Ferrets?

Worth it or not?

I am looking for a small mammal...have wanted a ferret for years...I've been stalking Satomi's ferret posts and am aware that a raw diet seems to be the way to go...wondering if it can be that epigen 90 kibble with whatever raw thrown in interrmittently...as a pure raw diet isnt feasible right off the get go for me.

Also wondering if there are any good websites/books I can do some research through?

Thanks

I would recommend the holistic ferret forum and also plan on huge vet bills and heartbreak. Ferrets are a lot of fun but after a decade and 9 of them I think I am out once my last one goes. Most won't eat raw or kibble, they will prefer one and ignore the other. If it's expense, raw would probably be about the same cost as epigen anyways. I would also recommend 2 ferrets vs a loner and buy it from a breeder not a pet store if possible.

define huge vet bills?
and why?

Any resources to find breeders?

my understanding is most pet ferrets in the US are from Marshall farms or w/e and quite inbred hence the high risk health problems?

All petstore ferrets are mill bred. Basically they are puppy mills for ferrets. They are highly prone to different types of cancers and other illnesses. The big three is Adrenal Disease, Insulinoma, and Lymphoma.
Most of these mill ferrets are from Marshals. But there are two other mills on the East Coast called Triple F and Path Valley. But all mill ferrets share the same issues. I wouldn't necessarily say its due to inbreeding. Inbreeding can improve certain lines. It's just poor breeding. They are not selecting for health. They are selecting for looks. And they don't care if a ferret has a short life span because that keeps them in demand.

Definitely try to get a private bred ferret from a reputable breeder. There is a breeders listing on the American Ferret Association site.
Private bred ferrets are sold intact and you will need to get it spayed/neutered/descented yourself. But do not neuter/spay before at least 6 months of age. Mill bred ferrets are sterilized well before 8 weeks of age. More closer to 4-6 weeks of age and its been linked to Adrenal Disease due to the ferrets not being able to get the right amount of hormones. Artificial light cycles have also been speculated to contribute to Adrenal Disease due to hormonal function related to light cycle, so its best to keep your ferret on a natural light cycle.

Check out the Holistic Ferret Forum for raw feeding. They also have a facebook page.

My ferrets can eat both raw or kibble. I prefer feeding raw. And they prefer eating raw and that's what I feed 4 out of 5. The 5th one will not eat raw so we have to give him kibble(Orijen).
Wysong Epigen is the ONLY good ferret specific kibble out on the market. Other than that, Orijen Cat-Kitten, Welness Core grain free kitten, and Nature's Variety Instinct are 'good' dry kibbles to feed. The other ferret designated kibbles are total junk.
Out of the 3 cat foods I listed, I like Orijen the best due to their ingredients list.

The reason why its good to feed raw is because ferrets are obligate carnivores. Most kibbles use grain/corn/soy/carbohydrates as fillers and binders. Some include fruits/veggies as well. All of these ingredients are not good for ferrets and will increase chances of your ferret getting Insulinoma(hypoglycemia).

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Originally Posted by OsirisRa32

define huge vet bills?
and why?

Any resources to find breeders?

my understanding is most pet ferrets in the US are from Marshall farms or w/e and quite inbred hence the high risk health problems?

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My first ferret cost me over a grand in her short lifetime, she got the "trifecta" of ferret diseases, adrenal at by age one, lymphoma and insulinoma at 4.

The next made it to about 4 as well and fell/had a stroke? Not sure but had to put her down, she'd had one emergency in her life, ear mites that lead to a bad infection and she was showing adrenal signs a little before her death.

My 3rd girl grew tumors like a champ, had 2 removed about $300/pop, the last one we just left and by age 5 she had adrenal and insulinoma which required meds for the next two years, she ran up about $1800 and I had to put her down a few months ago. She was a Petersen's milled ferret, the rest all Marshalls.

Tweek my fourth was a rehome and died a year later in his sleep, other than a few fecals and exams to try to figure out his lack of bowel control he was fairly cheap, a few hundred.

My 4,5,6th came from a friend, one got ill suddenly, too sick to even make it to my vet so we ended up local and had to euthanize him, necropsy didn't explain anything but showed he was undiagnosed adrenal. Another got sick, ended up being lymphoma, he made it a few months past diagnosis. Those two cost several hundred a piece. The 3rd of that group lived 5 years with me but the last two was adrenal and insulinomic and he had a liver infection at one point too, a little under a grand in his care.

My 8th, Pip, another one dumped on me started showing adrenal signs a year later, went on meds but male ferrets with adrenal sometimes get prostate/bladder issues and he blocked up one day, $1500 later, (we had to go to the local vet 2x, emergency vet out of town once and then surgery at my normal ferret vet), he was all fixed up. 3 months later he lost the use of his back legs, ended being cancer in his spine and he was put down.

My last boy so far hasn't cost me anything other than a couple exams but he's getting up there in years, highly likely he will get adrenal disease and insulinoma down the line. Basically plan on spending a possible grand on any ferret you bring home, their health issues are extremely common and besides the big 3 there are more and more with heart and digestive issues, they also get blockages, stepped on, hurt by other animals, injuries from being little troublemakers. Finding a quality vet can be hard as well, we drive almost 3 hours to ours.

Like a lot of people I got in over my head and had 7 at once at one point, a lot of fun until multiples of them get sick and you are losing ferrets left and right, giving meds and food every 8 or 12 hours, constantly worrying. They are so smart and have a ton of personality, they really do need a lot of time out and enrichment to be happy. Mine haven't been caged in 7 years. They are also really messy critters and can be destructive to furniture and carpet. If you have other animals that's a concern as well, most of mine have been scared of my dogs, want to attack my cat, would love to kill small animals in the house, my last boy lost his home after killing a parrot, my friends 3 I took had started trying to kill the kittens in the house. Some don't get along with new additions, I know quite a few people who have to run separate playgroups.

whoops double post

Thanks for the info...after hearing all that....I am definitely reconsidering.

Know anything about sugar gliders?! lol j/k

Haha no don't know much about them, they can be kind of messy too I think but damn cute. My boyfriend fell in love with a cute little hedgehog at the pet store, don't know much about them either but love the albino ones. I always wanted a skunk but they aren't legal in my state.

I really want a kinkajou or a raccoon....but neither are legal in my state (not that that would stop me)....but more importantly dont have the space or my own property yet for a kinkajou or raccoon.

Satomi - what do you think about a ferret kibble called EVO... that's what we feed as a vet recommendation but may switch to one of the brands you listed if we can get the little buggers to try something new.

For the OP - ferrets are incredible pets. As mentioned, they are prone to health issues. At the end of the day there is only a high cost if you deem the cost of treatment worth more than simply accepting that they had a nice life under your care and letting them pass (of those main diseases, they are all a matter of prolonging the life... not curing the sickness). Very insensitive of me, I know, but all animals get sick and die at some point. Ferrets can live for 5+ years even with those issues, which is much longer than other 'small mammal' pets.

Considerations for ferrets:
-They are MENACES, which is awesome but requires a ferret-proof room for them to play in.
-They need LOTS of time out to run and play, especially as babies. It would be hard to keep up with that on your own, so you would want a 2nd ferret so they can tucker each other out.
-They have a particular odor - I wouldn't say it is foul unless you don't clean often enough, but it is strong.

After saying all of that, they are AWESOME small mammal pets. It really feels like you have a little wolverine for a pet. I think Kinkajous and Raccoons are not appropriate domestic pets for 99% of people, but ferrets are as close as you can get within reason. They really feel like an exotic pet, but have care and requirements more closely aligned with a house cat or low-activity dog.

I must be lucky. I haven't had any problems with my personal ferrets yet other than my first ferret and a foster ferret, which was a rescue. And ferrets can definitely live several years with Insulinoma and Adrenal. And both are more common than Lymphoma.

I honestly don't worry as much about Adrenal any more. They do have 'treatments' for them now. You can get your ferrets implanted with Deslorelin(Suprelorin) Implants. Depending where you are they run about $120-200. And you have to implant your ferret yearly after confirmed diagnosis of Adrenal.
The implants look like pet ID microchips and are administered to your ferret in the same way. They are devices that suppresses the endocrine system. It prevents the production of hormones. It's basically a chemical castration. It is typically used to cancel clinical symptoms of Adrenal like hair loss, lethargy, etc. But in recent years, its been seen to actually halt and/or reduce adrenal tumor growth if Adrenal is caught early and not in advanced stages. It hasn't been proven yet, but people and some vets have been using them as preventatives and start implanting their sterilized mill ferrets annually at age 1.


My first ferret was a 3 year old male who was picked up off the street by animal control. He was surrendered to the Ferret Shelter I foster for. He got Adrenal at 5 years old. But we got him the Deslorelin implanted immediately. His hair loss and lethargy disappeared. He had more energy and acted like his old self again.
We implanted him yearly.

He got Insulinoma at 7 years old. I was expecting him to get it. I'm guessing he was fed junky foods in his original home because he was a fiend for trying to steal junk food like chips, bread, candy, etc. I never let him eat them, but he was constantly trying to steal and eat them. And since ferrets imprint on food, its a pretty good indicator that he was fed these foods. None of my other ferrets have ever done this. But anyway, he got Insulinoma.

It's the combination of Insulinoma and Adrenal that is pretty bad because the Implant does naturally mess with the blood glucose levels, which Insulinoma already does.

I worry more about Insulinoma than anything. A ferret's quality of life can be improved with the implant. But you have to give Prednisone to Insulinomic ferrets. And you have to monitor their blood sugar levels very carefully. If they drop too low, the ferrets will go into seizures.

I had a foster ferret. She was supposedly 7 years old. Her owner's house caught on fire and needed someone to watch her while he got back on his feet.
She was by far the worst case of Insulinoma I have ever seen. Her owner said she hasn't been eating in a few days and he had no idea she had Insulinoma. Kibble eaters need to eat constantly to keep their blood sugar up or they might have a sugar crash. It's because the kibble does elevate their sugar levels to an abnormal level constantly and does make ferrets hypoglycemic. But anyway, this ferret was emaciated and elderly. She eventually started having seizures at my house. By far the worst, I've seen. Before I could reach her, she was thrashing around her cage, slamming herself from one wall to the other. She was screaming throughout the entire episodes. We started her immediately on Prednisone to stabilize her. She started eating baby food from a syringe and was showing improvement. We had a vet appointment scheduled later in the day. But before the appointment she had another crash and had another seizure fit and passed immediately after it.

She was the worst we've experienced
.
My boyfriend had a female that also had insulinoma at around age 5-6. She was given Prednisone twice a day. But about a year later, he decided to put her down because she had no quality of life and the Pred wasn't doing anything to prevent her seizures any more.

But other than that, our current ferrets(ages 4-6) are doing well. They're all on a raw diet except for the one kibble eating male, who is probably going to get Insulinoma. He is no where as fit as the others, who are still going really strong.

I am expecting adrenal to pop up among my crew since they are Marshalls and in my experience, the majority of Marshalls ferrets will get adrenal.
However, we keep them on a natural light cycle, so hopefully that helps.



Ferrets are worth it, in my opinion. They are very fun, loving, and rewarding pets. My males are cuddlers and all my ferrets will give me kisses and want to play with me. If you're sad, their quirky antics will make you laugh, no matter what they are doing! :D

-Reduce chances of Adrenal by going to a private breeder who sterilizes their animals at a later age. Ask them about the health history of their breeding lines and look to see if any have ever had adrenal.
- Reduce chances of Insulinoma by feeding a raw diet from the get go.

Like I mentioned before, privately bred raw fed ferrets can live 10-15 years with no issues.




Wow Postal! Adrenal by age 1 and Insulinoma by 4?! Shocking. That is probably the youngest I've ever heard of an Adrenal case.

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Originally Posted by MrLang

Satomi - what do you think about a ferret kibble called EVO... that's what we feed as a vet recommendation but may switch to one of the brands you listed if we can get the little buggers to try something new.

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EVO was known as a top kibble equivalent to Orijen, after Wysong.
But most people have stopped using it because they constantly have recalls. And they have been bought out by Proctor & Gamble, which are the producers of Iams and Eukanuba. (<-- probably the reason of all the recalls)

I forgot to talk about tumor removal, surgeries, and other stuff I forgot to mention.

Adrenal disease surgery is not worth doing. Don't pay $1200+ for an adrenal surgery because the tumors will always come back. And the surgery is hard on the ferrets. The better option is to get the Implants.

Some vets will want you to do annual blood panels(~$200). But it's not required.

And depending on your vet, they may want to do an ultrasound to diagnose Adrenal. But its usually not necessary if the clinical signs are already there: hair loss, females with enlarged vulvas, males suddenly aggressive, etc etc.

My first ferret cost me $1000+ in vet bills. He had adrenal and later insulinoma, but he was also generally a sickly ferret who needed vet treatment constantly. He also got a chordoma growth the size of a marble on his tail that needed to be removed. And that procedure was only $70.

The ferrets I raised from a younger age(currently 4-6) have never had any health issues yet. No ER vet. Just basic vet for vaccines and annual check ups. I do expect some to get adrenal in their elderly years since they are all Marshall Mill ferrets. So there would be the cost of those implants. But I don't think it is totally unreasonable cost wise. Ferrets are expensive pets. But not more than a dog or cat, in my opinion.

Do research. Know the signs of health issues.
Read a lot of ferret forum or facebook page posts. You can learn a lot from more experienced people that are usually more helpful than some vets since finding a ferret knowledgable vet can be difficult.

My first ferret vet was an amazingly knowledable lady. She unfortunately moved. I tried out a new vet and she wasn't good at all and I don't agree with some of her decisions.
I suspected one of my older rescues had stomach ulcers, and she wouldn't prescribe me meds until she confirmed ulcers 100% through surgery. I thought that was unbelievable. I am no way going to put an elderly ferret through such an invasive surgery like that because stomach ulcers isn't a huge deal. Some liquid meds and antibiotics on a 2 week trial would have told me whether or not it was effective or not. And my older vet and several other experienced ferret people agreed with me when I talked to them. Surgery option was totally unnecessary and I was able to get meds from a different vet and guess what? The ferret got 100% better.

My point is find a knowledgable ferret vet. Research about all the health issues so you can make educated decisions whether or not a treatment is necessary. Get second, third, fourth opinions.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

Wow Postal! Adrenal by age 1 and Insulinoma by 4?! Shocking. That is probably the youngest I've ever heard of an Adrenal case.

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Yeah it was odd, she started getting more aggressive and her coat got coarse and sparser, since she was so young we ran a Tenn Panel and did surgery on her. When she got ill at 4 she was already in advanced insulinoma and had a big tumor from the lymphoma in her belly. She made it a month on high doses of pred. Being our first she got all the crappy treats and food before we knew better. And most of mine came to me older, with previous cruddy care so that hasn't helped issues. I really can't understand getting a pet and not being willing to treat their issues, as covered the common ones except for lymphoma are manageable for years and if under control aren't causing any pain. Now my last male has popped up with a small mct, just another thing to keep an eye on.

I have been blessed to own one ferret. He was a mill ferret, of course. I adopted him after he was returned to the pet store because he was born deaf, which is a common problem in mill ferrets of certain colors.

He remains one of the best pets I've ever had. He adapted quickly and easily to my household of cats, and firmly believed he was a cat. He had none of the destructive and dangerous habits most do. His big thing was hiding stuff. We did our best to ferret proof things, which really wasn't hard since we already cat proofed. We fed him kibble of course, although I also made and fed him treats based on recipes in the Ferrets for Dummies book, which he loved on occasion.

We were very fortunate in that he didn't get Insulinoma that I knew of. He did get one of those tumors on his tail, which was easy and inexpensive to remove. Since I do not know for sure how old he was when I got him, I go by the time I had him, and I had him about 6 years. Not really old I grant you, but for a mill ferret I consider it pretty good. When he became sluggish and unresponsive to his daily routine, we took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with something whose name I cannot remember. Since the sickness was fast moving and already far advanced in a short time, we made the decision to put him to sleep.

I still miss him.

Gale