:56:19 GMT -5
Ok, so I figured this bickering was due to Lars being new. Plus neither had ever before lived with another fert (besides before they were originally bought). So I ignored it mostly. But now it's gotten worse.
Here's what happens. I let them out, Lars will go looking for Rascal who hides under the dresser. He's too big to get under there. So he waits. She will come out and snap then scoot back in. Finally he loses interest and they go off to explore. Rascal will end up laying in her tunnels at some point (cloth crinkle tunnels) trying to nap. So Lars notices and will go check it out. He will stick his nose in, sees that shes in there then either try to (what seems like) mount her and the tunnel or just drag her around in the tunnel. The mounting will usually bring her out in a furry and she chases him around and he acts scared. But until last night nothing came of it. He would usually escape into the (non proofed) kitchen and hide out till I brought him back. But since I made the barrier taller he can't jump it. So now she's catching him and he got bit on the nose. I figured he might stop if she got him back. Nope. he did it again. This time he dragged around her tunnel before she came out and she got him on the nose. I gave them oth time outs. He wasn't badly hurt, so I figured he'd be ok. But then I found poop in the middle of the room. She had scared him shitless!
So any help would be lovely. I don't want to have to keep them seperated if theres a way to work this out.
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Post by whipple on Jul 29, 2008 21:41:00 GMT -5
I just got bit! These two cannot be together. I let her out and they just started fighting, no chasing or anything. They we right under my feet and I couldn't move without possibly stepping on one, so Lars turned around and bit me. hard. It F-ing Hurts! I am so not happy and about ready to murder the little rat. And one of them took a dump again from the fighting.
I cannot be letting them out seperately right now, unless they only want an hr or two out each. And when I let only one out at a time they try to get at each other through the cage bars!
My foot/leg hurts badly. What do I do?
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Post by Heather on Jul 29, 2008 23:02:56 GMT -5
I'm sorry that you've got 2 fuzzies who hate each other  I have a couple of those. Can you let them play in separate rooms with a divider between? or if you have a play room can you divide up the playroom with playpens. I will be honest I've had a couple of ferrets that cannot stand each other. There seems to be nothing that you can do to make them like each other..maybe someone else can offer some insight but it's rather like people...they just plain hate each other. I rescued a pair, they were horrible. They would actually attach the other furbabies through the cage. They would catch hold of their feet and try and haul them through the cage bars. I fostered them out as the foster parent at the time said she only wanted the 2 boys. She eventually fostered a couple more but even after Balthazar passed on, Nasty Ivan remained a solo fuzzbutt. I have a strange situation where my path valley bullies and my 2 breeder's rescues hate my marshal brats. I don't know why but that's how my business has split itself. The only one that switches back and forth is little Nicodemus, he's not the smartest tool, but he's sweet and the path valley bullies let him play with them, in fact his main playmate is Mad Max. Some of the attacks are very aggressive causing much screaming, pooping and if I'm not fast blood. So I've resigned myself to running split play times. It's just how I found myself doing things. ciao |
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Post by whipple on Jul 29, 2008 23:42:46 GMT -5
Thanks heather. I would give them seperate ares in an instant. But right now I do not have funds for a playpen. When I get one I could put one in and let the other one run around the room and then switch. But now I have two big cages being used up by a fert each, it kills me.
My first ferret was perfect. As was my first dog. And I now know its not such a great thing. Every pet afterwards just doesn't seem that great, ykwim? But Rascal is a great ferret. Lars and I are not buddies tonight though. Although my leg/foot is fine.
Do you know of anywhere I can find a cheap playpen? Shipping is horrendous, It'd almost be cheaper to drive it here. lol
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Post by weloveourweasels on Jul 30, 2008 0:04:52 GMT -5
Everything sounded to me like a normal domination thing until you mentioned one got so scared it pooped. I will however quote this from the book Ferrets by animal planet. The first encounter should begin by placing the ferrets' cages side by side. In this way, they have an opportunity to become acquainted safely through the cages. There may be a few spats because ferrets can be territorial. Keep the ferrets separate for a few days. When you feel the time is right, open both cage doors, stand back, and let them come out. They probably will sniff each other from nose to tail, which is normal, then either get along, wrestle a bit, or fight. Allow the initial contact to last for a few minutes. Do not push togetherness. extend their social time slowly each day until they get used to each other. Get- acquainted sessions should be brief and scheduled twice a day until the ferrets decide to become roommates. you will know that they are ready when you see them cuddle together in their chosen cage. Friendship takes time; some within two to three months, and unfortunately, some never bond. If your ferrets do not bond after six months , separate housing and playtime will be necessary. When I got Loki she had been by herself for a year and a half (maybe longer I'm not sure if the girl lied to me about her age) she had never seen another ferret. I got Rolo 2 months after I got Loki she was an 8 week old kit. There was lots of hissing screaming and dragging around and barking. It was scary looking. Neither of them ever scared the poop out of each other. I just made sure I stayed far back and didn't intervene. I sat on a chair with my feet up (when there is a ball of fur flying around the room and they are biting at each other they can easily mistake you foot leg or ankle as another weasel. I've gotten bit quite a few times being in their way. So just try to do what this article says and then hopefully it goes well from there. Loki and Rolo would not sleep together for about a week then one day I woke up and they were cuddled together in the same hammock so all was well.  |
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Post by dalamar on Jul 30, 2008 2:17:24 GMT -5
It sounds to me like you have an Alpha Male and an Alpha Female. Since I assume they are both fixed, this will not be resolved by them mating; which from my experience is the usual result with animals.
My Piper is an Alpha Female and I had her and Bandit (also female) first; then a couple of weeks later I got Dillon, an Alpha Male. Piper was fine with him until he tried to eat before she did. There was lots of hissing and fighting in the cage, and then outside the cage (I hid on the couch). Well, one day she had had enough; while he was eating she pounced and bit him on the neck, there was a fight, and eventually Dillon (much bigger than she was) got dragged down to the lower level of the ramp by his ear.
Since then they fight a lot as Dillon tries to overpower and dominate her, but he never eats before she does. I've been bitten twice, once on the foot and again on the ear (Piper tried to drag me away from Dillon like some toy!).
Since yours are drawing blood I would suggest handling them the way my friend does his dogs; show them that you are the alpha and not them. When they fight, scruff them or spray them with bitter apple, just enough to separate them when things get too rough. I don't like scruffing personally (because I spoil them too much) but I had no choice when Bandit started biting me so that I would give her more mice to hunt. It didn't take long for her to get the point.
That's about the only help that I can give.
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Post by weloveourweasels on Jul 30, 2008 4:09:15 GMT -5
I agree with Dalamar about them both being Alpha male and Alpha female. In my business Rolo Is Alpha female. Even though she is way younger than Loki she is much bigger than her. Then came along Mr. Bean and he is the only male so that makes him Alpha male. Heres how it goes in my house. Mr. Bean and Loki play together most of the day and Rolo kind of does her own thing and plays by herself. Rolo rarely wants anything to do with him while she is awake. But occasionally when (and only when) Loki is sleeping will I see Mr. Bean and Rolo play together and it isn't nearly as hard play as when Mr. Bean and Loki play, the go at it. When I first got Mr. Bean he was so small Rolo didn't see him as a threat and he wasn't Alpha male YET. So there was no fighting between them she just ignores him mostly. The first fight was the other night I gave out N-bone halves to everyone and Rolo being the largest (For now Mr. Bean is basically the same size as her now) she always finishes hers first. She decided she would have a go at Mr. Beans. Well he was not having it at all and he put up a good fight. They were biting the crap out of each other; hissing and barking. It was loud too. I almost decided to separate them but I just kept an eye one the N-bone piece and made sure Rolo didn't get it. He didn't back down from her. A couple nights BEFORE all of this I hear this thundering behind me inside of a beer box tunnel along with some hissing and barking I was like WTF is going on?!?! Out comes Rolo AND Loki attached to the same N-bone. Rolo had of course already finished hers even though I give them all one at the same time. Loki had finally had enough of Rolo's crap and was actually defending herself this time. Rolo ALWAYS tried to steal Loki's N-bones. Most of the time she is successful unless I catch on to it. Poor Loki.
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Post by whipple on Jul 30, 2008 21:24:45 GMT -5
Ok, so I finally got a video of their fighting. This is a very minor fight, and it escalated everytime they were out. Lars would always start it. He just would not leave Rascal alone. www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-VilsGUII8 I have decided to keep them seperated, and try my hardest to find a playpen I can afford. *fingers crossed* |
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Post by josiesmom on Jul 30, 2008 23:11:14 GMT -5
Faylene and Fizzle will never get along. Fizzle hunts Faylene down and will attack her as she sleeps! I move Faylene around to different sleeping spots and when I leave the house I put the old girl in a cage to keep her safe from Fizzle.
If Faylene is up and Fizzle walks by, Faylene will lunge at her! The fights have gotten less dramatic as time has passed ( a year now) but they still hate each other. Time may acclimate the two, so just deal with it as best you can.
The one and only time Fozzy bit me was when Jopsie had pestered him to no end and he was giving her heck! I stpidly reached my bare hand in between them and he spun on me and bit through the base of my thumb nail! YOWEE!
The handiest thing to separate the squabblers is a paper towel roll tube. You can get this in between the two and push them apart without hurting them or getting bit.
Sometimes taking both of them to a strange place ( like a store or an outdoor area) can intimidate them into looking to eachother for comfort.
Good luck!
Kim
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Post by weloveourweasels on Jul 31, 2008 1:12:28 GMT -5
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Lynna
Going Natural
Posts: 106
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Post by Lynna on Jul 31, 2008 8:25:43 GMT -5
if you have paypal you can put in the information from your checking or savings account and they will take the money out of that too. Most sellers on ebay accept paypal but it can take 3 or 4 days to set up since you have to check your bank statement as part of the set up(could have changed in the last 3 or 4 years). Also I'm not sure how availible they are in canada but I've ordered from sellers located in canada before and used an international money order from the post office, its only a few cents more.
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Post by whipple on Jul 31, 2008 17:20:03 GMT -5
I do have paypal, but the shipping for playpens is insane, thats my major issue.
I checked out those links. They're all for the covers, not the actual playpens.
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Post by pear2apple on Aug 1, 2008 9:25:30 GMT -5
It looks mostly like a dominance struggle. And the "mounting" butt hugging you are describing is also normal. Screaming and dooking are normal sounds I hear on a daily basis when I let Kiwi and Apple play together. One thing that will tell you more if they are fighting or playing is to see if either of them backs away from the other, and then DOES NOT come back to play more. If they are running away constantly and the other isn't following them and he doesn't run back over to play, he's probably scared. But if one runs away, then turns around and comes back, its just a game.
Also, to see this best, try clearing as much room as possible on the floor so they can't hide under something so you can really see how they interact. I noticed in the video he was under (a bed?) and you couldn't see much. However, certainly don't let that go on for more than a few minutes so they don't get really scared. The point is just to see if they run away and come back to each other.
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Post by whipple on Aug 1, 2008 13:49:06 GMT -5
Sometimes they do come back for more, other times Lars will just run, and he will run from her even if she's not chasing. It depends if he's feeling daring. I am keeping them apart during playtimes for now. They only get out after my son goes to bed, and I stay up late so they get at least a couple hrs out. Once I get a playpen they can be out much longer, and have a couple hrs in the general room too. Plus I might clear out a room and they can play in there too until I get a playpen.
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Post by charmantpapillon on Aug 1, 2008 20:19:06 GMT -5
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