Ferrets are long, silky, fun filled, and cuddly. They can provide endless hours of fun. They can also give you a migraine as you try to pay for the vet bills you didn’t think about when you spontaneously purchased that impossibly cute ferret with the incredibly pointed face at the local pet store.
The average lifespan is 7-10 years old with each year equaling ten human years. The tempaeture of a healthy ferret is between 100 and 104 degrees, with most of them hovering at a comfortable 101.9 degrees. The heart rate of the average ferret is about 225 beats per minute but it can range from 180-250 beats per minute. Ferrets have an average respiration rate of 33-36 breaths per minute. It is important to get to know your pet’s personality, the better you know your ferrets personality the quicker you will be able to recognize any health issues your ferret might have.
The first thing you might learn about your pet ferret is that not only will it love to have your undivided attention it can also catch that twenty-four hour flue you had a few days ago. The ability to catch diseases from their human owners is one of those unique traits that separates ferrets from cats and dogs (cats and dogs can not catch the flu from humans). Hopefully now that you are armed with that knowledge you will be savvy enough to bring your pet ferret to the veterinarian (preferably one with knowledge and experience about ferrets) before it starts showing flu like symptoms. Ferrets are very sturdy animals when they are healthy but once they get sick they can go down hill fast. It is important your veterinarian sees your pet and prescribe a treatment as soon as possible.
Young ferrets are often fed hard food before they are really ready for it. The hard food can cause your new pet to develop a prolapsed rectum (the rectum is on the outside of the body instead of inside). Oddly enough this is not normally something your local veterinarian needs to see. Normally the rectum returns to its normal position after a few days. Smear a small amount of Preparation-H on the exposed rectum to help keep it moist and keep a close eye on it. Remember that pink is good. As long as the flesh of the prolapsed rectum is a nice healthy looking rosy pink it’s healthy. If the healthy pink color starts to fade take your pet ferret to the vet for a consultation.
Ferrets suffer from a variety of diseases and tumors such as insulinorma, tumors, heart disease, intestinal conditions, and complications involving the liver and intestines and spleen. Many pet ferrets are plagued with multiple issues at the same time. Most diseases commonly found in ferrets will need some type of veterinary care which will often include surgery.
If you are concerned about being flooded with an endless amount of expensive veterinarian bills that you don’t know if you will be able to pay you may want to consider purchasing animal health insurance for your pet ferret.
In 1849 hundreds of men made the grueling climb across the Rocky mountain range before stepping onto California’s soil. These men, who history remembers as forty-niners, came to California with dreams of striking a mother lode of gold and spending the rest of their days in the lap of luxury. Few of these forty-niners had possessions worth speaking of, just the tattered torn clothes they were wearing, a shovel, a pan specially designed to sift through river sediment, and an old mule to haul their find out of the mountains.
Over a hundred and fifty years have passed since the last forty-niner made their final trek across the Rockies with only his own voice and a cantankerous old mule named Worthless for company. In this new modern world a different type of person is journeying across the country seeking the answers to all their dreams and prayers in the warm California sunlight. Today its students, freshly armed with brand new high school diplomas and a tiny sub-compact car loaded down with expensive clothing and glamour shots, seeking not gold but rather fame under the bright lights of an acting studio. Like the fortey-niners, many of these future stars have only their CD collections and a family pet to keep them company on the long drive across the country.
What many of these Hollywood hopefuls don’t realize is the animal health branch of the California Department of Food and Agriculture has rules and regulations for bringing pets into the state. Most of the rules will involve the young pet owner to take their pet to the veterinarian for a round of shots and an exam before leaving for the land of movie stars and millionaires. The purchase of pet health care coverage can sometimes let the youngsters get the routine vet work out of the way without forcing them to dip to heavily into their savings.
Domestic cats that are infected with a contagious disease are not allowed into California. Cats are not required to have a current rabies vaccination nor do they have to have a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection before they cross the state line into California. They must have a health certificate if they are coming from an area that was under rabies quarantine. If you are coming into the state of California via airplane check with the airline about what health requirements they enforce before allowing your cat to fly. Before you leave your home town for the California shore line, ask your veterinarian what can be done to make the trip as comfortable and safe for your cat.
Just like cats the California Department of Food and Agriculture will not allow dogs that are carrying an infectious disease to cross the state line into California. Any dog over four months of age is required to a certificate stating the date of its last rabies vaccination, the type of vaccination used, the manufacturer lot number of the rabies vaccine used, and the name of the vet who gave the injection. If you are traveling by plane ask the airline about any additional health requirements your dog must meet before it is allowed to fly. The sooner you contact your airline the better.
If you are bringing a more exotic type of pet, such as a potbellied pig, into the state of California you may be required to have an entry permit.
