ferret problem

bogwelly

Well-Known Member
Hi
anybody come across this before
I have just had a litter of unplanned ferrets (long story dont ask) They have all gone bar the one my daughter wanted to keep
The problem is it has recently started struggling to walk and is practicly dragging its back end along, its in good health otherwise and not in pain, I cant find any breas or obvious problems any ideas
cheers
 
Its always sad when an animal suffers a debilitating injury. There can be a number of different causes but unfortunately the only out come is the demise of the ferret. Either by your hand or at the hand of your vet.
 
Doesn't sound good - fracture or spinal abscess may be treatable, but lengthy or expensive. It might also be Distemper although I'd have expected other signs before paralysis
 
Hi mate, hope you are well. I have just noticed your posting with regards to your Daughters little ferret kit.
One of my Son's hobs was doing the exact same thing with its rear right hand side leg. I thought initially that it may have suffered an injury when fighting with its larger and stronger sibling, but could see no sign of damage and nothing to suggest a break. Like yours it was / is in good health otherwise. The strange thing is..........within a few days of me noticing it, it was back to normal and is walking around fine now. During that time the only thing that I changed was their food...........now being fed proper ferret food from pets at home and only cooked meat left over from dinner etc.......also an egg now and again...........It was really odd, I don't know it if was the change of food or if it may have improved anyway. Who knows? I def would't knock it on the head just yet.

Regards,

EC
 
Fully agree, providing that the ferret isn`t suffering.
Is there a chance that the ferret has had a fall? It doesn`t take much for a ferret to pick up spinal injuries.
Keep the food and water topped up and hopefully you`ll soon see some improvements.
basil.
 
On of my hobs suffered exactly the same symptoms earlier this year, i let him carry on as the seemed happy enough but his health deteriorated and he died about a month later.

I wish I had done the decent thing and ended the suffering and would do now if i had another suffering in the same way.
 
i've had exactly the same with two jills one albino the other polecat, both brilliant workers
i must add not knowing much about ferrets and mating both jills never mated or had the "jill jab" or a visectimised hob

both jills had these same syptoms, dragging they're back legs falling over sideways when trying to walk and rapidly losing weight
although the diet had'nt changed, (rabbits, chicken, squirrel, james wellbeloved ferret biscuits)
i took them to the vets, the vet told me they were " too far gone" and it would be kinder to put them down
vet also went onto say that when a jill comes into season she MUST be mated, either jill jab or the latter because their body stays in season until the mating and all this time they deteriorate and lose body weight and just get weaker and weaker they cant hold themselves up. obviously my girls were too far gone :(

how old is the daughter ?
has she been in season and not mated ?

ATB
Steve
 
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Doesn't sound good - fracture or spinal abscess may be treatable, but lengthy or expensive. It might also be Distemper although I'd have expected other signs before paralysis

i lost two of my ferrets this summer to DISTEMPER! they went the same way as what your daughter's ferret is doing , but first there breeding went vert bad and then week. went down hill very fast. 5days is all they lasted
 
When l had ferrets one of mine went down the same way, urged on by no 1 daughter to take to the vets where upon the vet insisted it had to stay in because it had distemper l was not convinced (l was allways led to believe that once they had it that was thier lot) anyway 3 days later l picked it up right as rain only £35 (me thinking l will need a small loan) the best bit was l had a call after the first day and the vet nurse said can you bring in some of its regular food it wont eat what we are offering it, well you can imagine the face of the receptionist when l presented her with a dead rabbit:lol:
 
I've kept ferrets for over sixty years and have come across this from time to time. You are better to put it down as I have found they almost always die after a while.
Ferrets, from what I have seen over the years are either healthy or dead! I have struggled to keep sick ones going but it doesn't seem to work. They will recover from physical injuries pretty well on their own (bites, eye damage) and do so remarkably quickly, sickness seems to invariably end in death.
Save vets bills, give them a few days and if no better, finish it.
 
sorry Basil been out of the loop for a while , Old keeper was right it gave up the ghost in the end
lesson learned I think
cheers
steve
 
hello mate just noticed your post i have had same problem from time to time and as i also keep bird of prey i have some powder called gaurdian angel and another called poly aid its a booster for sick birds and animals reduces stress levels and boosts the immune system i have given it to my ferrets mixed with water just a teaspoonfull in their drinking bottle and fed a little raw liver and never lost a ferret not a young one anyway i have known a lot of so called ferreters knock them on the head because they somtimes get sick and say ah well they are only a few quid i will get another these little animals are brave and loyal and dont deserve to be scat on the head i get my booster powder from ben long falconry see website but i am sure there are many other outlets good luck with your ferrets
 
Any bona fide idea of what the problem is, touchwood, the only thing my fifteen polecat types have had is two lumps on the neck/cheekbone areas come up infected due to fighting, they had to be lanced and antibiotics applied.
Only thing I do prior to and after the ferreting season is to take them all to the vetinary for a full check up.

Vet charges me 20 squids for the lot.

I remember lot of years ago I had a jill that her back legs went and my old chap said it was distemper and put her down, and got me a new one, apart from that haven't come across them symptons since and don't want to either
 
this can be due to diet , take them to a vet every time so something can be learnt for the future

Well said. My good lady Roberta is a vet and always says they know very little about ferrets.

Sad end to the story Steve, I hope your daughter gets a new one next summer.
 
Hi i totally agree with old keeper.I have kept and worked ferrets for 30 odd years.I have had this in my hutches before there is a thing called staggers there is no cure.Sorry to hear that.
 
feeding too much chicken liver can cause this for one , too many get knocked just because their cheap , the more vets see the more they learn
 
my son keeps a couple of ferrets and we lost a good worker earlier this year to something similar. he was a big strong hob one day the next he couldnt stand and was struggling to breath, broke our hearts to have to put it down but from experience of taking ferrets to our local vets after dog incidents etc they dont know too much and this little felllow looked like he wouldnt survive an hour. after talking to older ferreters at games fairs they said something similar to other posts, that this happens from time to time , ferrets are known to go down hill very rapidly.

keith
 
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