Dental Care

[rexeffects36]

hello members, I am a first time ferret owner. I have a hob and a Jill, both around 1 1/2 years old. I do brush there teeth regularly but I was wondering if anyone knew an estimate roughly on a professional dental scaling for them? Any price range would help, and also any tips on scaling them at home would be helpful. Thank you

[Deleted]

Hi and Welcome to the HFF

Costs will vary based on your area. We have members from all over the world, so I'm hoping some other ferrents will weigh in.
A large majority of us on the forum feed a Natural Diet that includes bones. This helps to keep their teeth clean. Gizzards are also good for cleaning teeth.

As far as scaling goes, I haven't had to do it with mine.

Here is an interesting thread on Ferret teeth.
holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/62

If there are no ferrents who post and give you an estimate of what costs to expect, you might try calling around to some nearby ferret vets, and you can compare prices.

Here is a list of Vets that have been recommended by our HFF members:

holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/13638/vet-country-state
holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/6/list-vet?page=4

[bitbyter]

It would be better to call your vet an ask. Lots of variability in prices from vet to vet.

[RedSky]

The majority of us feed a raw diet including large chunks of meat and bones as well as whole prey. All of these help prevent build up on teeth.
I wouldn't try a full clean at home but there is something that is often highly recommended called oxyfresh dental gel. It can simply be rubbed onto their teeth and gums or used as toothpaste. I can't find any in the UK (I'm in the UK) but it seems easy to get in the U.S. I'm not sure where in the world you are. I've not found a pet toothpaste I would pubject my fuzzier to, so can't recommend from personal experience.

As for costs, there is such a variation depending on area, the vets qualifications and how much needs doing. While a scale and polish might be easy enough to do I can't say enough to ALWAYS use a ferret knowledgeable vet to make sure that if your ferret needs a sedation for the cleaning that it's done in a safe way and your ferret is carefully monitored. They are terrible for not waking up and having funny reactions. That said all of my three have had various things done at the vets and since our vet is fully aware of ferret complications all have been fine and had constant care between being put under and woken up fully. One of my boys was actually carried around by one of the vet nurses and cuddled to make sure he was staying under close supervision and warm enough plus she has a real soft spot for him and he is a snuggle bug. Best thing to do is have a look on our vet list and give any local places a call to discuss base line costs.

[rexeffects36]

Thank you all so much. You have all been very kind and helpful.