Ferrets.

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Anyone had Any problem with ferrets dying

just been and cleaned out my lot, two have curled up and died since yesterday evening, they were all bright eyed and bushey tailed yesterday evening.

all the others are full of beans as normal. The two passed away were in their third year

no rhyme or reason I can find ? What caused it, they were a good weight and healthy before as far as I know

any ideas anyone ?

phil
 
Jill's or hobs mate? If Jill's were they left "in season"? As I'm sure you are aware Jill's need to be taken out of season or there is a high risk of infection.
what's the weather been like near you....any chance they could of over heated?
Could it be something they have eaten?
 
Agreed. Continued seasons is a high risk for life threatening anaemia, control with injection, spay or a vasectomised hob. Distemper is another concern
 
They are all Jill's in a commune areaThey have a large high run 10 x 8 with bushes and natural cover and a roof with cover of over 50% well aired with laying out boxes and above that a double decker house with two layers of insulation but well aired, no hot spots, they have all been serviced by a infertile hob for the seasons

all in all very well looked after in near wild environment, plenty of tunnels, hammocks etc etc etc.fresh water everywhere and decent half fresh and half dried food they get plenty of exercise and work

all mine normally live until 6 and most to 7 or 8 years in age

just a bit strange to lose two at once at 3 years old

weather has been hit and miss wet one day, frost the next windy just normal no heat waves or anything

shame they were really good workers, from my own line I have breed for years all good stock

have put the others on close watch for a few days to monitor
hopefully just one of those things

atb

phil
 
That's a shame mate...if you still have have the deceased ferrets have you considered taking to vet to try to determine cause of death. I appreciate the costs involved but if they had something infectious something might be able to be done to save the rest.
 
Sorry to here about these 2 mystery losses but does your 'fresh food' contain anything that could have picked up a few lead pellets during its life?

Just a thought! Also, be aware that plant / vegetable matter that has been sprayed with weedkiller might not immediately look wilted but can have toxins on / in it.

Unlikely, but if the obvious is ruled out, you sometimes have to look a bit further.
 
Hi

Sorry about you loosing the ferrets

Not taking them out of season can be risky, as you probably know if you use a hoblet on them,, but if they are kept clean they should have been fine, not every ferret dies because they are in season. It helps, but isn`t the end of the world if you don`t. They certainly don`t "need" to be taken out if you are careful. My preference has always been to keep a vasectomised hob, to spare me any grief. I lost one to anemia, and that was enough.

Food, with lead ? nope,, doubt that as well,, ferrets are quite capable of spitting out anything hard they don`t want to chew.

I have come across sudden deaths in ferrets before, it is much more common than you might imagine, 2 is very unusual, and is more likely to have a causal factor. Not unheard of though,, sudden death of ferrets is one of those things that has confused ferret keepers for years.

Hope the rest turn out OK. In 23 yrs of keeping them, I have been lucky not to have this, and fingers crossed I won`t.
 
Hi guys
thanks for all the info

rest of the crew are all mental as usual, they all seem bang on the button

i have got all my lot on the whistle, I've just let em all out for a run and they are all without exception all fired up and ready to rumble as normal, none hanging back or quiet, responsive and just very lively pugs following me around all over the garden

still doesn't explain the loss, two down still got 13 of the little blighters. Lol

Hope that's the last loss for a while

atb

phil
 
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