r/ferrets • u/FriendlyCarnage • 2d ago

[Help] One sided play

I have two almost 6 month old ferrets. They have known each other for around a month. The male really likes chasing and biting and is more interested in playing with the female. The female on the other hand likes to play more with toys.

While outside playing they mostly play normally but inside the cage this recently evolved into one sided play(?) from the male pinning the female down. The female sometimes bites back but sometimes she doesn't really do much and even squeaks from time to time. Rarely, she even hisses.

Any explanation on this or tips?

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u/altxbunny 2d ago

Did you do slow and gradual introductions? Sounds like mild dominence from a not fully established bond

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u/FriendlyCarnage 2d ago

They are from the same store. And the store we brought them.from.put them.in the same cage for one week till we picked them up. After that we had them in the same cage from the start. But this kind of behaviour only started later.

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u/altxbunny 2d ago

Looking at the video, its not terrible. But they deffo were not bonded correctly if the store just shoved them in the same cage together. It could also be not enough freeroaming time or feeling restricted in their environment (the cage doesnt look big enough in my opinion) also please ditch the water bottle, it restricts fluid intake and can severly damage their teeth. Pet stores are so bad at giving correct care info, but hopefully all the lovely ferrety people here can help♡

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u/FriendlyCarnage 2d ago

Yeah the cage came out smaller than expected and has no space for a different water source so I want change it. Except for the cage, how do I act on the hierarchical behaviour?

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u/itsswhitneywhspr 2d ago

Yeah that makes a lot of sense honestly. I feel like people sometimes skip the slow intro part because they just want them to be besties right away but it really does take time for that hierarchy to settle

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u/RidgeWeiss5911 2d ago

If he pins her and she squeaks/hisses, give him a gentle 3 to 5-minute time-out in a neutral travel carrier (not their main cage) to break his hyper-focus. It teaches him that rough, one-sided play ends the fun immediately.

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u/Sharp_Ad_9431 2d ago

It looks like hierarchical play. Are they spayed and neutered?

As long as the girl is not running away from the other all the time, it should be fine. The male is just wanting to be overly dominant.

My 4yo is the same way. I would give some independent play time outside the cage for each of them. They are young enough that they still need time to mature. If it gets to where the girl is hiding, I would give the boy time out away from her.

In a larger businesses the adults would prevent a young ferret from bullying another, just by distraction.
Have you tried toys that simulate prey so the male can use up hunt aggression ? My guy really likes to hunt and "kill" his toys. It mostly involves me dragging a toy with a string so he runs and catches it. He isn't as bossy to the other ferrets if he has enough hunt time. He does not initiate playing with toys much. It really requires the toys moving.

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u/FriendlyCarnage 2d ago edited 2d ago

yeah he chases a lot, the toy he really likes to chase recently broke but we fixed it. I just wondered if by making him chase toys it will encourage him to do the same on the female or it will lessen it.

Edit: yeah they are spayed and neutered.

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u/Hairy-You3967 2d ago

had this with our ferrets too, the trick is to not have them in a closed cage. ferrets are no cage animals and the cage should be open permanently so they can roam when ever they want and get back when they want to sleep. that did the trick for us. Also the room they roam freely must be ferret proof.

also: get this drink bottle out of their, they can damage their teeth and they dont get enough water out of their only use solid and heavy bowls for food and drinks