Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I took my 2 ferrets to the last last week for their annual vaccinations, Rabies and Distemper. The same vaccinations they've always gotten. They're both about 5 years old. About 20 minutes after the shots, one (Perry) started vomiting. I took him back to the vet, who got him right in. By this point, Perry was extremely glassy-eyed and lethargic. He was just laying like a limp rag in the vet tech's hands, NOT his usual behavior. The vet and all 3 of his vet techs were there in the exam room, acting very concerned. The vet gave him a steroid shot (Vetalog) and he was back to his old self within about 45 minutes.

After shots, keep an eye on your ferrets. Even if they've had them before with no problems. The vaccinations are designed for cats, not ferrets. Perry went downhill quickly and I'm glad we were still in the area.

I'm sorry your baby had a reaction. Unfortunately, since you give the shots together you have no idea which one caused the reaction. It is highly advisable to give the shots a few weeks apart. Even then reactions do sometimes occur but at least you know which one caused it and can weigh the pros & cons of continuing to give that vaccine.

If your vet is using cat vaccines, he/she is using the wrong ones. IMRAB3, the only rabies vax approved for ferrets was originally made for dogs. Fervac & Purevax are distemper vax made for ferrets and Galaxy-D is a dog distemper vax that is sometimes used off label for ferrets. Of the 3 distemper vax, Galaxy-D has the lowest reaction rate.

I would double check with my vet and see exactly what vax were used. If they were indeed cat vax, your ferrets aren't protected against anything.

Hope your baby is feeling better.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

It is true- it is best NOT to give multiple vaccines to any animal! But at 5 yrs. old, you don't really need to give vaccinations at all if you ave been keeping up with the vaccine protocol for 5 yrs. I am in the minority with this belief, but I base it on medical knowledge and experience with the horrible effects these vaccines an have. I don't mean to scare anyone, just do some research. (book:What Vets Don't Tell You About Vaccines, for instance). But at the very least, do not give multiple vaccines and wait a month to 6 wks. between vaccinations. Then plant yorself in the vet's waiting room or outside in your car for at least 20 mins. after they are given in case there is a reaction- then you canget to the vet in seconds for treatment.
Nancy

I've had reactions from the rabies vaccine with my last 3 girls. The 1st time, no reaction. The 2nd time my oldest who was 3 had a bad reaction. I stay at the vets for 45 min. afterwards. So at least I was there. They had to give her the steroid too. Then next time I gave her Benedryl for twice a day for 3 days before the shot. She still got one and the other 2 also reacted by vomiting. So now I don't get them that shot anymore. My ferrets are inside pets and I don't have any others. This last time 2 of mine also got a reaction from the distemper shots. Mild, but they reacted. I talked to the owners of the ferret shelter I belong to about this. They give the shots themselves to their ferrets and the shelter ferrets. They both believe that these shots should be given further apart, like every 1 1/2 yrs or 2 yrs. They are taking blood tests after a year to see how much protection they still have in their system. If it's ok, they will check again at 18 months after the shot. They really believe the shots should be given further apart. Don't dogs get boosters every 3 yrs or so? Then why are they giving ferrets booster shots every year? Also we are hearing of more and more reactions.
My ferrets also get their shots separate. I may pay for an extra office call, but it's worth it. This year my 2 girls will be 7 in March. I normally get their distemper shots every May. Next year I'll wait until November.
Jefferret, I'm glad your ferrets came out of this ok. Next time shots are due, ask your vet about giving children's Benedryl to your ferrets starting at least 3 days before they get their shots. They can look up the dosage to see how much to give. If they don't like it, try it with a little cream or ferretone mixed in.
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Kat
Ferret mom to Jasmine and Daffy
A Cheesehead from Wisconsin

While I agree with you and fullottermoon that we're vaxing our animals too much, not vaxing under the current protocols could be deadly for your ferret.

Giving the rabies vax is basically to protect your ferret from being put down and tested should he bite or scratch someone and they file a complaint. IMRAB3 is a 3 yr. vax in dogs but is only approved as a 1 yr. vax in ferrets in the CDC Rabies Compendium. If you choose to only vax every 3 yrs. and your ferret loses his head, you're to blame.

Canine distemper is 100% fatal in ferrets and can be brought into the home on your clothing just from walking through an area where an infected animal has been. At last year's Ferret Symposium in Atlanta one of the vet speakers addressed checking titer levels as opposed to vaxing. If memory serves me, it was said that we don't know at what level we can safely say that the ferret is protected so that checking titers is basically useless. Currently, there are 3 different vax available for CD that we can use. If your ferret reacts to one, try another the next year. Personally, I haven't had any reactions to Purevax although I do know that they happen. Since I started doing the distemper vax myself this year and had another reaction to Fervac, I'll be using Galaxy-D next year. The downside to that is that it's not accepted by shows but we never have any around here anyway so to me that's not a big deal.

While I would love to see further research into ferret vaccines the fact is it isn't being done. Until it is, it's in our ferrets best interests to go with what we do know.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

As for choosing not to get the rabies shots for my ferrets, the choice is between death from the vaccine or let them live. Allergic reactions don't get less. Animals or people can get allergies at any time in life. If giving a pet an antihistimine doesn't work, the reaction will only get worse. Jasmine had a servere reaction to the rabies shot. She continued getting them even after taking the allergy meds. I don't allow people to handle any of my ferrets unless it's the owners of the shelter, the vets or family. As for the distempter, it doesn't just stop working after 12 months. Purefax is the one my girls have been having problems with. I never had a problem with Fervax, though I know many have.
It is really a shame that they don't do more tests with ferret vaccinations. These pets are becoming more popular and in some areas these shots are required by law, just like shots for dogs and cats. Yet we have to take a chance on our pets lives because they don't test them enough.
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Kat
Ferret mom to Jasmine and Daffy
A Cheesehead from Wisconsin

It's one thing to discontinue vaxing a particular ferret because of a history of reactions. It's quite another to advise others that they don't need to vax after a certain age. It only takes one person with an axe to grind to cost your ferret their life.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

I've never adviced others to just stop giving vaccines because of age. I've talked to my vet about this and other experienced ferret owners. All those who had ferrets with bad reactions and also the vet agreed the rabies should be stopped. In my case, there's nothing to think about when the odds are very high Jasmine could die a horrible death from a reaction compared to 'a' chance of a 'person with an axe to grind' reporting a bite.
When a person has a ferret who gets a bad reaction to a vaccince and an antihistime doesn't do the job the next time a shot is given, they should have a talk with their vet and other experienced ferrets owners who have been thru the same. Go over the material and decide what is the best route to take.
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Kat
Ferret mom to Jasmine and Daffy
A Cheesehead from Wisconsin