Pet Store Ferrets Quarantined!

Question
Hello, I have recently purchased my second ferret in late November. He was a perfectly well healthy ferret. I have recently took him to the vet to have a check and make sure. The vet said he was healthy. Well this morning my fiance woke up and seen him gasping for air and he died on me. I have no idea what happened. I feel that the pet store had already had sick ferrets. I was calling around to see if I could buy a ferret so my other ferret wouldn't get depressed. Well I called the pet store I bought my ferret that just passed away and the ferrets aren't for sale because they are under observation, they are sick. I don't know what to do because I think he was sick and they did not say he was and the health certificate said he was healthy. Also, should I take my one ferret to make sure he is going to be okay and make sure he isn't sick either. I'm scared because I don't want to lose him too. I had a hard enough time dealing with my one ferret passing away.

Answer
Hi Jessica:

I'm so sorry to hear about your little guy dying at such a young age especially.  It's always hard to lose one of these little ones, whether they are young or old. Unfortunately, because of the way your little guy died, you are going to have to take some precautions and do some things that most grieving ferrents (ferret parents) have to.

You will need to dispose of his little body either by turning it over to your vet in a double sealed plastic bag for cremation OR you can bury him at home, but he will need to be *at least* THREE FEET below ground in a sealed metal container so another animal cannot dig him up and start an epidemic. Cremation usually doesn't cost more than $40, but check with your vet to be sure. You can get his ashes back (that's what I do) and it helps to at least have *something* to remember them by.

One thing you DO NOT want to do is go back to the store in question. IF the ferrets there are being quarantined, it is likely because whatever killed your ferret probably killed a lot of ferrets; MUST BE contagious or they wouldn't have quarantined the ferrets.  What you DO need to do is thoroughly wash all of your ferret's belongings in a weak bleach solution (1/4 cup bleach to 2 gallons water) to be sure your next ferret doesn't pick up the illness. Some diseases ferrets can get, such as giarrdia, coccidia, distemper, ECE, ADV and lots of others, can leave bacteria behind for months that will just silently wait for their next victim. Personally, I would 'quarantine' all my ferrets belongings and consider disposing them IF your vet advises to do so. For now, a good scrub down with 1/4c of a mild laundry detergent and the 1/4c bleach to 2 gallons of water. Be VERY thorough - your next ferret's life depends on it.

As curious as you may be and you may WANT to go back to the pet store - for now, STAY AWAY.  If those ferrets are contagious, every person who walks in there then back out *could* be bringing the disease out on their shoes, clothes, etc. BY TELEPHONE you should contact the store manager and let him/her know that your ferret was recently purchased from there and you have a 'certificate of health' (which is usually good for one year). No doubt they are collecting information and possible claimants now, so you want to get on that list.

Also, tell him you need to know what they suspect is killing the ferrets.  Once you know that, you will know better how thorough your cleaning must be, or if you would be safer to just throw away all your ferret items. Once a home is "ADV", every ferret who comes into that home afterwards will get the ADV disease, so if you still want a ferret, you will probably want to contact an ADV specific shelter and adopt an ADV-positive ferret (they are SO deserving of homes, but so often don't get a chance at a real home).  If the disease is ECE, that lasts about six weeks, you give lots of support with sub-Q fluids and handfeedings and they *usually* live through it. You would have noticed your little guy having splattery green diarrhea if he had ECE though.  You didn't mention that in your letter, so I'm assuming that he had normal looking ferret poops (brown, formed but soft, just a bit smaller around than a pencil (1/4" or so).

The next thing you will want to do is find out what breeder your ferret came from. If it is one of the larger ones (Marshalls, Path Valley, etc), you will want to contact them to double-check that the pet store has reported they have a quarantine.  When my new baby ferret brought ECE into our home to my existing ferret, our vet bills went over $1,000.  The store did NOT report the problem to the breeder, who had more ferrets enroute to them!  They were able to intercept the shipment and save those ferrets lives, thank heavens. For the store to tell the breeder they have a problem like that - it interrupts their "income" and the store likes to keep a steady stream of ferrets being sold and they will try to keep the problem to themselves if they can. The breeder WANTS to know tho, so they won't send more ferrets into what is *probably* a contagious environment at the pet store.  The breeder I worked with paid our vet bills of over $1,000!  The breeder completely stopped doing business with the pet store because of their incompetence and breaking their agreement to advise them of any suspicion of disease, etc.

So, what you want to do is *gently* and *innocently* ask what he suspects they have. Tell him you're concerned about burying your ferret. If he still won't tell you, call the Humane Society or ASPCA (whatever is in your area) and file a report - have one of their officers go out, find out the information for you :-) and they could possibly even shut down the pet store if it's distemper or anything that is deadly and extremely contagious. Somehow, what you want to do is what is best for the pets - always keep their welfare in mind. Your little guy already paid the ultimate price......don't let the rest of the occupants of the store or future ferret shipments continue to have to die just so that store owner can keep raking in money. My store owner here said this (verbatim!): "I'm a merchandiser, not a nursemaid!" and I will never forget those words. In other words, he doesn't care one bit about the animals, they are "merchandise" to him, just like a loaf of bread would be to a grocer!  Don't forget that as you face this and you won't give up.

I hope you'll update me after you find out what they have. The large breeders such as Marshalls and Path Valley have their own websites and it's easy to contact them. I got the phone number off the website of the breeder I dealt with and found them extremely helpful and they literally took over the battle once I called them. They kept me informed and let me know as it progressed, all the way to letting me know that the guy wouldn't be getting any more ferrets from them (of course, he can get them from another breeder and no doubt he is doing that, but *hopefully* the word will travel and follow him).

Again, please let me express my sorrow over the death of your little guy.  Here's a great website that I really like. You can write a little memorial and even participate in a Monday Night Candle Lighting Ceremony where people from all over the world gather to honor their pets who have died that week. They light candles and say a few words, whatever their belief is. It's an awesome feeling to be part of it when you realize it's folks from all around the world! Then your baby's name goes on the list for all eternity (with my babies who are at the Rainbow Bridge):  http://www.petloss.com

Godspeed,

Jacquie Rodgers