1) DIET AND DIET-RELATED DISORDERS
Ferrets have a short intestinal transit time
(3 hours), and therefore only one meal change or one fasting period can make a dramatic change in the bacterial flora's environment. This is the reason that owners must be informed not to change brands or flavors of food, and also never to allow the ferret to run out of food. Ferrets need food available at all times and should never be on a feeding schedule such as a dog or cat may require. If a ferret is overweight, increasing the activity level is the optimum solution.
Ferrets are carnivores! They are prone to bladder crystals and stones if they are not on a meat-based diet, as grains create an alkaline pH in their urine, allowing crystal formation. Appropriate foods therefore are premium cat food or kitten foods, or actual ferret diets. There are no appropriate ferret foods available at present from a grocery store.
To further complicate the ferret dietary problem, ferrets generally will rebel against any food they were not exposed to as young animals. This goes beyond "finicky"! We often see extreme weight loss and life-threatening diarrhea and dehydration from something as simple as owners changing foods because they read that Purina Kitten Chow was a poor ferret diet (which is true). Owners often try to help their pet by getting Lams or Science Diet, the animal does not view the foreign substance as food, and in refusing to eat it, allows bacterial flora imbalance due to fasting to occur. Over the course of 48 hours, the animal is critically ill.
The solution? Despite your knowledge that a ferret may be creating bladder stones with each passing moment, you must refrain from making any rapid food change and Depending on the ferret's history, it may have never encountered anything other than grocery store cat food. If you have an adult ferret and do not have a history, here are a few tips to success:
A) Check for a Marshall Farms tattoo in
the right ear. These ferrets are weaned onto
Marshall Farms ferret diet, which is available
at pet stores. Not just any brand of ferret
food will do, as they do not seem to taste
exactly alike. In addition, often when a ferret
has begun on ferret food and then tastes
other grocery store delicacies, they will never
go back. This is because ferret food is
frequently a fish-based food that was
originally designed for mink, and ferrets tend
not to like fish as well as chicken or turkey.
Some of the new ferret foods (such as Totally
Ferret) are chicken- based and are very
palatable, but Marshall's are still fish-based.
B) Offer an assortment of the most
frequently fed ferret diets - Purina Kitten
Chow, Tender Vittles, lams Kitten, Jams Adult
Cat, and Marshall Farms ferret food. Observe
closely and let the ferret tell you which it
views as food. If it decides none are food,
start with Hill's A'/D turkey baby food,
forced if necessary to prevent hypoglycemia
and hepatic lipidosis while you continue your
search for this ferret's food. If you must
start from something totally inappropriate, (I
once had a foster ferret that had eaten only
nacho cheese chips for years!) then try an
Lams product, Totally Ferret, and/or Hill's
Prescription A/D- these seem to be the most
ferret- approved diets in our practice.
C) Make changes over several WEEKS
(or even months) by mixing the ferret's
preferred diet with the human's
choice/choices. Yes, that means mixing Lams
with nacho cheese chips if necessary! Do not
blend the nuggets together, but instead make
1/2 the bowl one type and the other ½ the
other food, or use two bowls. Be sure to
change the non-preferred food daily so it is
fresh and appealing. Some ferrets simply
cannot be changed, so be patient and do not
raise expectations too high. My own ferret
took an entire year to show any interest in
quality food!
D) Warn owners NOT to add Ferretone
or tasty vitamins to the new food to make it
appealing. This frequently leads to Vitamin A
toxicity, and the food with vitamins will not be
viewed as the same as the food without
vitamins anyway.
E) Some ferrets are not finicky. Generally,
this implies that they were introduced to a
wide variety of foods in the first 6 months of
life. Still remember that bacterial flora
balance is crucial to a ferret's health, and
make the change over 2-3 weeks, adding a
teaspoon more of the new diet daily.
2) VACCINATION
Basically, there are only a few vaccines
approved for use in the ferret. These are
FERVAC (United Vaccines, Inc.) for ferret
distemper, and the new (and preferred here)
ferret distemper by Merial Vaccines, and
IMRAB (Merial Vaccines) for Rabies. A kit (a
kit is a baby ferret) will need a series of
distemper vaccines, with the last booster
given at 16 weeks. After an initial series,
vaccination is done yearly. There are
veterinarians using other canine distemper
vaccines or canine combination vaccines that
are not only non-protective, but may also
precipitate distemper in some ferrets.
FERRETS ARE SO SENSITIVE TO THE
CANINE DISTEMPER VIRUS THAT THEY DO
NOT EVEN NEED DOG EXPOSURE TO GET
DISTEMPER! Get ferrets vaccinated, because
distemper in the ferret is a slow and always
fatal disease! (Just be sure your vet is using a
vaccine made specifically for ferrets).
Rabies does not require boosters, and in Indiana is given any time after 12 weeks of age and repeated yearly. Some states may have different ages for the initial vaccination ...
3) HEART WORMS
Ferrets are susceptible to canine heart worms, and should be given a monthly, NON-CHEWABLE, Ivermectin product (Heartgard). Chewable products are not recommended, as the manufacturer cannot assure that the Ivermectin is uniformly distributed. When the chewable's are broken in half for animals five pounds and under, they could potentially receive the entire dosage, OR may actually receive none of the product at all.
Ferret heart worm treatment is not generally attempted due to high mortality resulting from dead worm fragments blocking vascular pathways. Supportive care with diuretics, cardiac drugs, or anti-inflammatory may provide some relief.
