Nasally Congested Ferret

Question
A male sable ferret showed up on my patio on 6/28/08 in Jacksonville, FL. I took him in because it began to storm violently. I've placed notices on petfinders.com, lostpets.com, lostandfoundpets.com and other sites, as well as locally, both w/our animal care and control facility and on bulletin boards (PetsMart and apartment complexes), all w/no luck in locating his owners.  I now am his owner, I guess.  He eats well, drinks lots, and is very sweet, loving and loves to play w/me. I've never had a ferret before, but have friends who have. I have researched quite a bit on the internet, and have learned tons of info. My question is that this morning when he woke up he sounded nasally congested! I am not sick, and he's not around anyone who is, so I am stumped. Other than his normal frequent sleeping habits, and trying to get into everything, I haven't noticed anything different, except his little stuffy nose. There is NO discharge, and it's nicely wet as usual. Could it be dust? I've noticed he's the best dust mop I've ever had, and is making me very ashamed of the dust he finds under furniture, even though I've cleaned well!! He's very active and doesn't appear lethargic at all.  I'm still undecided as to what to do w/him because I'm becoming attached, so I haven't consulted a vet yet. I have no other pets, so he eats good ferret food, and I've bought ferret-approved toys, and snacks. After he was awake about 2 hours, he sounded much better. Could it be an allergy or something I should worry about? Thanks so very much for any information you can provide me!!

Answer
Hi Cheryl:

First of all, thank you so very much for taking this little one in! There are SO many dangers out there - it's a miracle he found his way to you. The majority of ferrets who get lost unfortunately are probably either killed by dogs, traffic, weather that's either too hot or too cold, starvation, and a myriad of other ways I don't like to think of!  So, you are my hero today for saving his sweet little life!  I'd say it's been enough time that it's safe to name him :-)

All ferrets are great little dust mops - don't feel bad about that. A little sniffling and a nose full of dust isn't at all unusual. I always like to hear a ferret has dust in his nose.......it means he hasn't been locked in his cage 24/7, which is about as mean as someone can be to a ferret, who loves to get out and explore, as you've already discovered!

I'm running all the possibilities of causes for nasal congestion and I think the first things I would check for would be: Are there any wood shavings or chips in his cage, either for litter or bedding? I know you said you read a lot, but sometimes that can be overlooked because so many other small animals use cedar chips for bedding. ANY wood chip material can cause a ferret stuffy nose and also eye problems, so they are always a 'no-no'; choose NON-clumping clay litter, pelleted newspaper, even newspaper strips or sheets of newspaper in the litterboxes or potty area (cheap and easy to clean up too, in addition to being very eco-friendly).

Are there any fabrics in the cage that haven't been laundered since being new?  Have you tried using a really delicate laundry detergent like "Ivory" like you would use for a baby? He just might be allergic to laundry detergent - not common, but I have heard of it before.  If he feels better within 2 hours of waking and getting out of the cage, it just makes me think that it's something in the cage. Maybe even a towel or cloth you cover the cage with to help make it dark while he sleeps? Launder it in Ivory also.

Also, take a look at where his cage is located - is it near an air conditioning duct where he's maybe right where cold air is blowing into his cage?  Although he is probably loving the cool summer digs, if the cool air is directly hitting his sleeping area, that could also make him wake up with a stuffy nose.

Those are about the only things I can think of right now that could cause a stuffy nose that stops once he's up and about for a couple hours. You didn't say that he sneezes as such, no coughing, I'm assuming no diarrhea, he's eating and drinking fine, playful, etc. I think maybe if you just start changing things one at a time that you will find the culprit. Change the location of his cage first, since that's probably the easiest.  Just for a day or two - put his cage on a different way (but never where the sun can hit it any time of the day); then if the stuffiness continues wash all his linens - maybe even just in hot water and baking soda - that would be really safe. Don't use any fabric softener either; I've heard of ferrets being allergic to that also.

You get the idea.  It's probably just going to be a matter of trying various things until one does the trick. So hard to know, especially when he is otherwise healthy (thank heavens for that!).  There is a slight possibility he could have an obstruction or broken cartilage in his nasal passage either from his time being loose OR from someone flicking or hitting his nose to correct him, maybe when he bit something or someone. It's a shame people do that - they don't realize how delicate ferret noses and sinuses are. If this were the case, however, I don't think it would clear up after he is up and about for a couple hours, but it's possible that after a few hours of being up, the tissue shrinks enough that any blockage stops affecting his breathing until he sleeps again. Just impossible to know without the trial and error tests. So, if you try all the changes you can think of and none work, I think it would be an excellent idea to have your ferret vet have a look up inside his nostrils when you take him for his distemper and rabies shots.

Just in case you haven't read up on those, there are just a few very important things you need to know about vaccinations: 1.... be sure to get a benadryl shot 15 mins before ANY vaccination is given - ferrets are not *often* allergic to them, but when they are, they are usually fatal IF they didn't have a benadryl injection before the shot.  2.....NEVER get a distemper and rabies shot within two weeks of each other. It gives the ferret's system a chance to calm back down before another vaccination AND if there is a reaction, you will know for sure if the allergy was to the distemper or the rabies vaccine. People who get both shots on the same day and have a reaction have no idea where to go from there.  Rabies shots aren't absolutely necessary if you don't live in a rural area, don't have other pets and don't take your ferrets out of the house. However, distemper shots ARE MANDATORY.  Distemper can be carried into the home on your shoes, just walking down the street, just walking into the vet's office. And distemper is fatal for ferrets.

You can read LOTS more about just about every topic you can think of at http://www.miamiferrets.org - here's what they say about vaccinations:

"Ferrets require two vaccinations: Rabies and Canine Distemper. Only three vaccines are recognized by the USDA as effective in ferrets. IMRAB-3 for rabies and FERVAC-D or Merial's PureVax for distemper.

(Note: PureVax is a new distemper vaccine for ferrets that may result in fewer allergic reactions.)

The following vaccination protocol should be followed:

Canine Distemper - Given at 8, 11 and 14 weeks, then annually thereafter. For older ferrets with unknown vaccination history, vaccinate twice over a two week period, then annually thereafter.
Rabies - Given at 3 months, then annually thereafter."
 (taken from...http://www.miamiferrets.org)

Enjoy that new little guy! I'm so very glad he found his way to you! Just in case you need a ferret vet recommendation, please write again (with an update on the stuffiness too :-) and tell me where you are and I can give you a list of vets in your area. Remember not all vets are ferret vets - *regular* dog and cat vets only get 4 to 6 HOURS of "exotic pet" instruction in their whole veterinary training!! You can check your phone book for vets whose ads say "we specialize in Exotics" or you can call and ask specifically, (NOT 'does the vet see ferrets' because the answer will probably be 'yes', even inexperienced vets do see ferrets) if the vet "specializes in exotics" OR "how many ferrets does this vet see in a month?"  You want to hear at least 6 or 8 I would think, depending upon the size of your city/town, however. Sometimes it's not only better care, but a LOT cheaper to drive to a nearby larger city for vet care. Locally I can get adrenal surgery for just under $1,000 for my ferret - or I can drive 3 hours to a larger city and pay $300 for that same surgery by a vet whose whole practice is centered around 'exotics' of all kinds, especially ferrets.  It pays to call around, contact ferret clubs in larger cities, use the internet to ask questions on ferret groups, post questions and let other ferret owners share their experience - they are happy to help!

Best of luck - keep doing what you're doing - what a lucky lucky little boy!!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers