Common Ferret Diseases

If you bringing home a ferret, you must educate yourself about the possible diseases a ferret can contract. There will be some ailments that the ferrets may be more prone to than others. You will need to know such information about your ferret, so as to help it lead and normal and healthy life.

The first thing you need to know is that ferrets are susceptible to common cold and flu. Ferrets, perhaps, are the only animals in the world that can contract a common cold and flu just like the human beings. They will show similar symptoms of common cold, as shown by human beings. These symptoms include running nose, sneezing, fatigue, and loss of appetite. According to veterinarians, common cold and flu, in the case of ferrets, is likely to go away on its own, similar to the condition with human beings. However, a vet may still prescribe amoxicillin to your ferret for this.

But there are other diseases that the ferrets are prone to, that may have a deeper impact on their lives, to the point of fatality. One such disease is gastric ulcer. Ferrets have a kind of bacteria in their stomach that causes gastric ulcers.

Therefore, ferrets are more susceptible to this disease. It has also been observed that ferrets that have been under stress of some kind, often suffer from gastric ulcer. One needs to be careful about this disease, as it does not even show up in the blood tests conducted on the ferret. Symptoms such as dark stools, loss of appetite, grinding of teeth are indicative of gastric ulcer. In more severe cases, ferrets may even gag and paw at the mouth.

The second fatal disease for the ferrets is insulinomas, also known as pancreatic cancer of ferrets. In this disease, tumors inside the ferret's body start producing excess amount of insulin. This shoots up the level of blood sugar in the ferret's body. They may experience symptoms such as loss of appetite, weakness in their hind legs, and even staring into the dark. If not treated on time, insulinomas may lead to death. Vets treat this disease by surgically removing the tumor. However, removal of the tumor from inside the ferret's body is no guarantee of its cure.

The third disease among ferrets is Epizotic Catarral Enteritis (ECE). This disease is also known as the green slime disease, and it is perhaps the most dangerous disease for the ferrets. Vets have not been able to find any cure or preventive measure for this ailment. A viral disease, ECE may cause the ferret to loss its appetite and cause slimy green diarrhea in its body. This is a contagious disease, which also attacks the ferret's digestive system. Almost every ferret goes through this disease. However, ECE is not known to be fatal for the ferrets. The symptoms linger on for days in this case. Older ferrets may experience the symptoms for years. Vets usually place ferrets suffering from ECE on a liquid diet, such as duck soup. They may also be given subcutaneous fluids.