Choosing A Second Ferret.....Vaccine Information

Question

Sirius Black   My lil guy Sirius is one year old today. He was sick when i got him last october and had trouble eating. Ive got him on a good diet and he's now up to 4pounds. I cant find a vet near where i live without needing to drive for over an hour and i cant rely on many for rides to places (esp with gas prices) as a result, Sirius has never been to the vet. Now when i got him i was told he was up to date on all shots, but i want to know if i should arrange to make an appointment for him soon because he's 1now year now. Also, I'm contemplating getting another ferret to keep my guy company. He's not too old to have a playmate is he? Is it better to get 2 boys or one of each sex?
Sorry for lumping all these questions in one post. I appreciate any feedback

Answer
Hi Caitlin,

I'm glad you grouped your questions together in one post  because I can best help you if I know all the info you gave me.  :-)

Here is the order I would do things:

Be SURE to take Sirius with you to choose his new little brother or sister.  I've heard stories where some ferrets just never take to each other and the owner ends up having to clean & maintain two separate cages for the life of the ferrets <sigh, not particularly fun, especially when it can be easily avoided>.  Choose one or two ferrets you like, then present them to Sirius - one at a time - and watch how they relate to each other.  Typically there will be lots of sniffing, then some wrestling, chasing, etc, but no serious fighting or blood drawing biting.  Ferrets DO play rough...be ready for that, but you should be able to tell which, if any, Sirius wants to spend more time with.  Try holding both in your arms at the same time after they sniff each other a bit...does he get angry and look like he is jealous?  Or, does he seem more likely to snuggle down for a nap with this ferret?

It's best to take him AFTER playtime so he doesn't have too much pent up energy.  He will already perk up when he sees other ferrets, so the more you can wear him out in advance, the easier read he will be.  There seems to be absolutely no difference in males and females together when they are all neutered...I assume you are in the U.S. and they should all be neutered.  It's really a personality thing that only makes sense to them, funny as that sounds.  I've had male and female together,  and I've had three males together this way and all was well...just let THEM choose each other and you will be fine.

Now, regarding immunizations....since Sirius is due for his annual shots (distemper & rabies are MUSTS because they are SO very contagious and always fatal), and your new baby will need his baby shots - one rabies shot and a total of THREE distemper shots (a new baby should have already had the first one when he is sold to you, but be sure to ask when, so you can schedule the next one in 4 weeks)  given 4 weeks apart, then rabies and distemper (separately always) BOOSTERS yearly for both kids thereafter.  It will be some traveling this year, unless you can get a ferret that is a bit older and already has all his shots.  The tricky part comes here:  NEVER EVER get a distemper and rabies shot for one ferret at the same visit.  At least a week in between shots is recommended. AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT:  ALL shots should be preceded with an injection of Benadryl about 30-minutes before the rabies or distemper , as it is not unusual for them to go into anaphylactic shock after a vaccination.  I had one of my ferrets have this happen when she was very young.  We were out of town, different vet who had to be told about pre-treating with Benadryl, then she came in about 15-20 mins after the Benadryl to give the distemper shot. Not wanting to make a big stink about it (trust me, I'll make a stink about it if I'm ever in that situation again!), we went ahead and the young, inexperienced vet gave my precious little girl her little shot as i held her.  Doc and I talked about 30 seconds and suddenly my little ferret was having seizures in my arms for about 15 seconds, then was still and completely stiff, not moving, not breathing, heart stopped.  THE NEW VET YELLED FOR THE OTHER MORE EXPERIENCED VET AND GRABBED A BOOK TO SEE WHAT THE PROPER DOSE OF EPINEPHRINE WAS FOR A FERRET!! I shook my ferret, massaged her chest and blew tiny breaths into her mouth and nose, then massaged her, then shook her and screamed her name over and over.  By now the other vet was there and they injected epinephrine directly into her heart.   I laid my head down on the exam table next to the oxygen cup they had her nose down into by now and I kept calling her back to me.  She rallied for about 5 seconds, then crashed again. Another shot directly into the heart.  I continued to rub her head around the oxygen cup and call to her as the vet did chest compressions.  She came back.  I grabbed her off the table and continued to stimulate her.  Long story short...NEVER LEAVE YOUR FERRET IF THERE IS AN EMERGENCY; the vet assured me that my voice  calling to her each and every time strengthened her heartbeat.  AND...use an experienced ferret vet who KNOWS how much epinephrine to give in case of emergency and ask before the shot is given...WHERE IS THE EPINEPHRINE???  I absolutely ask these questions if anyone other than my regular vet is giving vaccinations to my babies.  They aren't JUST vaccinations, they ARE life & death to a ferret.  It is also life & death important that they get the vaccinations -ONE AT A TIME AND EACH TIME 1/2 HOUR AFTER BEING PRE-TREATED WITH BENADRYL.....not 15  or 20 minutes, the whole 30-minutes.

That being said, I need also to tell you that my precious little girl's life was cut short due to that incident.  She got ill at about 5 years old - just no energy - and I nursed her along and my regular vet finally said she thought Kylie would benefit from a heart ultrasound.  A small animal cardiologist was actually brought in from 200 miles away and I sat in on the ultrasound.  Guess what he found???   TWO VERY BADLY SCARRED HOLES IN MY LITTLE GIRL'S HEART (from the injections that had saved her life years earlier...now they were going to kill her & there was nothing I could do about it).  My heart broke.  That simple trip to an inexperienced vet out of town while we were on vacation was now, once again, but  time for good, claiming my precious Kylie MaWheee's life.

I beg you to BE SURE you take vaccinations seriously (I did NOT understand the dangers of what I thought was a simple vaccination that anyone could do, or I would have waited till we got home to our regular vet to get her vaccination booster shot)  And don't let gas be a problem, and if it is, perhaps you should NOT adopt another ferret right now.  The final year or two of a ferret's life can get really expensive. They ALL get sick in one way or another before their lives are over.  I've yet to hear of a ferret just dropping over dead without being ill, needing vet care and vet bills galore. I spent around $7,000, -  $4,000 on the ultrasound guy alone - on Kylie MaWheee in her final weeks. Yes, it was ridiculous, but I could not have done any less for her than I would if she had been my own flesh & blood.  It took forever to pay off - that's a year's income on Disability, but she was my life & my heart.  I don't think I've spent less than $2,000 on any of my ferrets their final weeks/months...it just goes with the territory.  And your first obligation IS  to Sirius, although he would 'probably' enjoy a playmate....some ferrets actually enjoy being onlies; they like ALL the attention....he just may be one of those and IF he is, I hope you will honor that and adopt two at once next time; those pairs of ferrets from the same litter are almost always happy unions.

Best of luck to you!  I know I've given you a lot of information here and you may need to take  notes to keep pertinent parts.  Whatever you decide to do,I hope you'll take a minute and update me.  I love to know how things turn out for people!  Best of luck to you, Sirius and any potential sweetie who may join your little family :-)

Sincerely,
Jacquie Rodgers