Distemper In Ferrets: Causes, Symptoms And Treatment
Ferrets have become fashionable as pets in recent years. How to take care of them and treat them is something that has not yet been widespread. So, we think you need some tips if you’ve decided to own one of these animals. Today we’ll talk about distemper in ferrets. Didn’t you know that this disease can also appear in them? Yes, and let’s tell you all about it.
What is distemper in ferrets
Distemper has always been a disease known to attack dogs, and now ferrets. It consists of an anomaly caused by a virus that can be transmitted by air or by contact with sick animals.
Unfortunately, there are many ferrets that die from distemper. So you play a key role if you don’t want this to happen to yours. The main thing to do, at first, is to be well informed.
The Causes of Distemper in Ferrets
It is a virus of the Paramyxoviridae family and the main form of transmission is to come into contact with an infected animal. It could be another ferret, a dog or any other wild animal that has the disease.
Contact with feces or secretions from a sick animal can be another cause of distemper in ferrets. In fact, even an object that an infected dog used and that your ferret has had contact with later will make your animal sick if not many hours pass between one contact and another. This is because the distemper virus can survive for hours outside the body, in this case, in an object that could very well be a toy.
Even you can inadvertently infect your ferret. If you visit an animal sick with this virus and do not disinfect yourself well before entering the house, you can carry this organism in your clothes, your hands or your shoes.
Distemper Symptoms in Ferrets
Now how would you know if your ferret has this disease ? There are some easily recognizable symptoms that you should be able to identify in order to act as quickly as possible. This is essential because the death rate for ferrets from distemper is 99%, and many of these deaths happen because we don’t act in time.
The first thing to know is that distemper in ferrets has an incubation period of ten days. Therefore, when you start taking the measures, the animal will already have the disease.
Urgency is vital if you want to save your pet’s life.
You should watch your ferret carefully and act quickly by going to the vet before any of the following signs:
- Nasal or ocular secretion
- eye infection
- Apathy
- Lethargy
- loss of appetite
- Depression
- Diarrhea
- Dehydration
- light sensitivity
- Fever
- Skin peeling
These are the most common, although if you notice any other changes that are not listed here, you should go to the vet urgently. Ferrets are very sensitive to disease, so to save their lives, it is vital to act quickly.
Treatment for Distemper in Ferrets
There is no explicit treatment for distemper in ferrets, but there is a treatment for each of the symptoms.
That’s why, in the presence of any of them, you should go to the vet.
Prevention will be the best of your strengths, but be careful about the contact you have with possibly infected animals and especially keep your pet’s vaccinations up to date, especially the distemper vaccine.
We hope we’ve given you all the information you need to prevent your ferret from contracting this near-death disease. If you act in time, your pet can be one of those 0.1% that gets saved.
