I have a very lonely ferret.

She is six years old and very picky about who she likes. Until recently she was living with two other ferrets who she did like. One was eight years old, the other was dying of parathyroid cancer.


You can imagine what has happened. They both died within a week of each other. Now I have nine ferrets all living happily together, and one who is lonely, but viciously attacks any of the other nine who we try to introduce her to. 

She goes for them with intent to kill. She is savage. She even beats up my biggest hobs.

I play with her every day but I still think she is lonely, she's never really been alone before...

So, any ideas on ways to stop her being so sad and lonely?

Hi.  Sorry for your losses.
I assume you've tried each of the other 9?  What about several at a time?
I wish I had an easy answer.  We've been through some terrible looking skirmishes, first with Prissy and everyone else, then with Lola and Rosa, who were introduced a couple years after the last group.  Only Pandora accepted them both right off.  Both had been single ferrets, but Lola tried so hard to make friends, it was really sad watching her get beat up.  Rosa, on the other hand, didn't know how to play with others and always ended up biting someone.  It took a couple months for them to sort it themselves.  Prissy only really mellowed after she lost her sight (we suspect a stroke).  Even now, we've only found her sleeping with Yoshi, one time, when he got into her gated area and crawled into her bed while she was asleep.  


Try putting a couple bowls of food near each other and see if she can at least eat in the presence of another ferret.  You can also try swapping bedding with the others to get her used to their smell.  

Wish you the best of luck

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

Yeah, we've tried her in every possible combination. She's always been like this, she's actually a rescue and she was rehomed once before I got her, and was sent back for trying to kill her owner's jills D:

She's a bad tempered ladybird for sure! She actually attacks her own reflection sometimes xD

She lives within sight/smell/earshot of my other nine so I'll try switching up blankets to see if it comforts her, and I'm also going to get her a snuggly toy to cuddle up to in her bed, it's not quite another ferret but it might do :p

I'm so sorry for the loss of your 2 babies. 😢💔
Sometimes after losing a cagemate some don't want another friend. I had one that way. After Jaspers cagemate Minnie died he wanted nothing to do with any other ferret. He was happy to just play with us. I would just give her extra human attention. 

 
Fuzzbutts Rule!