Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forums, but I'm also new to ferrets. I recently (today) inherited an albino, neutered, male ferret. The people I rescued him from were feeding him Meow Mix cat food. Apparantly, he also had fleas, which they treated him for before he came to me. He's definately on the skinny side, and is missing a patch of fur between his shoulder blades, although there does appear to be some regrowth. Can anyone give me some recommendations. Unfortunately, I can't get to my vet before Monday. He will be in quarentine for the next thirty days at my house. I also plan on getting a decent ferret food for him today and gradually starting him on it, as well as getting some ferretone for him. Any other recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to email me at brianrothman@msn.com, with ferrets in the title bar, or post a reply here. Thanks!

Any idea how old he is, were they the first owners? Any past health issues?
The food change is a good idea, especially since it sounds like you are going to do it gradually as it the best way. Make sure your vet is ferret knowledgeable, they can be hard to come by, and are definitely needed. The only alarming thing is possibly the patch of fur missing, this could be a sign of adrenal disease, but could also be a result of the fleas.
Try to find a ferret shelter in your area, they can help you find a good vet and give you all sorts of other advice. Surf on www.ferretcentral.org to search for shelters and get lots of info, I think there may a vet reference section as well.

in regard to the food change: ferrets can be very picky about their food. i've tried switching ours and he got very skinny before i finally switched back. i've also heard of ferrets refusing new food to the point of near death.
try mixing the 2 foods together and gradually increasing the ferret feed.

Thank you for your messages. I did start him on a ferret food. I've also been supplementing his diet in the form of treats with some cooked beef and cheese. I spoke with my vet, who does take care of ferrets, and she feels that he is pretty healthy all around...just undernourished. She also informed me that adrenal hair loss normally occurs by the back end...not the shoulder blades. Anyone other ferret advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. I've never had a ferret before. Thanks!

Here are a few tips that you might want to try, i feed my stinky raw chicken meat as part of his diet, but his staple is still a good brand of ferret food. As tempting as it is, ferret don't digest vegetable matter that well, so try to just avoid it altogether. If i want to give my ferret a treat it's a small piece of raw chicken. Also keeping it's cage clean will also keep you and your ferret happy. buy the biggest cage you can afford. And get one with a grate on the bottom, this will prevent your ferret from stepping on his pee. I use shredded newspaper at the bottom of the cage that i change daily. this eliminates a lot of the smell. teach your ferret to walk on a leash this will give him more exericise and time to spend with you. Stinky is let out in the morning before i go to work. and I would not advice new ferret owners to let there ferret roam freely around the house, unless you have known your ferret well and there is a special bond already. Stinky follows me around everywhere i go and does not like to hide, unless we are playing find stinky! though i have had stinky now for 9 years going 10 we have a special bond. Give him plenty of love and attention. Holding him and just letting him be him is the best way to make a ferret happy. giving him a good diet is the number one key. And how would you know the best diet for your ferret, read, read, and read some more. Find the best one that fits your lifestyle. And most all enjoy your relationship with him. When i first got my ferret i was told that most don't live this long, so when he was 7 years of age i was so afraid that one day i would just find out of my life. But after i realize that if i give him the best, i may not be able to cheat death, but at least i know that i have given him a good life, the best one can ever have. And the results speaks for it's self. i don't spend a lot of money on him. But i did buy him one of the 4 floor cages, and he eats nothing but ferret food and raw chicken. plus a good play outside of his cage. i hope this would give you some idea to help you with your ferret. and i'm so glad that you have chosen to rescue one instead of buying one. there are a lot of animals out there that needs a good home.

good luck!

Thank you to all who have replied...just wanted to update everyone. Casper is doing EXTREMELY well. He's been switched over to a good ferret diet and is eating well, which I put ferretone on. He loves that stuff. He has a clean bill of health from my vet and the hair between his shoulders has started to grow back. You can't even tell where there was hair loss (although it's still short). We spend lots of quality time together and I really love him. Although it is funny to watch him try to interact with my cats...they are petrified of him. I never leave them unsupervised, so not to fear. I have been doing some research and I'm learning more about ferret husbandy. He has a 3 tiered cage with a hammock that he loves. Again, thanks to all who have responded...I'm really glad I was able to rescue him. Out of curiosity, does anyone think I should get a second one to keep him company? Any pros or cons about this? Thanks!

as far as having two or one, well I think it is more of how we think as human that comes into play. we always assume that an animal or pet need to have a playmate, which may be the case. But the true question is....do they really need it. My ferret has been alone for going 10 years now, but he is really not alone, when he is outside of his cage he plays with the dog and the cat and they have a wonderful time chasing each other and smelling each other, though my dog seems to wonder why he smells funny. I think he enjoys his alone time, coz when he gets tired he would run to his cage and take a nap or so and come back out to play when he is all rested. I think if you spend enough time with him he should be able to use up all the energy that is bundled up in him. But if you think that you cannot spend a lot of time with him. then maybe you might think of getting him a playmate. though i will have to say, the bond between just having one ferret (this is just my opinion) and the owner seems to be stronger, since you are his playmate. but then again, this is a tricky call. one or two, or even maybe three. Just remember if you get another one, think of the time, clean up and cage size that you need to consider. just remember, whether you have one ferret or four or two. be responsible. good luck

by the way get him a leash and walk him outside, they love to be able to play in the grass and all, at least stinky does. :O)
though, don't expect to go for long walks with him, stinky just like to stay around the yard. i'd put him on one of those retractable leash and let him have fun playing and rolling in the grass. they love to dig and this gives them the time to play in the dirt
yipeeeee!
i'm so glad that another ferret has found a good home!

Thank you for the advice. It's amazing how much I've grown to enjoy Casper's company in the short amount of time I've had him. He enjoys scaring the cats (which I enjoy watching, as the Siamese is a bully to the other cats and now there's someone pushing him around) and sniffing the dogs. All are supervised, so don't worry. Thanks again for everyone's opinions and recomendations....it's been appreciated.

When I get a new rescue in and he/she seems thin or sickly I take them to the vet for an evaluation first, then I put them on Nutrical. I give mine Nutrical two to three times a day and they usually get up to par in no time. (providing there are no underlying health problems) Good luck with your critter!
Little Paws Ferret Rescue