I'm bit worried about my ferret Peanut. She's about six years old and I got her just yesterday from a lady who said she was giving her away to someone with another ferret because she seemed depressed. The lady seemed like she really cared about Peanut however I'm afraid she is in a bad condition. She gets scared when someone tries to hold her, she's awfully skinny, has diarrhea, and is almost bald from her tail.
I know she needs time to warm up to people and we need to give her time to get used to us. I was told her diarrhea was due to her diet and was currently in the process of changing her diet, however would it be alright if I just change her diet to the one my other ferret has? or should I continue with her old diet change and then change her from that one to the one I use? Plus I assume her being skinny is a result from her diarrhea. My other question is, what could cause the hair loss on her tail? I will be taking her and my other ferret for a check up soon but I'm afraid I'll worsen Peanut's health before I can even make it better.

Thank you for taking Peanut. The hair loss on her tail could be stress, poor diet, rat tail or adrenal disease. If you're switching her food do it gradually. Add the new to the old and gradually add more and more new till the old is gone. To fatten her up try a soupy or you can get Beechnut 1st stage chicken or turkey baby food. Dilute it some and give her that besides the kibble. You may have to rub some on her gums or even use a small syringe to get her to eat it. Most act like you're poisoning them at first. The diarrhea can also be caused by poor diet and stress. She needs plenty of fluids because diarrhea can cause them to be dehydrated. That makes them feel bad and then they don't want to eat or do much of anything. My best advice is to get her to the vet ASAP and have her checked out. At her age it also would be good to have her BG (blood glucose) checked. Not an expensive test and good to have checked. I hope this will help you. 

Soupy can also be just simply soaking her kibble then using a food processor or blender to puree it with water to the consistency you want. There are also recipes for soupy in the "Recipe" section of the forum.

 
Fuzzbutts Rule!

Thank you so much for the advise! I feel much more confident about managing her diet now that I have an idea on what to do. I sadly won't be able to take her to the vet till next week due to my horrible schedule, which is why I needed the advise. Would you also mind explaining the symptoms of adrenal disease? I will for sure get her checked up for it once I take her to the vet but I'd like to be more informed of it now.
Thank you so so much again for replying and giving me advise!

Check out this site:   http://www.miamiferret.org/
 
On the side menu is some info on Adrenal.
 
I hope this helps

Hi.  I use a coffee grinder to grind kibble into powder in bulk so I can just measure it out one meal at a time.  

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

Thank you all for replying. I asked the previous owner about her tail and she told me that Peanut had been taken to the vet to find out about her hair. The vet said it was nothing big, and that it is just because she's getting old. I did check out the website and read many questions and replies, my educated guess is that she just has excess oils on her tail since she does have black spots on it. I will proceed to wash her tail a bit more often to see if it helps for now, but I will be taking her to the vet just in case. 
Thanks again for your replies.