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Avian and Exotic Animal Medicine
with a passion!
Picture

​Your Ferret’s First Visit to the Vet

Introduction

The domestic ferrets,  Mustela putorius furo, is a descendent of the European polecat.  Its Latin name is very descriptive.  Mustela is derived form the Latin word for weasel, and puto is Latin for “to smell bad”.  The characteristic odor of the ferret is produced form numerous glands spread throughout the skin and two main odor-producing glands called the anal glands.  Most ferrets have been “descented” prior to purchase, which means the main odor producing “glands” have been surgically removed. 

Ferrets tend to be very gentle and playful pets.  They are extremely curious and often get into mischief if left unattended.  Please note that juvenile ferrets can be “nippy” and should not be let alone with small children. 

Although the ferret is one of the most common pets in the United States, they are still illegal in some areas.  Check with your local authorities about any legal restrictions concerning ferrets. 

Nutrition

Ferrets have a very high metabolic rate and should have food and fresh water constantly available, as they require multiple meals throughout the day to sustain themselves.  Water bottles are less messy and more sanitary, and therefore are preferred to water dishes.

Ferrets are true carnivores; their diet must consist mainly of meat and animal products.  Their digestive system cannot adequately handle diets high in fiber or carbohydrates. Commercial ferret diets, formulated to meet the specific nutritional needs of the ferret, are now available, and therefore ferrets should not be maintained on mink or cat food.  Raw diets such as True Carnivore are also recommended.

Occasional pieces of cooked, boneless meat make good treats. 

A quality ferret diet should be 30 - 35% crude protein and 15 – 18% fat.  When reading the pet food label, the first several items listed should be animal proteins such as chicken, poultry by-products, meat meal, liver or eggs.  Most homemade formulations should be avoided as they fail to meet the high protein, high fat and low carbohydrate requirements, while maintaining a healthy vitamin-mineral balance.

An improper diet may result in an unhealthy immune system that may predispose to poor overall health, including infections in the urinary tract, gastrointestinal system and respiratory system.

Housing

Provide the largest cage that space and budget will allow.  Ferrets especially enjoy climbing in multilevel cages.  When you are home, provide frequent supervised play outside the cage, as ferrets are very fond of chewing on plastic or soft rubber items, which if swallowed, can result in potentially lethal intestinal obstruction.  In addition to providing adequate housing, a litter box should be provided.  Since ferrets especially like to eliminate in corners, it is ideal to keep a litter box in every room that the ferret can access.  Acceptable substrates for the litter box include paper products and regular, non-clumping cat litter.  Clumping litters have a tendency to stick to the ferret’s nose and can cause respiratory distress.  Due to resins that may cause respiratory irritation, cedar or pine shavings should not be used for litter material.

Elective Surgeries

Most ferrets are de-scented (had their anal sacs removed) and neutered or spayed at a very young age before they are adopted.  Although these surgeries will decrease the ferret’s odor, it will not totally eliminate the characteristic musky smell. 

If you have a ferret that has not been surgically altered, it is strongly recommended to do so to keep your ferret healthy.  Neutered males will be less aggressive.  Unspayed female ferrets may stay “in heat” for prolonged periods and develop a fatal anemia as a result of estrogen toxicity.  Even though nearly all ferrets from pet stores are neutered before puberty, doing the surgery at such an early age has been suggested to be associated with development of adrenal disease in older ferrets.  If given the choice, some feel it is better to perform the surgery after the onset of puberty at 6-9 months of age. 

Preventative Medicine

All juvenile ferrets should be vaccinated against canine distemper at approximately 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age and then annually.  Ferrets should also be vaccinated against rabies at 14 weeks of age and then yearly.  These viruses are fatal, so your ferret needs to be protected.  Vaccine reactions may occur and, as a precaution, your veterinarian may request a 20 minute post-vaccination period within the hospital. 

Intestinal parasites (worms) are uncommon in ferrets.  However, all ferrets should have a fecal exam for intestinal parasites performed during their initial physical exam and if the ferret develops diarrhea.  Also, all new ferrets going to homes with preexisting ferrets should be quarantined and carefully observed for two weeks before being introduced to other ferrets.  A quarantine period may help prevent the spread of epizootic catarrhal enteritis (“green slime disease”), a contagious virus that causes mucousy, green diarrhea and overall debilitation.

Just like dogs and cats, ferrets are susceptible for heartworm disease, resulting in labored breathing or sudden death.  Therefore, in areas of the country where heartworm disease is prevalent, your ferret should be placed on a monthly preventative. 

Ferrets, like cats, can get hairballs.  But unlike cats, ferrets do not typically vomit hairballs.  Instead, the hairball remains in the stomach where it can cause a lack of appetite with eventual weight loss and debilitation.  Administering a feline hairball remedy a couple of times each week will help prevent this. 

Ferrets over the age of three may need yearly dental scaling and cleaning to prevent periodontal disease.  Daily brushing with a feline toothbrush and enzymatic paste at home may keep this from becoming an issue. 

A yearly physical exam is a must for all ferrets.  Once they reach the age of three, radiographs (X-rays) and blood work should be performed every 6-12 months to detect early signs of disease. 

References
  1. Bell J:  Ferret Nutrition.  In Veterinary Clinics of North America :  Exotic Animal Practice, 2:1, 1991, pp. 169-192. 
  2. Boyce, Zingy, Lightfoot.  In Veterinary Clinics of North America :  Exotic Animal Practice, 4:5, 2001, pp. 697-712.
  3. Hillyer, Quesenberry: Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents
  4. Ivey, Morrisey JM:  Ferrets: Examination and Preventative Medicine.  In Veterinary Clinics of North America :  Exotic Animal Practice, 2:2, 1999, pp. 471-493.
  5. Johnson-Delany C: Ferrets, Exotic Companion Medicine Handbook, 2000.
  6. Rosenthal, K: Enhancing your Practice with Small Mammals and Reptiles.  In Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, 9:4, 2000, pp. 204-210.
  7. Rosskopf , W: Some Important Behavioral Characteristics of Various Non-avian Pets Seen in Clinical Practice.  In Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, 8:4, 1999, pp. 145-153. 
  8. Stamoulis, M:  Cardiac Disease in Ferrets.  In Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, 4:1, 195, pp. 43-48.

If you have any NON-EMERGENT questions, please feel free to call us at 847-329-8709
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  • Home
  • Emergency Care
  • Care Sheets
    • General Care >
      • Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)
      • Heating Reptile Enclosures
      • Health Veggie Shopping for Reptiles
      • Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
      • Metabolic Bone Disease Care
      • Vaccines in Exotic Animals
    • Birds >
      • Amazon Care
      • Avian Influenza Fact Sheet
      • Avian Influenza for Poultry Fact Sheet
      • Avian Bornavirus Testing
      • Budgie Care
      • Canaries
      • Chicken Care
      • Chronic Egg Laying
      • Cleaning and Disinfecting
      • Cockatiels (and other small Psittacines)
      • Cockatoo Care
      • ​Converting Your Bird to a Pelleted Diet
      • Feather Picking
      • General Parrot Care
      • Handfeeding Baby Parrots
      • Healthy Shopping for your Birds
      • Infectious Diseases of Parrots
      • Instructions for Physical Therapy in Birds
      • Lead Poisoning
      • McWatters Diet (Homemade Mash)
      • Macaw Care
      • Parrot Precautions
      • Polyoma Virus
      • Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease
      • Proventricular Dilatation Disease
      • Spiroform Pharangitis (Spirochetes)
      • Baby Starling and Sparrow guidelines
      • Territorial Aggression
      • Unsafe Plants for Birds
      • Weaning Baby Birds
      • What to Feed Your Pet Bird
      • Wing Injury and Rehabilitation
      • Wing Trims
      • Your Overly Reproductive Female Bird
      • Zinc Toxicity
    • Caiman Care
    • Ferret and Fox Care >
      • Your Ferret’s First Visit to the Vet
      • An Overview of Ferret Adrenal Disease
      • Chronic Diarrhea in Ferrets
      • Ferret Dentistry
      • Heart Disease in Ferrets
      • Heartworm Disease in Ferrets
      • Insulinoma in Ferrets
      • Lymphoma In Ferrets
      • Bob’s Chicken Gravy
      • Fennec Foxes
      • Red Foxes
    • Fish >
      • Algae in your Freshwater Aquarium
      • Eel Care
      • Freshwater Tropical Fish Care
      • Beginning a Freshwater Aquarium
      • Cleaning your Freshwater Aquarium
      • How to Feed your Fish
      • Aquarium Corals
      • Koi Care
      • General Goldfish Care
      • Hermit Crab Care
    • Invertebrate Care
    • Frogs, Toads, and Other Amphibians >
      • Argentine Horned Frogs
      • Bullfrog Care
      • Dart Frog Care
      • Feeding Pet Frogs and Toads
      • Fire Bellied Toad Care
      • Pixie Frog Care
      • Red Eyed Tree Frog Care
      • Short Tongue Syndrome
      • Tiger Salamander Care
      • Axolotl Care
      • White Lipped Tree Frog Care
      • White's Tree Frog Care
      • Ranavirus
    • Guinea Pigs and Rodents >
      • Chinchilla Care
      • Cuy Criollo (Giant Guinea Pig)
      • Health Problems with Guinea Pigs
      • Degu Care
      • Gerbil Care
      • Guinea Pig Care
      • Hamster Care
      • Diabetic Hamster Diet
      • Mice Care
      • Rat Care
      • Health Problems with Rats
      • Prairie Dog Care
      • Odontoma
      • Veggies For Guinea Pigs
      • Visible Tumors in Rodents
      • Vitamin C Deficiency In Guinea Pigs
    • Hedgehog Care >
      • Baby Hedgehog (Hoglet) Care
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      • Kinkajou Care
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      • Anole Care
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      • Crested Gecko Care
      • Geckos of New Caledonia
      • Crocodile Monitor Care
      • Frilled Lizard Care
      • Green Iguana Care
      • Jackson's Chameleon Care
      • Leopard Gecko Care
      • Nile Monitor Care
      • Old World Chameleon Care
      • Panther Chameleon Care
      • Red-Eyed Crocodile Skink Care
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      • Training Your Bunny
      • What To Feed Your Rabbit
      • Learning to Use the Litter Box
      • What To Expect From Your New Rabbit
      • Dental Disease in Rabbits
      • Heart Disease in Rabbits
      • Healthy Stool in Rabbits
      • Gastrointestinal Stasis in Rabbits
      • RHDV2 Fact Sheet
      • Parasites of Rabbits
      • Sore Hocks in Rabbits
      • Pasteurella in Rabbits
      • Medicating Your Rabbit or Guinea Pig
    • Snakes >
      • Amazon Tree Boa Care
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      • California Kingsnake Care
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      • Inclusion Body Disease
    • Sugar Gliders and Marsupials
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      • Leopard Tortoise Care
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      • Musk Turtle Care
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      • Red Eared Slider Care
      • Russian Tortoise Care
      • Soft Shelled Turtle Care
      • Sulcata Care >
        • Diet For Sulcata Tortoises
      • Common Health Problems
      • General Care of Aquatic Turtles
      • Redfoot tortoise Care
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