By Mary Wesker

We see A LOT of people who don’t quarantine, or speak against it. Or just don’t know.

This group likes to do things in the safest way possible so we fully support and recommend this practice. The AFA Guide is here, the rest is my argument for quarantine, followed by Intro basics.

It is ABSOLUTELY necessary to quarantine for a minimum of 2 weeks.

These are the main reasons why:

1) You don't know if your new ferrets are up-to-date on vaccines (if bought outside a pet store) or what types of illnesses/bacteria they have been exposed to before being in your home.

Many of these illnesses/bacteria can spread to other ferrets. ECE is a huge problem because of this. Links on that HERE. And Infectious Diseases of Ferrets.

2) There are emotional/mental benefits to a quarantine period as well. This time alone, without another ferret/ferrets all over them (dominance fighting, being a little too inquisitive) can be a great time to bond one on one with the new ferret as well as allowing them to acclimate to the new people/smells/environment/etc without the extra stress of other ferrets.

3) Typically they're not on the same food you feed. Quarantine gives you a nice 2 week period to switch them onto the food you feed the rest of your crew.

Proper quarantine should be done in separate rooms; but many people can’t do this. So you can have a different cage on the other side of the same room, but be sure not to let either ferret interact with the other’s items/cage, immediately clean any stool/urine outside the cages, wash your hands with antibacterial soap between handling any ferrets, or interacting with their cages/food or water bowls/especially litter boxes.

Intros are easy when you know what you’re doing.

(And that’s what I’m here to tell you 😉 )

The most important thing is to SUPERVISE ALWAYS and stay close. It is best to introduce in a neutral area, like a bathroom or room they are not usually in, so the existing ferret(s) don’t feel encroached on. It can help to share blankets between new and existing ferrets cages during quarantine (But ONLY after a proper vet check has been passed, and the initial two week period where you should be looking for signs of more insidious illnesses, like ECE).

If you introduce in a play pen, make sure there is a place for a ferret to go to hide (even if it's just a big blanket to dive under). It's very possible they won't immediately get along, and giving them a place to escape to will help you know that you may need to take introductions a bit more slowly.

Generally, stay out of the way unless you see/hear one or more of the following:

• Pooping/Urinating on themselves during interaction
• Bleeding wounds/scratches of any kind
• OBVIOUS fear behavior (this means, clear avoidance of the other ferret(s)
• Shrieking [not dooking/soft squeaking] in fear
• Running and hiding. If they hide and then interact with the other ferret(s) this is play and should be left uninterrupted.)

The more often you interrupt normal play/dominance play, the longer it will take for them to integrate.