polecats

Question
hello.. oh please help me decide.. i have a brother and sister polecat both at 4 months old. i took them to th vets for a health check and wormer and vacination. well i asked the vet which i was best of getting fixed. he said he done alot of research and found that it would b best to vasectomize the male so he can bring the girl out of season. to which he is booked into b done in dec. he said if he was to spay the feamle it could make her very ill as it messes up there hormones. but i spoke to some1 today who resuce them for like 7yrs and said the female needs to b spayed as she will get pyemtira.. and the male will b really brutal with her?? please help advise me.. im worried sick to do whats best for my babies xx

Answer
Hello Cheryl,

Spaying and neutering is a good idea for several reasons which I will discuss.  It is best to get ferrets spayed/neutered as late as possible to avoid any health complications such as adrenal disease later in life.  Your two should both be fixed around December if they are 4 months now, although you will notice the male showing signs of mounting behavior long before that.  He will become very annoying to her, and they will need to be separated even before she is in season since that is ALL he will want to do.  

The problem with a vasetomized hob is that he will keep these unwanted mounting behaviors and you will need to keep your girl separate due to this.  He will also become aggressive toward other males and possibly even people when he comes into season.  Not only that, but these guys become INCREDIBLY stinky during this time of the year.  It gets SO bad that he will not be able to be housed indoors.

While it is true that there is a higher risk of diseases like adrenal from spaying or neutering, there are far more benefits.  First, your ferrets are related, and you would NOT want them to breed.  Secondly, the male will become very pungent and possibly aggressive during the mating season, and he will need to be housed separately from your girl.  Third, pyometra is less of a concern than aplastic anemia.  Ferrets are induced ovulators, which means that the female MUST be bred if she comes into heat or she risks a fatal anemia from bone marrow suppression if she is not put with an intact or vasetomized male.  

Ferrets come into season when the days begin to get longer (late winter), so it is best to get them spayed and neutered just before this occurs.  You may want to do this a bit sooner, especially with your male. He will begin to show mounting behavior soon if he hasn't already.  This will become more and more frequent, and the poor female will want nothing to do with him.  Once neutered,it will take about two weeks for the hormones to clear his system, and he will cease harassing her.  

I hope this helps!  There are always possible complications such as adrenal disease later in life, but the benefits of getting these two fixed far surpasses the cons!  I myself have an un-neutered hob, who will be getting castrated once he starts harassing my two spayed females.  

-Cindy P.