Is my ferret pregnant?

Question
Hi, recently the local vet who happens to also be a family friend had a ferret handed in. Someone had found her on the streets, the vet new we already had 2 ferrets so he gave her to us. Anyway at the moment she has a puffy pink vulva does this indicate that she is pregnant? She is also quite small so i was wondering how old she was so if you could tell me how old a ferret has to be before its first season and if you think shes pregnant i would be much abliged.
Thankyou Johnny

Answer
Hi Johny:

Congratulations on your new ferret! And THANK YOU so very much for opening your home to this little one.

The vet who gave her to you had no idea how old she would be? Because it is really important to know that information with female ferrets. Does she appear otherwise healthy?  Or is she skinny, weak or appear to be in less than perfect health?  When you open her mouth, press your thumb against her gumline then let go, does the pink gumline that when went 'white' when you touched on it quickly return to a nice pink again?  OR is it slow to return, OR, are the gums pale overall compared to your other ferrets?

What I'm trying to determine, Johny is whether your little girl may be anemic.  I'm not sure what country you are in...it is common in the UK to have 'whole' ferrets, whereas here in the U.S, 99% have been purchase in pet stores and are neutered... both the males and females. If a female ferret is not owned by a breeder and/or IS NOT ACTUALLY BRED WHEN SHE GOES INTO HEAT, SHE *MUST* be:

1. Taken out of heat with an injection of a hormone, OR...

2. Mated with a male ferret who has had a vasectomy (i.e. he can still have sex - unlike completely neutered males - but will not get her pregnant

A female ferret who is NOT handled as above WILL STAY IN HEAT. For anyone who is NOT a breeder, they definitely wouldn't want to have to go through this every time they turn around, so for the ferrets HEALTH and for our own sanity, we just choose to neuter/spay all pet ferrets.

BEING IN HEAT is only ONE cause of a swollen vulva. Pregnancy would also cause it to swell - are her nipples also swollen at all? Another cause is an 'incomplete spay' - which means she is PROBABLY YOUNG (?) and this may even be her time around with swollen vulva symptoms, and/or previous owners may not have even have known she is having hormonal issues.  IF this is a female ferret in the U.S. likely to have come from a pet store such as Marshalls, Path Valley and several other common breeders, the ferret will *probably* need surgery to fix the botched spay job. Again, if her vulva is swollen, she MUST see a vet to determine which of the above applies to her and which of the above options will be the right ones for her.  If you are in the UK and you have male ferrets that are whole, you may wish to breed her....if not this time, then you could take her in to the vet for a "jill jab" and work on getting her health concerns built up so she's strong enough to have a healthy pregnancy.

There's no way around this one - she really see a vet. The sooner the better. There's no way of knowing how long this little thing has been in this condition, but every single day she is in this condition, it draws strength from her body - strength she needs to grow and be healthy herself.

The very first thing you are going to have to do is get a good thorough vet exam to determine if she is already pregnant, in heat, or if this is an incomplete spay.