6 dead ferrets

[Boojet 0]

Between 3 of us we have lost 6 ferrets in 5 weeks all different ages all well looked after,

all were fine in morning, on the night they were off their back legs and seemed thinner, dead the next morning.

i've had this or similar happen years ago, but this many in this amount of time beggars belief.

any ideas etc,

y.i.s

[Boojet 0]

hi mate,

All fed on fresh carcase and odd bits of ferret complete, water bottles and hutchs clean, all in all shouldn't be the cause

y.i.s

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Back legs going is de riggour in ferrets. I'm not liking the sound of this sudden weight loss though.

 

You're right, " Something like this " did happen some years ago. And some years before that too. And, if I remember rightly? Some years before that. I'm wondering if I've lived long enough and been around ferrets enough to be noticing a cyclic trend here?

 

Only thing is; Once these 'somethings' get cracked and sorted, it seems to be a differant something every time. Like, we've had E Coli. Hemorragic ..... Wonder what " The Staggers " was all about? That's spoken of in the older texts. Seems to me, if we weren't all so switched on these days, we'd likely end up calling shit like we have seen and are now seeing something like 'The Staggers'.

 

Point is; Call it what ye well but there's still things which just seem like natures way of culling back the ferret population now and then. No rhyme or reason to it. Or none that we've yet discerned.

 

At least between todays magazines and on line fora we can all monitor such situations. Not, sadly, that there really appears damn all much we can do about it

 

Come to that, I ran a public survey in a mag, decades ago, when we had a similar and major outbreak. Must have got aboy 300 responses. I'm no statistician, but about all I could deduce from it all is that ferrets Do and Will die off. Unexpectedly. Inexplicably. Randomly.

 

I wonder is it's seasonal? Come to think of it, it always seemed to be before the working season. Anyone ever heard of these things sweeping through in mid winter? Can't say as I have .....

[doddsy1970 9]

This is going to sound strange but have any of you got either the flu or a standard cold?

[john b 38]

A quick google has come up with a couple of possibilities

 

 

 

Something called 'Heartworm' http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/heartworm.htm

 

 

 

and this general commentary

 

 

 

Ferrets can catch the human influenza and cold viruses and they can pass them back. If you have a cold or the flu, be sure to wash your hands before touching your ferret. Keep the ferret away from your face and do your best not to give your cold to your ferret.

 

Ferrets are also susceptible to canine distemper and rabies (see above). Other common diseases are adrenal and pancreatic tumors, Aleutian disease, bronchial pneumonia and other viral infections. Most can be effectively treated given early diagnosis.

 

As ferrets tend to deteriorate quickly due to their high metabolic rate if they become ill, it is important to provide proper veterinary care immediately.

 

[foxdropper 17,099]

Heart worm is very localised but none-the -less lethal to ferrets,especially youngsters . .I would go with Millet on the distemper thing as this causes drastic weight loss plus if its anything like in dogs ,not all ferrets in a compound will get it .Isnt there a ferret jab about now ?."Advocate" small capsules shared between several ferrets will see off heart worm in the early stages .

[ferreterno1 0]

Ive not had anything like that happen to me personally but i know a lad who has had it happen a couple time's and it allway's seem's to be when he has just had a new pup vaccinated..so he put's it down to distemper..

Im not saying that's what's killed your's of but i would burn the cage and steer clear of ferret's for a few month just incase it is distemper..

Millet

 

IM GETTING A PUP IN A FEW WEEKS THAT WILL NEED VACINATING, DO YOU THINK I SHOULD KEEP THE FERRETS AWAY FROM HIM FOR A WHILE?

[foxdropper 17,099]

Probably depends on what area you live in as disease is localalized.Never had a dead ferret so cant comment but seen the vets reports on some post mortems of other keepers .

[Boojet 0]

Probably not explained correctly, regarding ages, 3 of the ferrets were adults 3,4 and 6 years old.

 

As for the parvo i'm 50/50, but all the dogs/hawks,owl and chickens are fine, have a lurcher in pup though, so is a worry.

 

Food for thought eh

thanks for your replies.

Y.I.S.

Edited September 20, 2006 by Boojet

[Kay 3,709]

To find out for sure if your worried about other stock get a PM done if any others die suddenly

[Boojet 0]

Hi

yes fully agree, our only option me thinks.if we can find the right vet that is

yis

[Kay 3,709]

Hi

yes fully agree, our only option me thinks.if we can find the right vet that is

yis

 

did any of the ferrets have any clinical signs , say a week or so before or did you notice anything that didnt seen quite right in there behaviour prior to the going down ?

[PBurns 9]

Not a keeper of ferrets myself, but it occurs me that you folks might be interested in this article which explains how ferret, fox and hound were used to create the modern distemper vaccine >>

http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2004/...-distemper.html

 

There are a lot of zoonotic diseases -- a fancy term that simply means a disease that leaps from one species to another (generally used to name diseases leaping to humans). The common cold, for example, originates in horses. Distemper (canine, feline, and even seal distemper) mutates quite a lot and is very common and is a possibility, as is any number of other diseases such as tularemia (very common in rabbits and rats), salmonella, leptospirosis, etc. For those interested in this kind of thing (and disease is always interested in you, even if you are not interested in it ) see >> http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2005/...ase-across.html

 

Just be glad you don't have rabies -- we are thick with it over here in the Eastern U.S.

 

Patrick