Vaccinating ferrets for outside play/petstore walks?

[Deleted]

So I know there are MANY opinions on vaccinations. I have a ferret who just lost her brother(not illness related) and I have been thinking about taking her out in the backyard, or on walks in petstores once I have her trained on a harness(she's doing well so far barely even notices she's got a harness on) but if she is going to be out and about, to curb her boredom and keep her mind and body moving(i plan to do fishing and forage toys as well)

My question is in that situation would she need distemper and rabies? I had ferrets years ago and didn't vaccinate, they went outside once in a while but not to stores and such. She is about 9 months old

[Lily]

If your ferret is going to be outside very often, it probably is safer. As you said, there are many opinions on it. Some ferrets react very badly to vaccines, so vets don't even bother with it unless necessary (Multiple animals in the house, living with dogs, etc.) Not sure where you're from, but where I reside, vaccinating your ferrets is extremely hard to do and those who can even vaccinate them, usually don't do it unless the pros outweigh the cons. If you plan to take out out daily and venture outside, meet other animals, etc. I personally think it's safer to vaccinate.

When vaccinated, make sure to stay for a few minutes to make sure she doesn't react. I also suggest doing one vaccine at a time.

[LindaM]

It really ends up being the choice of each individual person at the end of the day. Vaccines are always a risk, and each ferret can react differently. If you're going to have your ferret out and about near other people and animals, or places animals frequent a lot, I would definitely vaccinate.

My personal opinion on it, I vaccinate for both, only once off. I do not, and will not ever do the annual vaccinations. Luckily my vet understands and agrees that each vaccine given puts the ferret more and more at risk for an adverse reaction. And since the vaccines will generally last around 7 years, you'd be fine with doing it only once off.

As Lily also mentioned, if you plan to vaccinate, pick one of the vaccines and get it done. It's best to wait at least 6 months for the ferret's system to fully recover from that vaccine, before doing the other one, though some vets will do it at least 2 weeks after the first vaccine. Never ever get both Distemper and Rabies vaccines done in a single day, that usually will spark a very dangerous reaction and could be fatal. Luckily, most vets that know what they are doing would never suggest doing both vaccines at the same time, though I have heard of people whose vet did do that and it sadly ended up with them losing their ferret.

You should also be ready to remain with your ferret in the vet's waiting room for at least 30 minutes to an hour, to be sure the ferret doesn't react badly to the vaccine. If anaphylaxis occurs, you will need the vet to respond immediately, so it's important to remain there for a while. And it's advised to keep a close eye on your ferret for the next few days after, to be sure no delayed reaction takes place. Check for vomiting and foamy poops.

[Sherry]

I vaccinate once for rabies, wait a month, then do distemper, and that is it for life.

[Deleted]

Its so scary.. I almost don't even want to take her out..

[Deleted]

Due to the risks of the vaccines I would have preferred to avoid them but I have other animals in the house not least two miniature jack Russells, two leopard geckos and the insect food for the geckos too. Plus I want to be able to first walk them round the garden and I know we have a lot of rats and foxes in our area and as were looking to move house it would also be nice to take them for walks around a nicer area so I'll work closely with vets but I'm going to have to go the vaccine route, its the lesser of two evils

[LindaM]

@ferretfiend Are you planning on keeping the ferrets and Jackies apart? Jack Russells are part of the terrier breed, they're hunting dogs. If you plan to allow them near each other, please, please be very vigilant and keep close supervision. I personally wouldn't even advise trying to put them together.

I've owned 3 Jack Russells in my life, and I love the breed dearly. I had two short hairs, one was a miniature too, when I was younger. And believe me when I say, they are hunters and you cannot take that out of their instincts. I had to watch, unable to stop them, as they tore a live skunk apart in our yard as a game of tug-o-war between them when they found the poor thing in the garden.

Jack Russells WILL hunt down a ferret, so you cannot ever trust them alone with a ferret, and you'll need to make sure they can't get their teeth to fit through cage bars.

[Deleted]

LindaM, this is something I'm aware of and a concern Ive had and haven't over looked, I'm well aware of there nature and would never ever let them be alone together ever. They will know each other exist as the dogs and geckos do, there familiar with were each others living space as well as each others smells ect and have seen each other but they are not going to be playing with each other or roaming in each others presence, its just not worth the risk as far as I'm concerned anyway.

But thank you for the concern and checking in, it was actually one of the first practical realities of owning a ferret that I had after the desire and excitement lead to the practicalities so I haven't taken it for granted and will be as vigilant with this as any ferret proof and safety issue.

[LindaM]

@ferretfiend Good! It's just always best to check up on something like that when you hear it. I've heard of some horrible accidents before, and it was usually when someone hadn't fully taken into consideration the natures and natural instincts of the animals they put together (an easy example would be people just adding ferrets in with their guinea pigs). I'm so glad you've thought about it and plan to have a workable solution to owning them together.

Also, if you want to tag someone when you reply to them, you can do this by clicking the little @ button on the menu when typing a post, or if you know their username (not display as it sometimes differs), you can just type it with the @ symbol in front.

[Deleted]

I haven't even thought of this...I have a harness on the way and was planning to leash train him, plus a cat that goes outside (on her own, and if she stops she still will on a leash)...this sounds so scary, but I don't know what to do. What are the risks/statistics? Are there any threads on this? I imagine it's necessary to keep him safe even if I don't take him out because the cat goes outside?

Is it a risk if he's just where an animal WAS, or does he have to run into the animal?

[Deleted]

Also, would a Marshall's ferret or other pet store ferret be vaccinated?

[LindaM]

@bearpurse45 They say that you get your Marshall's ferret with it's first Distemper vaccines, but these are done when they are so young, their bodies still contain antibodies from their mothers, which destroy the vaccine, so those provide no protection at all. Nor do they get a Rabies vaccine before being sold.

A ferret should only get vaccinated at around after 6 months of age, when the kits no longer have their mother's antibodies in their systems.

And there is no way to calculate the risk the first time around, far as I know. Either the ferret will react or they won't. And if they ever do react, even to the first vaccine, they should never be vaccinated again, even if it means they only got either the Distemper or Rabies vaccine and not both. Sick animals shouldn't get vaccinated either.

As I mentioned in the earlier posts on here, I do it only once off on each vaccine, for each ferret. One Distemper, and one Rabies. Done. Never again for that ferret. Subsequent vaccines just keep increasing the risk of an adverse reaction, so even if they haven't reacted before.. they still can.

Rabies is transfered through the bite and saliva of an infected animal, so that one is easier to avoid. Distemper is contracted much easier though, it can be transfered in the air and through infected items and animals.

Threads Related to Vaccines on here:
holisticferret60.proboards.com/board/60/vaccine-information

Again.. it's definitely a scary choice.. and it ends up to each ferret owner to make that decision by themselves whether they wish to take the risk or not.

[Deleted]

Thank you so much for the info. I've calmed down a bit from originally reading this at least. I think I'm going to get him the distemper shot when he gets healthier once and just not do the rabies shot at all. I feel like I could prevent that without a shot enough that I don't want to risk it.

[Sherry]

Keep in mind, depending on where you are rabies can be law. Meaning if your ferret bites someone- you need to show the certificate or risk having them seized/euthanized/tested.
Which is why no one else is allowed to handle my ferrets unless I trust them. At most, people are allowed to pet the back end while I hold the ferret I refuse more than one rabies vaccine in their life

[abbeytheferret6]

In USA--at least in my state NC, it is required every year(rabies). I do not do it at all. A 10 day quarantine here if ferret bites someone. U can Keep biters at home, or like Sherry said, let them pet back end(a good idea).