ferret care

Question
i am a sstay at home mom and i just got 2 ferretts from a friend. they wernt taken care of. they have fleas badly and they are very skinny. i dont have a lot of money but i want to take good care of them and make them healthy again. i have had a ferrett before but it was always healthy. what can i do to get them not so skinny and get rid of the fleas. keep in mind that i have a toddler that is almost 2.

Answer
First, you need to take them to a ferret-knowledgeable veterinarian right away to be examined & for basic grooming (ears cleaned, nails clipped). They may have serious health issues related to not being taken care of. If you don't know of one in your area, check the American Ferret Association website at www.ferret.org  Second, you can give them a bath (make sure you have plenty of towels on hand to dry them off) using any flea shampoo that's safe for kittens. There are also flea shampoos for ferrets - your local pet store may have one. The vet will give them a flea treatment as well.

As far as their weight, they were probably fed really poor food and not much of it. They may be older and have adrenal disease also; that is a common cause of weight & muscle mass loss. But most likely it's their diet. Get a bag of good quality ferret food from Petco or PETsMART like Totally Ferret, Zupreem, 8 In 1 Ultimate (only the Ultimate, not the other kinds 8 In 1 makes), Shepherd & Greene, or Marshall (or a kitten food like Iam's that's very high in protein and fat) and keep the bowl in their cage filled all the time. Let them eat as much as they want. You should also get a tube of Ferretvite or Furovite paste from the pet store and feed them a 1/2 teaspoon of this every day for a couple of weeks. This will add calories and stimulate weight gain.

Finally, you can make what we call "duck soup" by putting a couple of cups of the dry food in a blender, grinding it up, then adding in 4 or 5 little jars of chicken baby food (either Gerber or Beech-Nut is fine) and a cup or so of water. Grind it all up to make a thick soupy paste; add more water if necessary to thin it out. Pour this mixture into a bowl, warm it up a little bit in a microwave (be careful it doesn't get hot) and watch them lap it up. You can pour the excess into ice cube trays and pop them in the freezer to have on hand for awhile. This stuff will really pack on the weight fast, as well as all the nutrients they've been missing.

If you have access to the internet, do a search on "ferret weight gain" in Google or AltaVista and you'll find lots of other suggestions from numerous web sites. The book "Ferrets For Dummies" has great information about these kinds of health issues, too.

Good luck!