• Lymphoma
• Gastrointestinal Blockage
• Gastric ulcer
• Deafness
• Epizootic Catarrhal Enteritis
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Incomplete Descenting
• Aleutians Disease
• Insulinoma
• Adrenal disease

• Ear cleaning
• Tooth cleaning
• Nail clipping
• Bathing
• Feeding and supportive diet recipes
• Treats
• Healthy weight
• Weight loss
• Litter and litter training
• Descenting
• Defanging

Ear cleaning:

Exceptionally dirty ears on a ferret is usually a sign of ear mites, otherwise ferrets should not require frequent ear cleaning. Occasional cleaning may be done using a pet ear cleaning solution squirted into the ferret's ears while the ferret is scruffed firmly. Massage the base of the ear to allow the cleaning solution to break up the accumulation. Use a cotton ball to wipe out any debris from the pinna, but do not attempt to enter the ear canal with a cotton tipped swab. The ferret is likely to squirm and unintentional injury could occur. top

Tooth cleaning:

As with any animal the general rule for teeth cleaning is "the more, the better." If you have the time to do it daily, that's wonderful. If only once a week, that is still much better than not at all. You may choose to buy an enzymatic dentifrice to use, or even a damp cloth to clean the teeth. Scruff the ferret and using either a cloth or a finger-tip dental brush, work your finger between the ferret's lips, over the molars and gently massage the teeth from the outside. Your ferret may periodically require a more thorough cleaning at a veterinary clinic to remove accumulated tartar. Check for signs of gingivitis, such as red rimmed, or bleeding gums, or large tartar deposits, especially on the molars. top

Nail clipping:

Ferrets are cursorial animals, meaning that they have claws for digging, and they grow quickly. The best way I have found to clip nails is to put the ferret into a sitting position on your lap. Place a few drops of Linatone or Ferretone on the ferret's belly and while he licks it off he won't even notice that his nails are being clipped. Cat nail trimmers, human nail clippers or guillotine type clippers will all suffice.

Watch for the quick that runs halfway down the claw, if cut it will bleed and be painful. If it gets cut, use a stiptic pen or Quick-Stop to stop the bleeding. If these are not on hand, running the nail across a bar of soap, or dabbing flour on the tip will usually stop the bleeding.

Be sure to trim the nails regularly. When ferrets' nails get long they tend to fray, creating a barb like that on a fishhook that will catch readily on cloth or bedding. A ferret will roll to escape and may tear the nail off. top

Bathing:

There are two ways to approach odour control in ferrets. One way involves regular monthly or twice-monthly bathing with a tearless shampoo, or a ferret odour-control shampoo available at most pet stores. Ferrets typically don't enjoy baths and will likely struggle. Hold firmly and be sure to rinse well. Frequency of bathing depends on the individual. Signs that you are bathing your ferret too often include dry and irritated skin. The other method of odour control doesn't use bathing at all. Some people find that a bathed ferret quickly rebounds to "ferret-funk" and that if the ferret's bedding is changed weekly, or whenever odour is detected, the smell is consistently lower than if the bathing regimen is followed. Personally, I use a combination of both, bathing sometimes, and changing bedding others.

Although I mentioned odour several times in the past paragraph and would like to point out that ferrets have an undeserved reputation for being smelly pets. I find them to have less scent than an average dog. Neutered ferrets, with or without their anal scent glands are not offensive and many ferret owners enjoy the slight musk of their ferrets. top

Feeding:

Kibble: Most ferret owners feed high quality dry kitten or ferret kibble. Ferrets have a short digestive tract and a high metabolism, and therefore have very high meat protein requirements. The kibble should have no less than 30% protein (35-37% for growing ferrets) and no less than 20% fat. Meat such as chicken or poultry by-product or by-product meal are very good protein sources for ferrets and should make up the first three ingredients on the list. Ferrets should have free access to food and water at all times as they rarely overeat and can dehydrate quickly. A water bottle (or better yet, several) prevents a ferret from playing in, or flipping its water. Similarly a J-feeder keeps food from being spilled.

Supportive feeding: An elderly or sick ferret may require a supplementary high calorie, easy to digest food. A simple mixture that ferrets usually accept readily is made with 1 tablespoon of chicken baby food mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons of whipping cream or one raw egg yolk. This should be fed at room temperature and may be fed through a syringe or eye dropper. Ill ferrets are usually unwilling to try new foods so scruff the ferret to forcefeed the first few mouthfuls. Strangely enough, ferrets tend to be much more willing to eat a new food on their own after a forcefeeding. Especially with ill ferrets, watch for signs of digestive upset when feeding dairy products and stop feeding dairy immediately if the ferret appears to be lactose intolerant. Instead of the cream, use the egg yolk.

Duck soup is another supportive food made by either soaking the ferret's regular kibble in warm water, or grinding the dry kibble in a coffee grinder. This is mixed with enough pedialyte and water to make a soupy consistency. A tablespoon of Nutrical or Hill's Prescription Diet a/d can be mixed in. This is also fed at room temperature, either by syringe, by dipping a finger and letting the ferret lick it off, or by leaving a bowl of food for the ferret to eat on its own.

Alternative diets: Because there is a suspicion that the carbohydrates in kibble diets might be a contributer to the development of insulinoma, there is some interest in diet choices and alternatives. A mistake that is frequently made when people attempt to prepare their own pet food is to miss the importance of balancing the calcium content to the meat (phosphorous) content. If there is not enough calcium in the diet, problems can begin with the ferret's bones. They can become weak and break, or become replaced with fibrous tissue, making them soft and bendable. The proper balance of meat to calcium is what is found in whole prey foods. If an entire chicken was minced and mixed together, bones and all, it would be a balanced meal for a ferret.

There is a diet known as BARF (Bones And Raw Food) that recommends feeding pets raw meat, bone, and other raw ingredients. There are concerns with this diet, that if the meat was contaminated with bacteria, pets (which are often quite resistent to the bacteria, like E. coli and Salmonella) can pass the bacteria in their feces. If the animal has been licking itself there is a chance that it could spread the bacteria on its coat, or if the feces is not handled properly by members of the household, people could become infected and become sick. This risk can be minimized by blanching the meat in boiling water for several seconds to kill surface contamination (NOTE: This will NOT work with ground meats). One other risk of the BARF diet is that there is a possibility that bone fragments might become lodged in the digestive tract. It is true that cooked bones are much more brittle than raw bones, and therefore the risk is greater with cooked bones. Pieces of blanched meat and bone could be passed through a meat grinder though to mince the bone and reduce the risk of bone becoming stuck in the digestive tract.

Another option is to feed cooked meat. Cooked ground turkey or chicken (giblets included) can be mixed with ground eggshell powder, which is a good source of calcium. If eggshell is washed and dried, then crushed it can be ground to a powder in a coffee grinder. 1 teaspoon of eggshell contains about 1800mg of calcium. A proper calcium to phosphorous ratio for cats is 1.1:1-1.3:1 (as per recommendation in Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats). This mixture will be too lean for a ferret, and should have about 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 egg added per pound of meat. Cat vitamins can be bought at pet stores or vet clinics and may be ground up and added to the mixture so that the daily portion of food contains about half what is recommended for a cat.

Be sure to research pet diets thoroughly before attempting it yourself. There are many good books on the subject, and ferret diets can be extrapolated from kitten or cat food recipes. top

Treats:

Treats are fine in moderation, but every attempt should be made to minimize carbohydrates. Popular, but high carb treats include raisins, fruit and cereals. Better choices are Linatone, Ferretone, yogurt and pieces of meat, shrimp or fish. If you have a dog food stealer, keep an eye on where the ferret might be stashing its loot. One of my ferrets was stealing so much of my dog's food that it was making up the bulk of her diet until I blocked her access to my dog's bowl. top

Healthy Weight:

Female ferrets weigh approximately 800g (1.5-2 lbs). Male ferrets are around twice that at 1500g (3-4 lbs). Healthy ferrets are lean animals. An emaciated ferret is gaunt around the flanks, with the lumbar spine and wings of the ilium prominent. Often the coat will feel coarse and dry. These are signs that your ferret should visit a vet as soon as possible. Obesity is rarely seen. top

Weight loss:

Ferrets have an annual cycle of weight gain and loss, often most severe in the ferret's first year. They will lose nearly half of their body weight in the spring and regain it in the fall. Sudden, unexpected weight loss is a sign that the ferret needs immediate veterinary attention. Ferrets love rubber and gastrointestinal blockages are always a threat. If a ferret drops weight, is vomiting and has little or no stool suspect a blockage and have the ferret seen by your veterinarian immediately. Other causes of sudden weight loss include (but are not limited to) stress, ECE or stomach ulcer. top

Litter and Litter Training:

Ferrets can be litter trained, although most are not as committed to the litterbox as a cat might be. With litterboxes, the larger, the better. Three high sides are good to prevent the ferret from kicking litter or waste over the sides. Any cat litter is fine, there is some argument as to the safety of clumping litter since ferrets may dig, shoving their faces into the litter in play, or when dragging their rump after using the litterbox caking the litter in their nose, eyes or rectum. I have been using clumping litter for years with no problems. Whatever litter you choose, watch your ferret to be sure that its own quirks and personality don't get it into trouble.

Training tips: Work with a small area at first. Keeping the ferret caged will greatly accelerate training. Put some feces in the litterbox in the cage and do not fill the box too deep with litter as it will undoubtably become a fun sandbox. Wake the ferret for a playtime but do not let the ferret out. They usually need to defecate shortly after waking. Once the ferret has eliminated in the proper place let the ferret out. After a few repetitions the ferret will begin to catch on. Be on guard though, because most ferrets are smart enough to learn to fake a poop to get you to let them out. Have more than one litterbox to a room. Ferrets won't go far when they need to eliminate. If they choose an inconvenient corner to use, placing a crumpled towel and a handful of kibbles in their chosen spot will probably deter them. If you have a litterbox digger, a water squirt bottle is useful to spray the ferret when it is digging, only recommended if you are not using clumping litter. top

Descenting:

Most ferrets sold in pet stores are descented, but this has no effect on the body odour of the ferret at all. Descenting does prevent the ferret from being able to emit it's defensive scent when hurt or frightened. This secretion smells quite strong, but dissipates quickly on it's own. Cleaning the area is rarely necessary although bathing the ferret sometimes is. The practice of descenting carries it's own risks, if some of the scent gland is not removed, the remaining gland tissue will continue to make it's secretions. With no duct and little room to contain the secretions, it will abscess repeatedly. Surgery is required to remove the remaining gland tissue. If you are given the option of descenting your ferret, keep in mind that the benefits are small and may not be justified by the risks involved. top

Defanging:

This is an unjustifiable practice that thankfully is rarely seen. It involves the grinding down of the ferret's upper and lower canines to a length even with the incisors, then a dental sealant is painted over the exposed pulp. It is used as an alternative to socialization and nip-training to make a ferret's bites less painful, or to make the ferrets appear less threatening in pet store cages to wary customers. Do not encourage this practice by buying ferrets from pet stores that do this to their ferrets. top