Ferret Health & Diseases

Generally ferrets are easy to care for and do not incur a lot of diseases. However, occassionally a ferret will obtain an sickness or disease. Since this is not very common there is not a great deal of information available about treating sick ferrets. This section should help you if you run into this situation.

Adrenal

Adrenal disease affects the glands of ferrets that grow their fur. For this reason the disease will most likely be noticed during either the spring or fall seasons. If the disease has progressed significatly it is likely that when the ferret sheds its winter coat, nothing will grow back. If it has not progressed to an advanced stage the hair loss will begin at the tail of the ferret and then continue towards its head.

The biggest problem with adrenal is that it is still unknown how infected ferrets obtain the disease. One thought is that an improper diet may have something to do with it but at this point that has not been proven.

Common signs of this disease include the ferret have difficulty defecating and/or urinating. As mentinoed above hair loss is the end result but small amounts of hair loss around the tail may be noticable early on.

If you notice any of these signs be sure to take your ferret to the veterinarian as some treatment options do exist. Furthermore, fur loss is a sign of other diseases as well so it may not necessarily be adrenal that you are dealing with. Either way a veterinarian will be able to help you.

Ear Mites

Ear mites will occassionally affect ferrets. This generally only occurs when the living conditions are not up to par. Since ferrets generally are allowed to roam around the house the ear mites can come from a variety of places. For this reason you must take care to ensure that any area the ferret is allowed to go is sufficiently clean to avoid the transfer of diseases and infections.

Signs of ear mites in ferrets includes a brownish looking discharge from the ears. If you notice your ferret excessively scratching its ears, that can also be a sign of ear mites.

Usually veterinarian treatment is recommended for mites that are living in the ear of a ferret. This is because the ear is much more sensitive than the rest of its body. There are however treatments that you can purchase from your local pet store that should be able to rid your ferret of the mites.

Heat Stroke

All animals are susceptible to heat stroke. Small animals are at the greatest risk and ferrets are no different. The most common cause of heat stroke is prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. This occurs usually when the ferret is locked in its cage and the cage is near a window. During the hot summer months take special care when leaving your ferret along to ensure that heat stroke does not occur. Giving it a fresh supply of cool drinking water will also help it reduce its body temperature.

Heat stroke can be fatal if steps are not taken to remove the ferret from the heat. If you suspect that your ferret does have heat stroke take appropriate steps to slowly cools its body down and then immediately take it to a veterinarian.