Your Ferret Questions Answered
Question: I have read a number of articles talking about how important it is to have a yearly exam for ferrets, but some discourage you from having them vaccinated with the distemper and rabies shot. I was wondering what are your professional thoughts? I have always taken my ferrets for their shots. I now have 2 ferrets that are 2 years old, never go outside or spend anytime around other animals. Do you think they still need to have the shots? Answer: The short answer is Yes. Canine distemper is virtually always fatal in ferrets, so is rabies. The chance of the average indoor ferret being exposed to rabies is very remote. However, distemper can be carried into your home on your shoes or by another pet. The concern many people have about vaccinating ferrets is the risk of vaccine reaction. To reduce the risk, the vaccine manufacturers recommend giving the two shots (rabies and canine distemper) at least two weeks apart. By doing this, you also make it easy to figure out which vaccination caused a reaction if a reaction does occur. Reactions can also be avoided or their severity reduced by pretreating the ferret, usually with Benedryl. It's important to note that most vaccine reactions can be treated by your vet in a timely manner. This is why you must stay at the vet's office for at least 20 to 30 minutes or longer after your ferret is vaccinated. If a ferret has had no reactions to a vaccine, there is no reason to stop vaccinating him. In some states, the rabies vaccine is required by law, but if your ferret has a reaction to the vaccine, he can be exempt. If a ferret has had a vaccine reaction in the past, it's up to you and your vet to decide whether the risk of reaction is worth the protection. Our ferret Gabby has had reactions to two different brands of canine distemper vaccine, so we have decided that the risk of reaction is too great to continue vaccinating her. However, she does not go outside and she is never around other animals or humans other than immediate family. When Knuks had a vaccine reaction, we continued to vaccinate her with pretreatment until she had another reaction because she was often out in public. When we decided it was too dangerous to continue vaccinating her, she "retired" from public life. Question: I read in books that you can use flea collars on ferrets. I was wondering if you can use flea drops on them as well? My ferret always seems to pull off his collar so it doesn't work well. The cats wear theirs so there aren't many fleas in the house but the ferret always seems to have them. Any suggestions would be a big help. Answer: I'm not sure where you read that ferrets should have flea collars, but you should *not* use a flea collar on a ferret. Likewise, you should not use flea dip on a ferret. These items are too strong for ferrets. If your ferret has problems with fleas, you can use a flea shampoo or spray that's made for ferrets or is safe for use on kittens, or you can talk to your vet about using a prescription flea product that is safe for use with kittens (such as Advantage or Frontline). Note that these products are not approved for use on ferrets but they have been used safely on ferrets at kitten dosages for several years. The reason your ferret ends up with fleas is that fleas seek warmth -- and ferrets just happen to be a bit warmer than cats. We knew someone who swore she could watch the fleas jump from her cat to one of her ferrets if she held them side by side! Question: I have read that you really shouldn't give a ferret fruits or veggies, but you see the canister of them in the store for ferrets. I have read and been told that a couple Cheerios or Kix cereal is ok once a week, then hear differently somewhere else. We've tried a lot of other treats like the Bandits and such, but our ferrets don't like them. Seems they don't really like the meat flavored ones at all. What else is there to try? Any good recommended brands? Answer: The key point with treats is balance. A Cheerio now and then doesn't hurt. An occasional piece of soft fruit or melon is all right, too. One of the problems with the basic ferret diet in the US is that there's an awful lot of carbohydrates in it. Carbohydrates are converted to sugars, which can wreak havoc on an obligate carnivore's system, especially the pancreas. It's hard to avoid, though, because all kibbled foods contain carbohydrates. So if your ferret's basic diet is already an iffy proposition, then feeding treats like cereals and fruits (which are basically carbohydrates) can just make things worse. That's why we give Gabby a little bit of Chicken baby food as a treat. She likes it and it's much better her for her than a lot of other treats. Another "trick" is to feed your ferret his regular food from your hand -- piece by piece. We had several ferrets who would be ecstatic to get pieces of their own food as a "treat." Another little trick is to store some pieces of your ferrets' regular food in an air-tight container with a few raisins. The food will then pick up the smell of raisins without picking up the sugars. There are a lot of treats labeled for ferrets that are simply not good for them. Not all pet food companies do their research -- and some that do the research bow to public demand for "sweet" treats. Even treats like FerretBites and Bandits have very little nutritional value and an awful lot of carbohydrates. So we come back to balance. Treats should never take the place of your ferrets' regular diet. Question: Our ferret doesn't like meat or raw vegetables. She loves Fruit Loops and Honey Nut Cheerios (cereal), Raisins, Dry Cat Food and various other things that I know do not provide enough vitamins for her. What can you suggest? I have not tried any of the supplements because I have heard that they are not good for the ferrets. Answer: First off, it's a good thing that your ferret doesn't like raw vegetables -- many vegetables and fruits are not appropriate for a ferret. "Hard" vegetables like carrots can cause an intestinal blockage; too much of any fruit or vegetable can have an adverse effect on your ferret's health. Ferrets are primary, obligate carnivores, which means they must have meat protein. They can get that from raw or cooked meats (ideally whole animal), moist or canned-type meat foods (such as for cats), or from kibbled foods (like dry ferret or kitten foods -- adult cat foods rarely, if ever, have enough meat protein to sustain a ferret's good health). Dog food does not provide proper nutrition for ferrets (though as an occasional treat a piece of dog food is all right). Surgary cereals like Froot Loops are not good for ferrets because they have basically no useful nutrients for a ferret and the sugar and carbohydrates may cause problems with the healthy functioning of the pancreas. An occasional Cheerio or piece of raisin or soft fruit (like banana) or melon is all right -- as a treat. But the mainstay of your ferret's diet needs to be a high meat-protein food. Most ferret foods are fine (Totally Ferret, Marshall's, Path Valley, Zupreem, 8 in 1 Ultimate). Many kitten foods are all right (Eukanuba, Science Diet, Iams). Always check the ingredients on the bag of food. The first 2 or 3 listed ingredients should be some form of meat protein (chicken, turkey, fish, eggs). Anything less may compromise your ferret's health. As for supplements -- there's nothing wrong with giving your ferret coat supplement (Ferretone, Furo Tone, Ferret Linatone) or vitamin supplement (Furo Vite, Ferretvite) as long as you don't exceed the recommended dosage on the product's label. Also, keep in mind that if your ferret is eating a good primary food, there's not a real need for supplementation, so you can give less than the recommended amount. We usually give Ferretone when clipping nails (a few drops on the belly to distract the ferret) or as a "treat," about 1/2 a teaspoon once or twice a week. Ferretvite we usually save for ferrets who are ill or are recovering from surgery. Personally, I don't feel that vitamins in the water is very useful at all.
Holiday Shopping Coupon Codes Get your Holiday shopping done and save some cash! You'll find many wonderful ferret gift items in our FerretDesigns and AmysDesigns stores (also cat, dog, penguin, cow & more gift items). Now you can save money on your purchases. Just buy $50.00 or more worth of merchandise and you can save $12.00 if you use the coupon code: HOLBUY6 The catch? The offer is only good until December 8, 2004. So you've got to hurry. You can now order by phone. Find the phone ordering information on FerretDesigns on the main shopping page; on Amy's Designs, the phone ordering info is in the left column under the navigation.
We hope you've found this newsletter helpful. We've been trying to get to the many questions our readers send to us. We'll have more in the next newsletter. Stay tuned for the new year when we'll be covering all the ferret basics in detail! --Mary, Eric & Gabby (the lone Modern Ferret) | 
modernferret.com
