distemper nd rabies

Question
How often do your ferrets need the rabies and distemper shots? Two of our   ferrets are  year old and the other one is three months. All of our ferrets were vaccinated at eight weeks old. Also why can't you use Vaseline. Vaseline is petroleum jelly right?

Answer
Hello Madeline,

The rabies vaccine should updated yearly, and you should keep that documentation handy in case your ferrets ever come in contact with someone and bite them, you are going to have that handy. There is a law that says in a the event of a bite, ferrets are to be put into a ten day quarantine to make sure they don't have rabies. Unfortunately, not everyone adheres to this rule. Before that law was written, ferrets were euthanized and dissected to check for the presence of rabies. If anything were to ever come up, you want to have those records, or at the very least, be aware that the law says your ferret should be quarantined rather than put down.


Distemper shots should be given at 8 weeks, 11-12 weeks, 14-16 weeks. Then, the booster should be given once a year. Distemper vaccine is important because you can bring it in on your clothes, and it is 100% fatal to ferrets.


You can use Vaseline as a hairball remedy, but you're going to want to make sure that it is just petroleum jelly. Vaseline sometimes has extra ingredients that aren't good for your ferrets to ingest. Make sure it is only petroleum jelly. If they are hesitant, just drizzle some Ferretone on it, and they should eat it right up!

I hope this helps, and as always, please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything else!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews