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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2014 9:39:13 GMT -5
Wanted is my first ferret and he will be 10 weeks old tomorrow. He has an appointment for his 2nd distemper on Monday. His first was done on July 1. I am not too familiar with ferret vaccine protocols yet other than what I have been reading which is the initial boosters and then yearly, plus rabies. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats and I follow the minimal vaccine protocol with them, the initial boosters and 1 year boosters, then titer after. Do ferrets have a minimal vaccine protocol as well or is it yearly regardless?
I just want to make sure I follow through with the healthiest way forward.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 19, 2014 9:57:01 GMT -5
This is a very personal decision. Myself I do one single vaccine of distemper and rabies at about 5-6 months, or whenever I get them and leave it at that. Others prefer to follow the initial protocol of 3 distemper, and a rabies when old enough followed by a booster a year later. Others still will do yearly, or every 3 years, etc. One thing you do NOT need to do is yearly. Here is the info we have on vaccinations holisticferret60.proboards.com/board/60/vaccine-information
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2014 10:10:55 GMT -5
Thanks Sherry! I was trying to find info on vaccines before posting this so thank you for linking it for me. I am definitely a minimalist when it comes to vaccines with everything except our pony. Over-vaccinating has been shown to be a health risk in other animals so I was concerned with our ferret.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2014 10:22:01 GMT -5
OK, after reading some of the info (and I will continue to read more!) we will use Monday's appointment for a check-up and fecal and hold off on the actual distemper until 13-14 weeks with the rabies at 16 weeks. I like that the info is similar to that of my dogs and cats with the immunity from minimal vaccines.
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Post by Blue on Jul 19, 2014 11:31:29 GMT -5
There's also the issue of what is legally required where you live. If you live in the US, here's a chart of laws by state for rabies: www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Documents/Rabies%20state%20law%20chart.pdfIt's wildly variable. I adopted my ferret from PA where there are no laws regarding ferrets, only dogs and cats. I live in MD where vaccination is mandatory and must follow label instructions. Unfortunately this means every year for ferrets, even though the same vaccine is considered OK for 3 years in cats and dogs (which is really quite ridiculous!). There isn't even the possibility of a medical exemption (some states have that). Luckily for Maisie, she had no problem with the vaccine, and hopefully it'll stay that way. Otherwise I might have to get her residency in PA! Oh -- I just looked up your intro thread. Sorry, but it looks like WA state laws are identical to MD. The only wiggle room would be if they use a vaccine other than IMRAB-3 and the label instructions are different, or possibly have medical exceptions. Either way it looks like Wanted (who is adorable!!) will get at least one rabies vaccination. Paws crossed that he has no reaction! Your vet should ask you to stay 30 minutes after the shot to monitor for reactions.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2014 13:19:54 GMT -5
As Sherry said vaccines are a personal decision. I live in FL and my county requires yearly shots. For a few years I did this, but after I almost lost a couple of my ferts to the shots I spoke to my vet about options. We do have an 'out' clause here which states that any ferret who is not healthy enough to receive shots can be exempt as long as there is a vet who will write off on it. So here my dickies are good, but by law my healthy ferts would not be. Luckily, I have a vet who trusts in my knowledge and choices for my ferts (and he also doesn't agree with yearly vaccinations) so he will write off on all my ferts if need be. He also told me that it would be unlikely that the government would bother themselves policing this law. The exception is if your ferret bites someone and they report it. My vet could write off my ferts in this situation but the decision would be up to the government and how pushy the bitten human would be, so there are still risks involved. I simply either don't allow people into my home or only those I know won't report a bite if it occurs, and I don't let people touch/handle my ferts when out. However, I don't know what and how strict the laws are in your state/county so you would have to check on that and with your (hopefully lenient) vet. I also dobt have any other pets so the risk of bringing something like distemper into my home is less than it would be at your house (though it is still possible). As for the personal side of things - there is always a risk of bringing home disease that could likely kill your ferts so you have to be very informed of all risks on both sides of the vaccine debate and decide for yourself which set of risks you are willing to live with. It is not an easy or lithely taken decision, but a necessary one.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2014 15:13:21 GMT -5
In Washington they require the rabies shot every 3 years with licensing yearly. We don't have many cases of rabies up here thank goodness. Rabies is the only one required though. They also do have a clause that allows our animals to be waived from vaccines with the vet's signature. I believe they will take titers if it comes to that. ferreholic, There are definitely risks considering I have 2 dogs that do go outside. The dogs are not allowed around the ferret though so that should help. Both dogs have very good distemper titers but I guess it is still possible for them to carry the virus if we unknowingly come across it. The cats are allowed around him but they are strictly indoors. One of my cats actually gets the medical exemption for vaccines. She is highly allergic. We found that out around 4 hours after her last vaccines and were in the e-vet.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 20, 2014 9:38:59 GMT -5
It is yearly here as well. I simply do not allow not ferret people to touch them.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2014 10:47:18 GMT -5
Is it still safe to take them out?
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Post by Sherry on Jul 21, 2014 8:03:14 GMT -5
You have to check and see what if any disease is prevalent for your area.
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Vaccines
Jul 21, 2014 9:01:19 GMT -5
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Post by racheld on Jul 21, 2014 9:01:19 GMT -5
I would check with your vet to see what their policy is. I just found out that our vet will only allow animals to stay in the clinic if they're up to date on vaccines. It wasn't a big deal in that situation (Remus was just there for a dental) but if a ferret needed to stay at the vet because they were sick or about to undergo surgery, I wouldn't want to find out last minute that they were also going to get vaccines.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2014 10:42:23 GMT -5
I don't have a tendency to follow a vet's protocol on many things because they tend to overdo vaccines. That's why I follow the Dr Dodds protocol when it comes to my dogs and cats. Titers can be done to show immunity and no need for extra vaccines
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Post by lyles on Jul 21, 2014 12:30:27 GMT -5
Unless you keep your ferrets outdoors in pens where they can come into contact with wildlife I would not bother with rabies shots. Same goes for distemper unless you take them out for walks in areas frequent by others' dogs or strays. As for the nature of distemper, your ferret would more likely get struck by lightning than to contract it by clothing.
In regards to state laws, I have never heard of a single case where an individual was cited for their ferrets not having shots. We are not yet in that Orwellian state of gov. where homes are given regular inspections where all papers have to be presented. lol
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Vaccines
Jul 21, 2014 14:18:49 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by racheld on Jul 21, 2014 14:18:49 GMT -5
I didn't mean that you should necessarily follow the vets rules, just that you should check and see what their policies are so you don't end up with a sick ferret and a vet that won't admit them.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2014 16:59:56 GMT -5
lyles, I would love to build an outdoor pen but we live in the country. We have way too many coyotes and those things are slick! racheld, the vet recommends 3 more distember shots followed by rabies, then yearly distemper
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